A STUDY OF THE TRANSPORT OF FORMALDEHYDE AND ETHYLENE-GLYCOL THROUGH ION PERMEABLE MEMBRANES IN ELECTROLYTIC CELLS

The transport of formaldehyde and ethylene glycol through modern fluor inated membranes is discussed. For a cell configuration proposed for t he electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from formaldehyde, both reactan t and product pass through the membranes investigated at a rate of 1 t o 2 mol m(-2)h(-1); this is clearly unacceptable and highlights the ne ed for the development of alternative membranes or the design of undiv ided cell processes for organic electrosynthesis. The paper reports th e influence of temperature, current density, and type of membrane on t he rate of transport, and it is concluded that the direction and magni tude of the flux of water through the membrane has a strong effect on the transport of the organics.