A low-cost and eco-friendly fabrication of an MCDI-utilized PVA/SSA/GA cation exchange membrane

The alternative desalination technique of membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) has emerged in the last 15 years and received a lot of research attention since then. By using a voltage applied between two electrodes covered with ion-exchange membranes, MCDI has attempted to challenge established methods such as reverse osmosis or electrodialysis. In this study, through the crosslinking of sulfosuccinic acid (SSA) and glutaric acid (GA) with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), cation exchange membrane preparation and characterization were introduced. For the CDI system, membranes were chosen based on their water absorption and ion exchange properties. The PVA/SSA/GA composite (mass ratio of 100:5:5) had the best water adsorption and charge efficiencies that could be utilized for CDI application. The membrane’s ability to desalinate water was assessed using electrical properties such as total resistance, specific capacitance, and electro adsorption coated with the best ratio composite CEM. The salt absorption capacity of 19.06 mg·g with stable performance was found to be encouraging.