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TY  - THES
AU  - Köller, Niklas
TI  - Scale-up of continuous capacitive deionization processes
VL  - 51
PB  - Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
VL  - Dissertation
CY  - Aachen
M1  - RWTH-2025-02126
T2  - Aachener Verfahrenstechnik series - AVT.CVT - Chemical process engineering
SP  - 1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen
PY  - 2024
N1  - Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University 2025
N1  - Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2024
AB  - Clean water, a fundamental human right, remains unattainable in many regions due to scarcity exacerbated by growing populations and climate change. Innovative technologies are required to extract potable water from saline sources and reclaim wastewater from industrial or agricultural processes. Removal of salt ions necessitates energy-intensive approaches. Therefore, developing novel, energy-efficient desalination and salt recycling techniques is imperative. Among these techniques, electrically-driven Flow-electrode Capacitive Deionization (FCDI) stands out due to its continuous operation and energy efficiency, particularly in treating low-salinity feed water. Despite promising results from laboratory-scale studies using mostly synthetic salt solutions, there has been a critical need to validate the technology’s efficacy at larger scales and with real-world feed solutions. This thesis undertook the scale-up of FCDI technology and deployed it in real-world desalination and salt recycling scenarios while innovating new components and materials to enhance cost-effectiveness. Scale-up involved experiments with various module configurations and current collector architectures. In these experiments, the concentrations of the produced solutions were quantified and used as performance metrics. A central outcome of this thesis was the development of a stacking concept for FCDI modules at the pilot scale. The concept was evaluated against an established electrically driven desalination technology (Electrodialysis). The specific desalination performance of FCDI modules at the pilot scale was lower than at the laboratory scale, indicating potential for future optimization. Compared to Electrodialysis, FCDI requires more membrane area, resulting in a disadvantage in capital cost. A new current collector architecture was established to reduce the cost of FCDI modules. Finally, a wire mesh sensor was developed, which could be used to investigate and improve FCDI in the future. The practical application of FCDI in real-world water treatment tasks is crucial for advancing the technology. Only through such applications can the merits and shortcomings of FCDI be understood comprehensively - leading to iterative improvements of the technology. Scale-up is the most crucial step in enabling real-world applications. This thesis provides a roadmap and takes the first steps towards industrial application. Future research should focus on scale-up with novel module concepts and identification of new applications for FCDI.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)11 ; PUB:(DE-HGF)3
DO  - DOI:10.18154/RWTH-2025-02126
UR  - https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/1005953
ER  -