Bipolar Ion-Exchange Membrane

Background and Motivation

 A bipolar membrane consists of one anion-selective and one-cation selective

membrane, in contact with each other
 The combined cation and anion selectivity makes the bipolar membrane highly
impermeable to all ions, with the exception of H+ and OH- which are formed by water
splitting (autoprotolysis) in the boundary region between the two membranes
 The dual anion/cation selectivity makes the bipolar membrane highly interesting for,
for instance, water purification applications
 This model example shows how to model a bipolar membrane, including water
splitting, by the use of the coupled Nernst-Planck-Poisson (NPP) equations
Geometry and Operating Conditions

 The model is defined in 1D

 The modeled species are K+, Cl-, H+ and
Stagnant Cation Anion Stagnant
OH-, with defined concentrations of diffusion selective selective diffusion
layer membrane membrane layer
0.1M at the exterior boundaries
 The model solves for the stationary
current and concentration distributions
for a given potential over the cell
Modeling Interfaces and Setup

 Tertiary Current Distribution, Nernst-

Planck interface:
Charge conservation, Poisson
Four chemical species concentrations and
potential in the electrolyte
 Ion-Exchange Membrane domains:
Specify the fixed charge of the ion-
selective membranes
 Reaction node defines the water
splitting reaction:
The Wien effect (water splitting in strong
fields) is taken into account by making
the forward reaction rate constant
dependent on the electric field
Results, 20 V Cell Polarization

Donnan
potential shift
Results, 20 V Cell Polarization

Limiting current ”Overlimiting” region due

density to increased water splitting
References

 Kodym R, Snita D and Bouzek K, Current Trends and Future Developments on (Bio-)
Membranes, Chapter 12 Mathematical Modeling of Electromembrane Processes, 314-317,
2019 Elsevier
 https://www.comsol.com/blogs/how-to-model-ion-exchange-membranes-and-donnan
-potentials/