The United States faces significant environmental burden to treat and transport ˜0.61 billion kg of defective tomatoes (culled tomatoes) every year. The present disclosure provides for the treatment and processing of culled tomatoes in microbial-electrochemical systems, using the microbial fuel cell as a model reactor. The fundamental differences between the long-term oxidative behavior of unprocessed culled tomatoes compared to the three readily soluble substrates (dextrose, acetate, and wastewater) are disclosed. AC electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses indicate the influential impedance contributions of the peel & seed to the cull oxidation. Cyclic voltammetry tests indicate that the indigenous redox-active pigments in the cull influence the faradaic processes involved in the cull oxidation.

The three-electrode structure for capacitive deionization desalination is a system for desalination of a fluid containing charged species and a process thereof. A capacitive deionization cell has at least three electrodes, wherein the first electrode is connected to either the positive or the negative potential, a second electrode, which is connected to a potential equal in magnitude but having a polarity opposite to that of the first electrode, and a third central electrode, which is placed between the first and second electrodes and is connected to a reference potential.

The present invention provides for a device useful or removing dissolved ions from water comprising or configured to comprise composite resin electrodes. The present invention provides for a device useful for removing dissolved ions from water comprising or configured to comprise composite resin electrodes. The present invention also provides for a method for removing dissolved ions from water comprising providing said device, and using it thereof.

The present invention relates to the preparation of novel anion exchange membranes from bicomponent or tricomponent copolymers containing both quaternizable and cross-linkable moieties. The bicomponent copolymers consisted with polyacrylonitrile and poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl) methacrylate and the tricomponent copolymers consisted with polyacryloniterle and poly2-dimethylaminoethyl) methacrylate and polyn-butyl acrylate. Quaternization of dimethyl amino groups of copolymer by methyl iodide followed by cross-linking of acrylonitrile groups of copolymer by hydrazine hydrate resulted anion exchange membrane with desired properties such as high ion exchange capacity (1.30-1.50 meqg.sup.−1), high transport number (0.92-0.93) for direct use in electrodyalysis unit. The tricomponent anion exchange membrane containing 32 wt % PDMA, 17 wt % PnBA, and 51 wt % PAN exhibited improved performance mainly in terms of low power consumption and high current efficiency during desalination of water.

A system and method of desalination that utilizes a channel formed by a series of opposed rails where the series of opposed rails determines the length of the channel and the distance between opposed rails determines the width of the channel. Non-adjacent rails along the length of the channel are electrically coupled in a pattern and they are sequentially energized to create a potential voltage between opposed pairs of rails that attract ions towards them when ionized water flows through the channel.

Disclosed are flow-through electrode devices and techniques for making flow-through electrodes. In one aspect, a flow through electrode apparatus comprises one or more fiber layers. Each fiber layer comprises a plurality of fibers oriented to be orthogonal to a flow direction of a fluid. The plurality of fibers are configured to cause an inertial flow of the fluid around the plurality of fibers at a first flow rate of the fluid.

The present invention discloses an SWRO and MCDI coupled seawater desalination device system with energy recovery, including a pre-filtering unit, an SWRO treatment unit, an MCDI treatment unit, and a post-filtering unit. The SWRO treatment unit is coupled with the MCDI treatment unit. Seawater desalination is performed through a coupling complementary water passage and circuit design, while water quality is improved, and the continuity of water output from a water passage of the device is kept. By recovering the pressure potential energy of high-pressure brine in the SWRO treatment unit and electric energy released by desorption in the MCDI treatment unit, energy consumption is reduced.

A disclosed portable replenishable scalable electrodialysis device includes conductive members extending the cell length, with a first conductive member connected to a negative polarity current and a second conductive member connected to a positive polarity current source. Each cell includes four membranes, with a first membrane positioned adjacent a first conductive member, a second membrane positioned adjacent a second conductive member, etc. Each cell has five channels, with a first channel positioned between the first membrane and the first conductive member, the second channel positioned between the second membrane and the second conductive member, etc. The device is connected to sources of salt water, diluent water, and water with conductive material, where the water with the conductive material is flowed through a first channel and a second channel, and the salt water is flowed through a third and fourth channel and the diluent is flowed through said fifth channel.

A water treatment system for brackish water is disclosed. The water treatment system includes a first electrochemical separation stage fluidly connected to a second, downstream electrochemical separation stage, with the concentrate outlet of the second electrochemical separation stage fluidly connectable to the concentration compartment of the first electrochemical separation stage and a control system configured to regulate feed directed to the concentration compartments of the first and the second electrochemical separation stages. Methods of treating brackish water to produce potable water and methods of treating brackish water using systems of the invention are disclosed. The Donnan potential difference and osmotic water losses are lessened by controlling a source and a flowrate of a make-up feed water directed to concentration compartments of first and the second electrochemical separation stages of the systems.

A water purification device comprising a pre-purified water reservoir for storing pre-purified water, a water vapor chamber for receiving water vapor generated from heating the pre-purified water in the pre-purified water reservoir, a condensation chamber for receiving the water vapor and condensing the water vapor into purified water, and a Peltier device comprising a hot side and a cold side. The hot side of the Peltier device heats the pre-purified water into water vapor and the cold side of the Peltier device condenses the water vapor into purified water.