**5. Advantages and disadvantages of EDBM process**

Main advantage of EDBM systems is energy efficiency. In most cases high energy needed for most treatment processes mainly for pumping. But in EDBM process, system works with low pressure pumps (0.5–0.8 Bar). On the other hand direct

current usage makes the EDBM systems advantageous against the other advanced treatment processes. Beside the most treatment processes, by products of EDBM are valuable materials such as acids and bases. Additionally, the inlet concentrated stream with a high salt content is deionized and water can be recovered. Briefly, salt content can be converted to valuable materials and water content can be reduced and recovered. Actually, it turns out that the EDBM system is a process capable of very high approach to zero waste practice.

The biggest advantages of using bipolar membranes in EDBM processes is that BPMs increase ionization by 50 million times compared to the self-hydrolysis of water. In addition, the anionic and cationic membranes inside the EDBM systems prevent the OH− and H+ ions formed in the system from reaching the anodes and cathodes, and no O2 and H2 gas output is observed in the BPMs [3].

The first disadvantage of EDBM systems meets the mark in acid and base production from membrane process concentrates. Concentrates consisting of membrane processes from wastewater treatment processes, generally contain mixed ion groups instead of single ion groups. This is due to the type and variety of wastewater they treat. Mixed acids and bases may remain low in commercial value. Another problem is the permanent damage left in the membrane structure of the multivalent ions in the concentrated stream. For this, +2 and + 3 valence cations can be removed from the water by nanofiltration, ion exchange, evaporation etc., before reverse osmosis process. Or + 2-valued (especially calcium compounds) ions can be removed from the reverse osmosis concentrate content by processes such as precipitation. However, in both cases, the operating costs of the processes will increase and will lead to reductions in acid and base concentrations resulting from the decrease in ion concentration in the feed water to EDBM systems.

Another problem to be encountered in EDBM systems may be the locking of the system at low acid and base concentrations (1–2%) with the increase of osmotic pressure in the system due to the increasing ion content. As it is known, high acid and base levels are important in these systems both commercially and in terms of water recovery. The most important solution related to this lies in the separate collection and purification of the salt content in the wastewater source. In other words, these systems can be paved with clean production. In other words, the disadvantages of the EDBM system in mixed wastewater streams can be prevented by interventions at the source. Thus, the operating life of EDBM systems is preserved and operating costs and product quality are increased.

It is certain that the advantages mentioned so far will lead the EDBM systems to attract more attention in the future. However, the biggest obstacle to the implementation of EDBM systems is the high cost of the membranes used in the system. This is thought to be in favor of the price decrease of the balances in the market due to the widespread use of EDBM and increased membrane production over time. Because the vast majority of existing wastewater treatment systems transfer existing pollutants to another phase or make them more concentrated and present them as an even bigger problem. However, EDBM systems promise us to use new products from our waste. This; It plays an important role in the solution of many environmental problems from efficient use of resources to global warming.

## **6. Conclusions**

For further usage of membrane processes without any problematic concrete flows on environment, new concentrate disposal technologies will be needed such as EDBM process. The main advantage of the EDBM process is the commercially obtaining precious product from environmentally problematic products. However,

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**Author details**

16059 Gorukle, Bursa, Turkey

Environmental Engineering Department, Bursa Uludag University,

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

\*Address all correspondence to: yonar@uludag.edu.tr

provided the original work is properly cited.

Taner Yonar

*A New Approach for Membrane Process Concentrate Management: Electrodialysis Bipolar…*

the most important problem at the moment is high initial investment costs. But, similar high investment problems are valid for many processes that are widely used today, and with the spread of manufacturing, this problem has disappeared and the possibility of widespread use has increased. Finally, membrane concentrate flows are waiting an urgent solution, and the spread of EDBM or similar technologies will

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93985*

not take too long.

*A New Approach for Membrane Process Concentrate Management: Electrodialysis Bipolar… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93985*

the most important problem at the moment is high initial investment costs. But, similar high investment problems are valid for many processes that are widely used today, and with the spread of manufacturing, this problem has disappeared and the possibility of widespread use has increased. Finally, membrane concentrate flows are waiting an urgent solution, and the spread of EDBM or similar technologies will not take too long.
