Volatile fatty acid selectivity during electrodialysis: effect of a competing counterion on volatile fatty acid transport mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are short-chain carboxylic acids with versatile applications that can be sustainably produced through anaerobic digestion. VFAs must be separated from anaerobic digestate for downstream use. Electrodialysis (ED) is an approach to selectively separate anionic VFAs from other ions, water, and neutral solutes. Towards enhancing selective VFA separation, VFA transport mechanisms during ED need to be understood. Accordingly, our objectives were to (i) determine the relative contributions of the partition and mobility selectivities to the permeability selectivity for VFA-containing counterion pairs, and (ii) determine the effect of a competing counterion on VFA transport mechanisms. To do this, we evaluated the permeability (P_i/P_j), partition (K<

SUBMITTER: Haflich HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12646607 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature