es5b02542_si_001.pdf (1 MB)
Characterization of Resistances of a Capacitive Deionization System
journal contribution
posted on 2015-08-18, 00:00 authored by Yatian Qu, Theodore
F. Baumann, Juan G. Santiago, Michael StadermannCapacitive deionization (CDI) is
a promising desalination technology,
which operates at low pressure, low temperature, requires little infrastructure,
and has the potential to consume less energy for brackish water desalination.
However, CDI devices consume significantly more energy than the theoretical
thermodynamic minimum, and this is at least partly due to resistive
power dissipation. We here report our efforts to characterize electric
resistances in a CDI system, with a focus on the resistance associated
with the contact between current collectors and porous electrodes.
We present an equivalent circuit model to describe resistive components
in a CDI cell. We propose measurable figures of merit to characterize
cell resistance. We also show that contact pressure between porous
electrodes and current collectors can significantly reduce contact
resistance. Lastly, we propose and test an alternative electrical
contact configuration which uses a pore-filling conductive adhesive
(silver epoxy) and achieves significant reductions in contact resistance.