Method and apparatus for electrochemical dewatering of suspensions of cellulosic nanomaterials
AssigneeFaraday Technology Corp.
InventorsTimothy D. Hall, Maria E. Inman, Stephen T. Synder, Santosh H. Vijapur, E. Jennings Taylor, Thi Xuan Huong Le
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Abstract
A dewatering apparatus for cellulosic materials includes a chamber for an aqueous solution of a cellulosic material, an inner electrode in the chamber, an outer electrode in the chamber about the inner electrode, and a power supply connected to the inner electrode and the outer electrode applying a voltage potential across the electrodes to remove water associated with the aqueous solution and to dewater the cellulosic materials.
Claims3
A dewatering method for non-Newtonian nanocellulosic fluids including cellulosic nanocrystals (CNCs) and/or cellulosic nanofibers (CNFs), free water, and immobilized water bound to the CNCs and/or the CNFs by hydrogen bonds, the method comprising:
- feeding the non-Newtonian fluids into a chamber with an inner electrode including an auger with a helical screw blade and an outer mesh electrode about the inner electrode;
- rotating at least one electrode relative to the other to produce wall slip and shear banding lowering the viscosity of the non-Newtonian fluids resulting in regions of low nanocellulosic material concentrations to enhance the separation of water from the nanocellulosic suspension;
- and
- simultaneously applying a direct current and/or pulse and/or reverse pulse waveform across the inner electrode and the outer mesh electrode urging water to migrate towards the outer mesh electrode for extraction therethrough and further urging the CNCs and/or CNFs towards the inner electrode for transport by the helical screw blade out of the chamber for collection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.