SCALABILITY OF ION CONCENTRATION POLARIZATION-BASED WATER PURIFICATION PLATFORM

The work presented here focuses on the development of a scalable electrokinetic water purification platform for use in resource-limited settings or during natural disasters.Ion concentration polarization (ICP) is an electrokinetic phenomenon occurring when an electrical bias is applied across ion-selective features like electrodes, membranes, or 3D bead beds (current study) [1].This process selectively transports ions, subsequently creating ion depletion and enrichment zones (IEZ & IDZ) at the opposing end of the ion-selective features, as shown in Figure 1.For water desalination, ICP captures or redirects charged particles at the boundary between the background electrolyte and the IDZ, effectively removing not only salts but also bacteria and oil-in-water emulsions with negative zeta potential.While planar membrane-based desalination using ICP has been demonstrated [2], its throughput is insufficient for practical use due to the instability of generated electric field and electroconvective vortices.Our team showcased the efficacy of 3D beds of charged microbeads in stabilizing fluid flow and suppressing vortices [3], offering a promising and scalable alternative for efficient water purification using modern additive manufacturing techniques.