Clean Technologies

Electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement is a form of marine carbon dioxide removal, a rapidly growing industry that is powered by efficient onshore or offshore energy sources. As more and larger deployments are being planned, it is important to consider how variable energy sources like tidal energy can impact plant performance and costs. An open-source Python-based generalizable model for electrodialysis-based ocean alkalinity enhancement has been developed that can capture key system-level insights of the electrochemistry, ocean chemistry, acid disposal, and co-product creation of these plants under various conditions. The model additionally accounts for hybrid energy system performance profiles and costs via the National Laboratory of the Rockies’ H2Integrate tool. The model was used to analyze an example theoretical plant deployment in North Admiralty Inlet, including how the plant is impacted by the available energy sources in the region and the scale at which plant costs are covered by the co-products it generates, such as recycled concrete aggregates, without requiring carbon credits. The results show that the example plant could be profitable without carbon credits at commercial scales of 100,000 to 1 million tons of carbon dioxide removal per year, so long as it uses low-cost electricity sources and either sells acid or recovers recycled concrete aggregates with about 1 molar acid concentrations, though more research is needed to confirm these results.

In the original publication [...]

The textile industry is one of the largest consumers of water worldwide and generates highly complex and pollutant-rich textile wastewater (TWW). Due to its high load of recalcitrant organic compounds, dyes, salts, and heavy metals, TWW represents a major environmental concern and a challenge for conventional treatment processes. Among advanced alternatives, electrooxidation (EO) and membrane technologies have shown great potential for the efficient removal of dyes, organic matter, and salts. This review provides a critical overview of the application of EO and membrane processes for TWW treatment, highlighting their mechanisms, advantages, limitations, and performance in real industrial scenarios. Special attention is given to the integration of EO and membrane processes as combined or hybrid systems, which have demonstrated synergistic effects in pollutant degradation, fouling reduction, and water recovery. Challenges such as energy consumption, durability of electrode and membrane materials, fouling, and concentrate management are also addressed. Finally, future perspectives are proposed, emphasizing the need to optimize hybrid configurations and ensure cost-effectiveness, scalability, and environmental sustainability, thereby contributing to the development of circular water management strategies in the textile sector.