Application and optimization of bipolar membrane process for drinking water production from Black Sea

This study presents an alternative process that produces drinking water from seawater, which can solve the increasing drinking water shortage. The aim of this study is to produce drinking water from original Black Sea water with three-compartments unit bipolar membrane electrodialysis. In the experiment's operation parameters, the effects of flow rate, potential, and temperature of drinking water, hydrochloric acid, and sodium hydroxide production were investigated. Response surface method Box-Behnkem design was applied for modeling and optimization. The optimum operating conditions were determined as a temperature of 35 °C, a flow rate of 0.5 l/min, and a potential of 12.5877 V. Under these conditions, the highest removal efficiency was found at 98% in Na+, 97% in Cl−, Ca +2 77%, Mg+2 85%, and K+ 59% ions. The microbiological content was cleaned in 15 min without any additional processing. As a result, drinking water production in compliance with the ‘Regulation on Water for Human Consumption/Turkey’ was achieved. The results obtained are promising for the production of drinking water from cold sea waters with low salinity such as the Black Sea and the production of drinking water from low salinity, cold sea waters with bipolar membrane processes. It can reduce energy consumption by incorporating alternative energy sources such as seawater wave energy into the process.