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You can generate electricity with the difference in composition between sea water and river water. However, the technology required for this has so far been too expensive. New research into solving membrane contamination may be able to change that.
Blue energy could be one of the solutions for the energy transition. It is durable and also more stable than solar and wind power. A river can quickly produce as much energy as a hydroelectric power station with a drop of 142 meters. But technology also faces many challenges. For example, the costs of the membranes used are high and the current yield must also be improved.
Pollution
One of the things that can hamper this performance – and therefore increase costs, is membrane fouling. If particles naturally present in fresh and salt water accumulate, the conductive effect of the membranes may decrease.
A new study has therefore looked at ways to prevent this pollution. It provided both a means of monitoring the condition of membranes in real time and continuously, as well as a coating that prevents contamination as much as possible. In the future, they hope, among other things, to link the monitoring to an AI model, so that it is possible to better look at what factors and substances influence the installation and to predict even better when it is necessary to clean the plants. membranes.
In this audio you can hear researcher Diego Pintossi from Eindhoven University of Technology and Wetsus. Learn more about the research here: The hidden power of fresh and salt water. Here you will find the paper: Fouling in reverse electrodialysis: monitoring, modeling and control. You can find more information about the test installation on the Afsluitdijk in this video:
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