Feasibility of a Commercial Pressure Retarded Osmosis Power plant

in Sri Lanka
By P.G.S.R.Wijetunga
Introduction
At present, most of the worlds energy supply is based on oil, natural gas and coal. The
global reserves on these fossil fuels are finite and the relation between global energy
consumption and environmental problems such as climate changes are widely
recognized. Because of the environmental problems and the fact that the mining of
fossil fuels becomes very expensive, it is essential to put the maximum drive to find
new energy sources and develop existing technologies to achieve higher efficiency.
Alternative energy sources, including solar, wind, tidal waves and biomass have been
used to provide secure, sustainable and adequate energy sources. Pressure Retarded
Osmosis (PRO) power generation is an upcoming green technology to generate
electricity at zero greenhouse gas emission [1]. The salinity gradient between fresh river
water and sea water separated by a membrane is the key parameter in osmotic pressure
development [1]. This hydrostatic pressure can be used to generate electricity by
sending pressurized water through a turbine.
Sri Lanka is an island having many distinct rivers and most of them eventually flow
into the sea. Thus it is a great advantage to have such water rich river basins in order to
implement PRO technology in Sri Lanka and several other countries which have this
kind of river basins can be used this technology to uplift the country electricity facility
in a sustainable way [2].
Background and Motivation
The world is moving towards a carbon neutral economy. The Ministry of power and
energy of Sri Lanka in its policy has mentioned that it is targeting a carbon neutral
economy by 2020. Under this scheme different forms of renewable energy sources
available in the country such as solar, dendro, bio mass and wind are being used to
generate electricity. In 2012 the contribution of those power plants to the national grid
is 169 GWh, which still is approximately 1.5% of the total electricity generation in that
year.
The technology of osmotic power is known for over a century, but the exploitation was
not economically feasible for a long time. Nevertheless, positive developments in recent
years initiated new studies to the exploitation of osmotic power at a laboratory scale.
These studies concluded that osmotic power is a promising source of renewable energy
in the future. The positive conclusions resulted in first prototype PRO plant which is
being operated in the southeast of Norway since 2009. The main objectives of the
prototype were to confirm that the design system could produce power on a reliable
24-hour/day production and for the testing of technology for further improvement of
efficiency [1].
There are lots of such locations which have ability to harvest osmotic power all over the
world. However, due to lack of testing units and appropriate experimental approaches,
only little known about the Osmotic power generation. Therefore, analysis of Osmotic
power generation oblige a comprehensive understanding of the ongoing processes.

Problem Statement
Similarly to any other country in the present world, the demand for electricity in Sri
Lanka increases annually due to the population growth and rise in standard of living.
Currently the electricity demand of the entire country is about 2100 MW and it is
already being supplied by both hydro and thermal power plant. The country spends an
immense amount of money for the thermal power generation in every year. This has
cause an adverse effect on the countries energy security and economic. It is necessary to
investigate new renewable energy sources in order to fulfill current electricity demand
in Sir Lanka.
Objective
Pressure retarded osmotic power plants can operate as base load power plants. Which
means it can generate a decided amount of power through-out the required time
period. In contrast to a laboratory scale, a commercial osmotic power plant requires a
suitable location and large civil infrastructure. Under this project feasibility of a
commercial pressure restarted osmotic power plant will be analyzed.
References
[1] Skramesto, O.S., Skilhagen, S.E. and Nielsen, W.K. 2009. Power production based
on osmotic pressure. Article; Waterpower XVI.
[2] Manchanayake, P. and Bandara, C.M.M., 1999. Water resources of sri lanka,
National Science Foundation.