Patent ID: 8192604

Claim:
An electrokinetic system, comprising: an electrokinetic device including a pair of electrodes, and a porous dielectric material between the electrodes, wherein each electrode of the pair of electrodes comprises a material having a capacitance of at least 10 −4 Farads per square centimeter; a liquid in the elecktrokinetic device between the pair of electrodes; a power supply; and a controller, the controller programmed to: (a) apply a positive current from the power supply to the electrodes to charge the capacitance of the electrodes and to move the liquid through the porous dielectric material in a first direction; (b) stop applying the positive current applied by the power supply to the electrodes prior to reaching a threshold voltage for a Faradaic process in the liquid; and (c) apply a negative current from the power supply to the electrodes to move the liquid through the porous dielectric material in a second direction that is opposite to the first directions.