OSMOTICPOWER

Availability
y Thegloballyavailablepowerhasbeenestimatedtobe
between1.4and2.6TW
y Mixing1m
Mi i 3 ofriverwaterwith1m
f i i h 3 ofseawaterat293K
f K
gives1.4MJ
y Butmixing1m3 ofriverwaterwith infinite m3 ofsea
ofriverwaterwithinfinitem
watergives2.3MJ
y Mississippiwithanaveragedischargeof17000m3/s
hasapotentialof40GWofwhich9.8GWis
technicallypossibletoconverttoelectricity

[2]
History
y Onefirstmentionsofthiswasdonein1954byR.E.
Pattle [8]
y Duringthe1970sosmoticpowermadeprogressasthe
D i h i d h
membranetechnologywasdevelopedbyLoebS.[6]
y Hasagainbecomemorepopularasthepriceofenergy
hasgoneupandthedemandforgreenenergyhas
increased
y Thepropertiesofthemembranehasbeenandstillare
theproblemforasuccessfuldeploymentofthe
concept
[2]
 Work from a salt power plant
Workfromasaltpowerplant
y Themixing ofsea water
withfresh
ithf h watergivesa
t i
(mixing)exergy effect
thatcan beexploited
y Osmosis leads to
transportofwater
across themembrane
fromthefresh tosalt
side solution

[7]
 Work from a
Workfromasaltpowerplant salt
y Thisgivesahydrostatic pressure
power plant
difference
y Installing
I t lli amembrane
b system
t
at120150mbelow fresh water
intake allows forasignificant
extrahydro
h d powereffect
ff

[7]
 Work from a salt
Workfromasaltpowerplant
y Thefresh waterwill go
power plant
through themembrane,
against
i t apressuredifference;
diff
thepressureonthesea water
side isnothighenough to
prevent tofresh water
movement.

[7]
 Work from a
Workfromasaltpowerplant
y Inreality,only partofthe
salt power plant
potentialenergy isrecovered;the
unit
it cant
t beaslow
b l as163mbelow
6 b l
thefresh waterintake.
y Entropy
py p
production inthe
membrane (combined heatand
mass transfer)isimportant

[7]

Timeevolutionofsolutionpressureinarigid
container[1]
y Anidealmembraneiscomparedtoamembrane
withasmallleakage.t1 canbeoftheorderofa
coupleofminutestoafewdays
l f i t t f d
Aschematicviewofamembrane[5]
Themembrane consistsofasupportstructureand
oftheactivecomponent,theskin.The
concentrationdifferencebetweenC4 andC3 drives
thesystem
g
Themembranematerialcanbebiological or
synthetic,celluloseacetatehasbeenforinstance
used
Efficiencyofthe
membrane[1]
Thepower
efficiencyofthe
membrane

Theefficiencyhasincreasedfrom
y
2
0.1W/m to3duringtheresearchat
Statkraft [4]
Schematicviewofa
osmoticpower
osmotic power
plant[3]
Thisplantcanberunatthe
surfaceoftheearthduetothe
pressureexchanger
Thepressureexchangeruses2/3of
thepressurizedwater
Thepressureexchangercouldbe
swappedforapumpbutthatis
evenaworseofanidea
Howtorunthepressure
exchangerisimportantforthe
productionofelectricity
Anaverage25MWplantis
calculatedtoneed5millionm2of
membranes
Prototypeby
Statkraft
Wasstartedthe24ofNovemberin
Tofte outsideOslo,Norway
Theplantisequippedwith
2000m2 ofmembranes
Thedesigncapacityis10kW,but
thatisnotyettheproduction
ThedevelopmentoftheconceptofosmoticpoweratStatkraft
p p p [[6]]
References:
[1]Thermodynamicstudiesofosmoticflowsandtheirapplicationstoenergyconversion
systems,Seppl A.,(2007),Doctoraldissertation,HelsinkiUniversityofTechnology,
pp.46
[2]BlueEnergy:Electricityproductionfromsalinitygradientsbyreverseelectrodialysis,
PostJ.W.,(2009),Doctoraldissertation,Wageningen University,Wageningen,NL,pp.
224
[3]Unleashingrenewableenergiesfromtheocean:Statkrafts experienceindeveloping
businessopportunitiesinimature technologiesandmarkets,Theforceofosmosisand
TidalCurents,Sandvik .S.,Herslecht P.,Seelos K.,(2009)HYDRO2009,pp.9
[ ]St t ft h l i f h
[4]StatusoftechnologiesforharnessingSalinityPowerandthecurrentOsmoticpower
i S li it P dth tO ti
activities,Sandvik .S.,Skillhagen S.E.,(2008),AnnualReportoftheIEAOES,pp.4
[5]PowerProductionbasedonOsmoticPressure, Sandvik .S.,Skillhagen S.E.,Nielsen
W.K.,(2009),WaterpowerXVI,pp.9
[6]OsmoticPowerbrought9.2.2009from
http://www.statkraft.com/Images/Osmotic%2009%20ENG_tcm94591.pdf,pp2
[7]Processengineeringthermodynamics,Zevehoven R.,2008,course424304,Chapter4
[8]ProductionofElectricPowerbymixingFreshandSaltWaterintheHydroelectricPile,
Pattle R.E.,1954,Nature174,660(2October1954)