Acronyms/Abbreviations
AEM	anion exchange membrane
ANOVA	ANalysis of VAriance
BMED	bipolar membrane electrodialysis
BPM	bipolar membrane
CEM	cation exchange membrane
CRM	critical raw material
EDBM	electrodialysis with bipolar membranes
EI	economic importance
EU	European Union
IEM	ion-exchange membrane
MLD	minimum liquid discharge
SR	supply risk
SWRO	sea water reverse osmosis
UNIPA	UNIversità degli studi di PAlermo
UPC	Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
ZLD	zero liquid discharge
Symbols
α	significance level parameter
$C_{b,NaOH,0}$	concentration of NaOH at time 0, mol L−1
$C_{b,NaOH,t}$	concentration of NaOH at time t, mol L−1
CE	current efficiency, %
F	faraday constant, C mol−1
Fc	calculated F-value
Fcr	critical F-value
I	applied electric current, A
$M_{NaOH}$	NaOH mole mass, kg. mol−1
N	number of triplets
S	active membrane area, m2
SEC	specific energy consumption, kWh kg−1
SP	specific productivity, kg m−2 y−1
t	operation time, s
U	EDBM voltage, V
$V_{b,0}$	volume of the base solution at time 0, L
$V_{b,t}$	volume of the base solution at time t, L
$V_{s,t_0}$	volume of the salt solution at time 0, L