Abstract
Anion-exchange membranes were prepared by the impregnation method for electrodialysis of peroxide ions generated by electroreduction of oxygen in alkaline solutions. Microporous polyethylene film was soaked with chloromethylstyrene, divinylbenzene and benzoyl peroxide, and polymerized by hotpress. Anion-exchange membranes were obtained by treatment of the resultant polymer film with trimethylamine. The degree of crosslinking (DOC) was varied in the range of 0–30%. The membrane resistivity increased because of the decrease in water content, and the permselectivity of the peroxide ion decreased with increasing DOC. Electroosmotic water increased in volume with decreasing DOC. Transport properties of synthetic membranes were compared with those of commercial membranes including ACLE-5P, AM-1 and SF-17. The synthetic membrane of 5% DOC had the lowest resistivity among all membranes used in this work. The energy consumption to produce unit mole of hydrogen peroxide using synthetic membranes of 5–10% DOC was competitive with that using ACLE-5P.
