Removal Performance of NO3- Ion from Groundwater by Electrodialysis

An excess amount of nitrate in drinking water is harmful to body health. A batch type of electrodialysis (ED) which is consist of cation and anion exchange membrane has been used to separate a model of nitrate ion from groundwater by using ten pairs of cation/anion exchange membrane. The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of initial concentration feed solution on the separation performance of nitrate ion by electrodialysis. Also, the effect of applied current in ED on the nitrate permeability is also studied. Experimental results indicated that the decrease of nitrate concentration in the dilute compartment is significantly influenced by the applied current. The amount of nitrate passing through the membrane increases linearly by increasing amount of current. The initial feed concentrations do not influence on the removal rate of nitrate as a function of membrane surface area.