In the chemical and biochemical manufacturing industry, separation processes are amongst the most energy-demanding processes. Electrochemical separations have been growing in interest as promising candidates for both downstream processing for resource recovery and producing clean water due to their energy-efficient, environmentally benign, and modular features.¹

Leveraging a sustainable redox reaction, we developed a redox-mediated electrodialysis system for energy-efficient desalination coupled with resource recovery of valuable resources such as lithium, and even biomolecules.^{2, 3} Our proposed redox-mediated electrodialysis system utilizes a reversible redox reaction as a driving force of salt removal at a much lower voltage than a water-splitting reaction (>1.2 V). As the redox materials are reduced or oxidized, all charged species migrate across the membranes to balance the charge in the electrolyte compartment. As the redox materials circulate in the cathode and anode compartments, they sustainably regenerated without additional regeneration steps, one of the major bottlenecks for industrializing the electrosorption system. We demonstrated the redox-mediated electrochemical system for resource recoveries such as simultaneous lithium recovery from brine³ and valorization of whey proteins and lactose from whey waste.² Especially for the valorization of whey waste, our system treated 99% of salt from the whey solution within a single step and recovered > 98% of various whey proteins (e.g., valuable protein contents such as beta-lactoglobulin, alpha-lactalbumin, and lactose). The preliminary techno-economic analysis confirmed the economic potential of redox-mediated ED with 51−73% lower energy consumption compared to conventional ED. Overall. we envision the system can become a breakthrough in tackling the environmental challenges coupled with the limited resources.

1. Kim, N.; Jeon, J.; Chen, R.; Su, X., Electrochemical separation of organic acids and proteins for food and biomanufacturing. Chemical Engineering Research and Design 2022, 178, 267-288.
2. Kim, N.; Jeon, J.; Elbert, J.; Kim, C.; Su, X., Redox-mediated electrochemical desalination for waste valorization in dairy production. Chemical Engineering Journal 2022, 428, 131082.
3. Kim, N.; Su, X.; Kim, C., Electrochemical lithium recovery system through the simultaneous lithium enrichment via sustainable redox reaction. Chemical Engineering Journal 2021, 420, 127715.