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Membrane-based processes for sustainable power generation using water

Abstract

Water has always been crucial to combustion and hydroelectric processes, but it could become the source of power in membrane-based systems that capture energy from natural and waste waters. Two processes are emerging as sustainable methods for capturing energy from sea water: pressure-retarded osmosis and reverse electrodialysis. These processes can also capture energy from waste heat by generating artificial salinity gradients using synthetic solutions, such as thermolytic salts. A further source of energy comes from organic matter in waste waters, which can be harnessed using microbial fuel-cell technology, allowing both wastewater treatment and power production.

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Figure 1: Comparison of PRO and RED systems.
Figure 2: A heat engine.
Figure 3: An MFC stack.
Figure 4: Hybrid systems could allow further energy recovery.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) by Award KUS-I1-003-13 (BEL), and the World Class University (WCU) Program (Case III) through the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (R33-10046) (ME).

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Correspondence to Bruce E. Logan.

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Logan, B., Elimelech, M. Membrane-based processes for sustainable power generation using water. Nature 488, 313–319 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11477

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