Electrodialysis and its Applications in Biotechnology

Electrodialysis (ED) is an electrically-driven membrane process that can separate charged species across ion-exchange membranes. ED is an environmentally friendly technique which has been widely used in different applications. This process can be used as an integrated process with chemical, membrane, and biochemical unit operations. The integration of ED with biochemical processes has been used as its new applications, i.e. separation of biochemicals, production of organic acids from fermentation broths, and etc. In this review, the basic principles of ED, different configurations of the electrochemical ED cell, and its advantages and limitations are explained and discussed. Various applications of ED in bioprocesses have been thoroughly reviewed. Eventually, the research works required for the development and implementation of ED in bioprocesses are addressed and proposed