An energy storage system employing a reversible salination-desalination process includes an electrochemical desalination battery (EDB) unit including an anode and a cathode. The EDB unit runs a salination process while storing energy from a direct current power supply unit, and runs a desalination process while releasing energy to an electrical load. The energy storage system can store power from a variable output electrical power supply unit such as solar cells and wind turbines while running a salination process, and release energy, e.g., during peak energy demand hours while running a desalination process. Combined with a capacitive deionization (CD) unit, the energy storage system can generate fresh water by running desalination processes in the EDB unit and the CD unit while releasing stored energy from the EDB unit. The energy storage unit can function as a dual purpose device for energy storage and fresh water generation.

Provided are a functional polymer membrane including: a surface layer; and an anion exchange membrane or a cation exchange membrane, in which the surface layer contains a polymer which includes a cross-linked structure having, in a cross-linking unit, an ionic group with a charge opposite to a charge of an ionic group included in at least one of the anion exchange membrane or the cation exchange membrane; a production method thereof, and a stack or a device provided with a polymer functional membrane.

Provided is a functional polymer membrane including a porous support; and a resin layer and an auxiliary layer which are supported by the porous support, in which both of the resin layer and the auxiliary layer contain an ion exchange polymer having one of an anion exchange group and a cation exchange group, a charge of the ion exchange group of the ion exchange polymer included in the resin layer is opposite to a charge of the ion exchange group of the ion exchange polymer included in the auxiliary layer, and both of the ion exchange polymers respectively included in the resin layer and the auxiliary layer are polymers having a unit obtained from an acryloyl group which may have an alkyl group at the -position; a stack or a device provided with a functional polymer membrane; and a method of producing, a functional polymer membrane.

Radioactive nuclides (radionuclides) are separate from an aqueous radioactive liquid by feeding the liquid into a chamber between a porous anode and a porous cathode of a shock electrodialysis device. Meanwhile, an anolyte is fed through the porous anode, and a catholyte is fed through the porous cathode. A voltage is applied to the porous anode and to the porous cathode to create a voltage differential across the chamber. The liquid is passed through the chamber, and cations are selectively driven from the liquid into the cathode by the voltage differential. The voltage differential creates a desalination shock that produces an ion-enriched zone on one side of the desalination shock and a deionized zone on an opposite side. A brine including the radioactive cations is extracted from the ion-enriched zone through a brine outlet, and fresh water is extracted from the deionized zone through a fresh-water outlet.

A device and process are disclosed for the separate removal of oppositely charged ions from electrolyte solutions and recombining them to form new chemical compositions. The invention provides the ability to create multiple ion flow channels and then form new chemical compositions therefrom. The process is accomplished by selectively combining oppositely charged ions of choice from different electrolyte solutions via the capacitive behavior of high electrical capacitance electrodes confined in insulated containers.

The present invention provides an electrolysis device capable of recovering lithium from seawater, brine, recycled waste liquid, or the like containing lithium ions, and capable of generating a carbon compound from carbon dioxide. The electrolysis device including: a first electrode part; a second electrode part; a lithium ion exchanger; a first electrolyte solution; a second electrolyte solution containing lithium ions; and a first gas supply part capable of supplying a first carbon gas containing carbon dioxide, in which the first electrode part includes a catalyst layer, and the catalyst layer is in contact with the first electrolyte solution, the second electrode part is opposed to the first electrode part with the lithium ion exchanger interposed between the second electrode part and the first electrode part, and is in contact with the second electrolyte solution, the lithium ion exchanger is provided so as to partition the first electrolyte solution and the second electrolyte solution, and allows the lithium ions to selectively pass from the second electrolyte solution toward the first electrolyte solution, and carbon dioxide in the first carbon gas is reduced to produce a carbon compound different from carbon dioxide by applying a voltage between the first electrode part and the second electrode part in a state where the first carbon gas is supplied from the first gas supply part toward the first electrode part.

An electrochemical device comprises a first type of membrane disposed between first and second reservoirs containing an input solution, and a second type of membrane, different from the first type, is disposed between a first redox-active electrolyte chamber and the first reservoir and disposed between a second redox-active electrolyte chamber and the second reservoir. The first type of membrane and one of the second type of membranes form a membrane pair and the pair has an area specific resistance below y=5065.3x.sup.31331.1x.sup.2+90.035x+39 Ohm cm.sup.2 when the pair is equilibrated in an electrolyte and for at least part of a range where 0<x<0.4 and x is the mass fraction of salt in the electrolyte.

A system and method for the removal of poly- and/or perfluoroalkyl fluorinated materials contaminants from an aqueous mass uses a system which includes: a) a first chamber for holding the aqueous mass containing a detectable amount of poly- and/or perfluoroalkyl fluorinated materials; b) an anode and a cathode in electronic connection with the aqueous mass in the first chamber; and c) an anionic semipermeable membrane or porous structure between the aqueous mass and the anode.

The anionic semipermeable membrane comprises at least 0.0001% by total weight of the anionic semipermeable membrane of a cationic compound adhered to the anionic semipermeable membrane.

The present disclosure relates to an electrochemical device for extracting copper from copper-containing wastewater and an extraction method using the same. Cu-based chalcogenide, as an electrode material, forms an electrochemical device with other electrodes. The device is an electrocatalytic coupling deionization system with electrochemical oxidative decomplexing performance, and has a good selective removal effect of Cu.sup.2+ from organic complex copper-containing wastewater, strongly acidic wastewater, and wastewater interfered by high concentration salt ions and heavy metal ions. With this device, the organic complex pollutant Cu-EDTAn can be effectively decomplexed to complete the extraction of Cu.sup.2+.

This lithium recovery device 10C is provided with a processing tank 1 that is partitioned into a supply tank 11 and a recovery tank 13 by a lithium ion-conducting electrolyte membrane 2. In order to selectively move Li+ to an aqueous solution RS in the recovery tank 13 from an aqueous solution SW in the supply tank 11, the aqueous solution SW containing Li+ and other metal ions Mn+, this lithium recovery device 10C is also provided with: a first power supply 51 which is connected between a first electrode 31 that has a porous structure and is arranged so as to be in contact with a supply tank 11-side surface of the electrolyte membrane 2 and a second electrode 32A that is arranged within the recovery tank 13, in such a manner that the first electrode 31 functions as the positive electrode; and a sub power supply 53 which is connected in series to the positive electrode of the first power supply 51, while having the positive electrode thereof connected to a sub electrode 41 that is arranged within the supply tank 11 at a distance from the electrolyte membrane 2.