Carbon electrodes in capacitive deionization process

Abstract

With the world population's continuous growth and urban industrialization, capacitive deionization (CDI) has been proposed as a next-generation water treatment technology to augment the supply of water. As a future water treatment method, CDI attracts significant attention because it offers small energy consumption and low environmental impact in comparison to conventional methods. Carbon electrodes, which have large surface area and high conductivity, are mainly used as electrode materials of choice for the removal of ions in water. A variety of carbon materials have been investigated, including their adsorption- desorption behavior in accordance to the specific surface area and pore size distribution. In this review, we analyzed and highlighted these carbon materials and looked at the impact of pore size distribution to the overall CDI efficiency. Finally, we propose an optimal condition in the interplay between micropores and mesopores in order to provide the best electrosorption property for these carbon electrodes. © 2014 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. All rights reserved.