Electrochemical technologies combined with membrane filtration

The aim of this article is to review the recent progress in the coupling of membrane separation and electrochemical technologies for water treatment. Process integration strategies have been classified in three groups. The first group deals with electrocoagulation and electrooxidation as pretreatment of membrane separation, in most cases aimed at reducing membrane fouling and decay of permeate flux of porous ultrafiltration membranes. The second group is dedicated to electrooxidation as remediation treatment for nanofiltration and reverse osmosis concentrates, which accumulate priority pollutants and emerging contaminants. Finally, the article evaluates the optimal integration of technologies using process systems engineering tools, for producing a single purified water stream, considering not only the minimization of the energy consumption but also of the total costs. Overall, it is concluded that the preconcentration strategy provides a remarkable enhancement of electrooxidation performance to degrade persistent pollutants.