Development of ion exchange membrane technology

Abstract Ion exchange membrane and its applications have been mainly developed for manufacturing salt by seawater concentration in Japan in the early stage of their development. The company started its research in 1950 and the total area of the membrane installed by the company and currently used in the world exceeds 370,000 square meters as of January 1, 1977. Besides seawater concentration, the application presently covers desalination of seawater or brackish water, sewage desalination, whey desalination, caustic soda production, adiponitrile production, uranium enrichment, etc. General application of ion exchange membrane is briefly reviewed and a stress is placed on large module developed by the company and other possible applications.