Ethylene Carbonate Wastewater Treatment & Removal from Water

What is ethylene carbonate? It is a toxic organic, classed as the cyclic carbonate ester of ethylene glycol and carbonic acid. This chemical causes serious eye irritation and can be harmful when ingested. Like most solvents, it should be removed from wastewater prior to discharge.

Formerly, two methods have been used to treat water contaminated with ethylene carbonate. These are GAC (granular activated carbon) and RO (reverse osmosis.) Both methods have their drawbacks.

However, as detailed below, Arvia Technologies now has a more environmentally responsible and cost-effective solution to ethylene carbonate in water.

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Ethylene Carbonate uses

Ethylene carbonate uses include:

• As a polar solvent in many polymers, resins and as a plasticizer, often used in cosmetics.
• As a chemical intermediate for pharmaceuticals.
• As a lithium-ion battery electrolyte solvent. This is now a rapidly growing market, forecast to be worth over $900M by 2027.

To increase electrolyte efficiency at lower temperatures and increase capability of LI cells, ethylene carbonate is often mixed with other components like diethyl carbonate, ethyl methyl carbonate, dimethyl carbonate and methyl acetate. These decrease the viscosity and melting point of the lithium ion battery electrolyte solvent. However, this then presents more of a combustion risk.

Ethylene carbonate toxicity

Depending on the manufacturer and the intended battery application, the percentage by volume of EC in a typical LI cell is between 10% and 30%. When it comes to recycling, it’s one of the chemicals that will be reclaimed for use in further batteries.

Ethylene carbonate toxicity is high. The main risk in manufacturing, handling and using EC is damage to the eyes. It’s classed as a high priority pollutant by the EPA. EC is a solvent after all, and like all solvents, they are dangerous so must be treated accordingly.

How to remove ethylene carbonate from water.

Arvia Technologies’ Nyex Ellenox™ carries out EC removal by electrochemical oxidation – an eco-friendly and effective process. Our water science experts have re-imagined electrochemical oxidation to deliver greatly increased efficiency.

Ellenox offers:

• Competitive CapEx and far lower OpEx.
• Preferentially treats specific organics.
• No chemical dosing and no sludge to remove.
• Scale up or down quickly – suitable for batch processes.
• Low maintenance – no moving parts.
• High removal rates.

Jerome Budin

Water Treatment Consultant

Book a meeting at your convenience to talk to one of our specialists about your wastewater issues. Or send us an enquiry.

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Removing lithium battery solvents from water

Ethylene carbonate is just one of many electrolyte solvent ingredients removeable from water by the Nyex Ellenox™ system. It’s the most eco-efficient system available and can remove many recalcitrant compounds and organics down to parts per trillion.

With LI battery recycling set for rapid growth, Arvia’s Ellenox system is the right idea at the right time and could be your solution to how to remove ethylene carbonate from water.

For more information or to set up a water treatment trial, why not schedule a call with one of our water experts soon?

Other ways of Ethylene Carbonate removal from water

There are other methods that people use for Ethylene Carbonate removal from water, but each one does have issues which aren’t faced by Nyex Rosalox.

Does reverse osmosis remove ethylene carbonate from water?

Reverse osmosis: This is a process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules, and larger particles from drinking water. The main disadvantage of RO is that it is not efficient. The average system can waste between 3 and 20 times as much water as it processes.

Does GAC remove ethylene carbonate from water?

Granular activated carbon: Until recently this was the only viable alternative. This is also inefficient; in this case, in terms of the energy and resources it takes to activate the media and re-activate it following depletion. See this article on the Arvia site for the full story.

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Nyex Rosalox

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Nyex Ellenox