An excellent method to produce morpholine by bipolar membrane electrodialysis

To produce Morpholine (Mp) in an environmental friendly manner, bipolar membrane electrodialysis was used to convert Mp sulfate into Mp with 0.3 mol/L Na2SO4 as electrode supporting solution. The result indicated that a high current efficiency and low energy consumption can be obtained when Mp sulfate solution concentration is at the range of 0.15-0.22 mol/L, current density at the range of 20-30 mA/cm(2) with BP-A-C-BP cell configuration. Product yield rate was increased with the increasing current density and feed concentration. At the same time, BP-A-BP and BP-C-BP cell configurations were also examined. A lowest process cost of 1.20 $/kg and energy consumption of 4.27 kW h/kg was obtained through BP-A-BP configuration compared with other types. This process was not only cost-effective, but also environmental benignity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.