TY - JOUR
T1 - Osmotic power with Pressure Retarded Osmosis
T2 - Theory, performance and trends - A review
AU - Helfer, Fernanda
AU - Lemckert, Charles
AU - Anissimov, Yuri G.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this project has been provided by the Griffith Climate Change Response Program and by the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Management, Griffith University, Australia .
PY - 2014/3/1
Y1 - 2014/3/1
N2 - A great quantity of renewable energy can be potentially generated when waters of different salinities are mixed together. The harnessing of this energy for conversion into power can be accomplished by means of the Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO). This technique uses a semipermeable membrane to separate a less concentrated solution, or solvent, (for example, fresh water) from a more concentrated and pressurized solution (for example sea water), allowing the solvent to pass to the concentrated solution side. The additional volume increases the pressure on this side, which can be depressurized by a hydroturbine to produce power - thus the term 'osmotic power'. This paper reviews technical, economical, environmental and other aspects of osmotic power. The latest available research findings are compiled with the objective of demonstrating the rapid advancement in PRO in the last few years - particularly concerning membrane development - and encouraging continued research in this field. Also, the hurdles involved in the effectuation of PRO plants and the research gaps that need to be filled are analyzed in this article. Additionally, osmotic power production using configurations other than the traditional pairing of river water and sea water are discussed. It is hoped that this review will promote further research and development in this new and promising source of renewable energy.
AB - A great quantity of renewable energy can be potentially generated when waters of different salinities are mixed together. The harnessing of this energy for conversion into power can be accomplished by means of the Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO). This technique uses a semipermeable membrane to separate a less concentrated solution, or solvent, (for example, fresh water) from a more concentrated and pressurized solution (for example sea water), allowing the solvent to pass to the concentrated solution side. The additional volume increases the pressure on this side, which can be depressurized by a hydroturbine to produce power - thus the term 'osmotic power'. This paper reviews technical, economical, environmental and other aspects of osmotic power. The latest available research findings are compiled with the objective of demonstrating the rapid advancement in PRO in the last few years - particularly concerning membrane development - and encouraging continued research in this field. Also, the hurdles involved in the effectuation of PRO plants and the research gaps that need to be filled are analyzed in this article. Additionally, osmotic power production using configurations other than the traditional pairing of river water and sea water are discussed. It is hoped that this review will promote further research and development in this new and promising source of renewable energy.
KW - Ocean energy
KW - Osmosis
KW - Pressure retarded osmosis
KW - Renewable energy
KW - Salinity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84889586312&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.memsci.2013.10.053
DO - 10.1016/j.memsci.2013.10.053
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84889586312
SN - 0376-7388
VL - 453
SP - 337
EP - 358
JO - Journal of Membrane Science
JF - Journal of Membrane Science
ER -
