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Han, Jongyoon

Publications and source records attributed to Han, Jongyoon.

Purification of ultra-high saline and contaminated water by multi-stage ion concentration polarization (ICP) desalination

A water stream is passed between two juxtaposed similar ion exchange membranes (AEMs or CEMs), forming an ion depletion and ion enrichment zones when an electric field is applied. As cations are selectively transferred through the CEMs, for example, anions are relocated in order to achieve electro-neutrality, resulting in the concentration drop (increase) in ion depletion (enrichment) zone. Trifurcation of the output channel allows collection of concentrated, dilute and intermediate streams, with the intermediate stream serving as input to the next stage of a serialized implementation.

Kim, Bumjoo↗

Ion concentration polarization-electrocoagulation hybrid water treatment system

Between two juxtaposed similar ion exchange membranes (AEMs or CEMs), an ion depletion zone and ion enrichment zone are generated under an electric field. As cations are selectively transferred through the CEMs, for example, anions are relocated in order to achieve electro-neutrality, resulting in the concentration drop (increase) in ion depletion (enrichment) zone. The use of a sacrificial metal anode allows electrocoagulation (EC) concurrently with ICP thereby permitting concentration of both ionic and non-ionic impurities to occur at the same time within the same cell or device.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Enhanced Salt Removal by Unipolar Ion Conduction in Ion Concentration Polarization Desalination

Chloride ion, the majority salt in nature, is ~52% faster than sodium ion (D Na+ = 1.33, D Cl- = 2.03[10 -9 m 2 s -1 ]). Yet, current electrochemical desalination technologies (e.g. electrodialysis) rely on bipolar ion conduction, removing one pair of the cation and the anion simultaneously. Here, we demonstrate that novel ion concentration polarization desalination can enhance salt removal under a given current by implementing unipolar ion conduction: conducting only cations (or anions) with the unipolar ion exchange membrane stack. Combining theoretical analysis, experiment, and numerical modeling, we elucidate that this enhanced salt removal can shift current utilization (ratio between desalted ions and ions conducted through electrodes) and corresponding energy efficiency by the factor ~(D - –D + )/(D - + D + ). Specifically for desalting NaCl, this enhancement of unipolar cation conduction saves power consumption by ~50% in overlimiting regime, compared with conventional electrodialysis. Recognizing and utilizing differences between unipolar and bipolar ion conductions have significant implications not only on electromembrane desalination, but also energy harvesting applications (e.g. reverse electrodialysis).

42 ENGINEERING↗

Helical vortex formation in three-dimensional electrochemical systems with ion-selective membranes

The rate of electric-field-driven transport across ion-selective membranes can exceed the limit predicted by Nernst (the limiting current), and encouraging this “overlimiting” phenomenon can improve efficiency in many electrochemical systems. Overlimiting behavior is the result of electroconvectively induced vortex formation near membrane surfaces, a conclusion supported so far by two-dimensional (2D) theory and numerical simulation, as well as experiments. We show that the third dimension plays a critical role in overlimiting behavior. In particular, the vortex pattern in shear flow through wider channels is helical rather than planar, a surprising result first observed in three-dimensional (3D) simulation and then verified experimentally. We present a complete experimental and numerical characterization of a device exhibiting this recently discovered 3D electrokinetic instability, and show that the number of parallel helical vortices is a jump-discontinuous function of width, as is the overlimiting current and overlimiting conductance. In addition, we show that overlimiting occurs at lower fields in wider channels, because the associated helical vortices are more readily triggered than the planar vortices associated with narrow channels (effective 2D systems). These unexpected width dependencies arise in realistic electrochemical desalination systems, and have important ramifications for design optimization.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Membrane-less microfiltration using inertial microfluidics

Microfiltration is a ubiquitous and often crucial part of many industrial processes, including biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Yet, all existing filtration systems suffer from the issue of membrane clogging, which fundamentally limits the efficiency and reliability of the filtration process. Herein, we report the development of a membrane-less microfiltration system by massively parallelizing inertial microfluidics to achieve a macroscopic volume processing rates (~ 500 mL/min). We demonstrated the systems engineered for CHO (10–20 μm) and yeast (3–5 μm) cells filtration, which are two main cell types used for large-scale bioreactors. Our proposed system can replace existing filtration membrane and provide passive (no external force fields), continuous filtration, thus eliminating the need for membrane replacement. This platform has the desirable combinations of high throughput, low-cost, and scalability, making it compatible for a myriad of microfiltration applications and industrial purposes.

42 ENGINEERING↗