The project’s overall target is to arrive at a fundamental understanding of electrolyte thermodynamics and thus enable the engineering of a new generation of useful, physically sound models for electrolyte solutions. These models should be general and applicable to a very wide range of conditions so that they can be potentially used for a wide range of applications. The aim is both to achieve a fundamental understanding of electrolyte thermodynamics but also to ensure contact with stakeholders (industry, etc) where electrolyte thermodynamics is expected to be relevant and useful.
Moreover, as water is inherently present in numerous electrolyte solutions, the study of water properties and interrelation with its structure is also a major target of the work.
Electrolyte solutions are present almost anywhere and find numerous applications in physical sciences including chemistry, geology, material science, medicine, biochemistry and physiology as well as in many engineering fields especially chemical & biochemical, electrical and petroleum engineering. In all these applications thermodynamics plays a crucial role over wide ranges of temperature, pressure and composition. As the subject is important, a relatively large body of knowledge has been accumulated with lots of data and models. However, disappointingly the state-of-the-art thermodynamic models used today in engineering practice are semi-empirical and require numerous experimental data. They lack generality and have not enhanced our understanding of electrolyte thermodynamics. Going beyond the current state of the art, we create a scientific foundation for studying, at their extremes, various approaches for electrolyte solutions and we identify strengths and limitations.
We make new advances which clarify major questions and misunderstandings in electrolyte thermodynamics, some remaining for over 100 years, which currently prevent real progress from being made, thus creating a new paradigm that may potentially pave the way for the development of new engineering models for electrolyte solutions. We expect significant benefits in many industrial sectors as well as in environmental studies and potentially also biotechnology.
