PRESSURE RETARDED OSMOTIC POWER GENERATION

CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

Increase in energy consumption has become a major problem of modern

world. In most countries around the world, lion’s share of energy generation is still
done with the help of fossil fuels. Since their supply is limited, we cannot be fully
reliant on them for too long. Also, the pressure on the environment caused by human
activities and especially the climate change challenges related to continuously
increasing greenhouse gas emissions, calls for a thorough research of alternatives.

Osmotic power generation is one such recent power generation technique. It

uses the energy available from mixing of seawater and river water at places where
they meet with the ocean by incorporating the principle of Osmosis. The concept was
originated in the U.S back in the early 70s during the research on membrane based
water purification techniques (e.g.: Reverse osmosis). Mainly two methods were
suggested for the conversion; Reversed Electro Dialysis and Pressure Retarded
Osmosis.

In Reversed Electro Dialysis, salt solution and fresh water are let through a
stack of alternating cation and anion exchange membranes. The chemical potential
difference between salt and fresh water generates a voltage over each membrane and
the total potential of the system is the sum of the potential differences over all
membranes.

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The other method, Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) is the more advanced and
economical method for harnessing salinity gradient power. In Pressure Retarded
Osmosis, the released chemical energy is transferred into pressure. The difference in
concentration of salt between seawater and freshwater creates a strong force towards
mixing due to the nature’s drive to establish equilibrium. The effects of this strong
force to mix can be intensified through a special membrane which separates salt and
freshwater in a finite space and which only lets the water pass through the membrane,
while the salt ions are rejected. In this way, an osmotic pressure can be achieved by
the amount of freshwater moving to the seawater side.

The world’s first prototype Osmotic power plant has been put in to operation in
Norway in 2009. The prototype represents a major milestone towards the
commercialization of Osmotic Power and creates a unique test site for future
technology development of Osmotic Power. The plant has an installed power
capacity of 10 KW.

The Pressure Retarded Osmotic power generation is a zero emission process

and hence it is considered as an eco friendly energy resource. However, it is argued
that the release of brackish water (which is the outlet from the plant) could affect the
local marine environment negatively over a period of time.

The single major reason why the PRO power generation is still not
commercialized even though its feasibility has been proven is the cost. Osmotic
energy is very expensive, about 36 times as expensive as conventional energy. The
process of optimization is possible only by improving the current system. So, the
possibility for the commercialization depends upon the technological advancements
in the future.
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CHAPTER 2

THE CONCEPT OF OSMOTIC POWER

Fig 2.1 Principle of pressure retarded Osmosis

Fig 2.2 Concept of PRO power generation process

A large amount of energy is generated by the mixing of sea water and river
water at river mouths. It is estimated that in most of these areas, at least 2.2 KJ of
heat energy is liberated per each liter of river water (fresh water) entering into the sea.
Usually this heat energy liberated does not produce appreciable temperature change

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and so a direct energy conversion is not possible as in the case of Ocean thermal
energy. The best way of salinity gradient energy conversion would be with the help
of Osmosis. Among the two conversion techniques proposed by scientists, Pressure
retarded osmotic power generation has got wide acceptance. A beaker divided into
two sections by a semi- permeable membrane with fresh water on one side and salt
water on the other side illustrates the process in PRO. As the result of osmosis, the
fresh water will mix with the salt water creating a surplus of water on the salt water
side. As the process continues, depending upon the difference in salt concentrations
between the two sides, sooner or later, a large amount of water will end up on the salt
water side creating a large pressure head. This large head can be used to produce
power in a process similar to the hydroelectric power generation. That is, with the
help of a turbine- generator unit. The force of osmosis can raise the water up to a
height of 120 meters which is comparable to a waterfall.

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CHAPTER 3

THE PROCESS

Fig 3.1 Depiction of a typical PRO power generating system

As observed from the figure 3.1, in PRO, filtered fresh water and seawater are
led into a closed system which consists of two modules. Before entering into the
membrane modules, the seawater is pressurized to half the osmotic pressure. In the
modules, the freshwater migrates through the membrane in to the pressurized
seawater. This results in an excess of diluted pressurized seawater which is then split
into two streams; one third of the pressurized seawater is used for power generation
in a hydropower turbine, and the remaining part passes through a pressure exchanger
in order to pressurize the incoming seawater. The outlet from the plant will be mainly
diluted seawater or brackish water that will be led back either to the ocean or to the
fresh water resource.

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CHAPTER 4

FACTORS AFFECTING POWER PRODUCTION

4.1 SALINITY OF MARINE WATER

The main factor affecting power production is the salinity of marine water.
Higher the difference in salinity between the saltwater and the fresh water used,
higher is the osmotic potential difference across the membrane (pressure build up is
more) and hence higher is the power generation. Pacific and Atlantic oceans lead in
case of average salinity of water. Also, salinity of water varies from place to place in
these oceans. In a 2016 study conducted by a Sri Lankan team, it has been found that
there are several hotspots for Osmotic power plants in the subcontinent region.

4.2 POWER DENSITY OF THE SEMI PERMEABLE MEMBRANE

Another factor that severely affects power production is the power density of
the membrane. Higher the power density of the membrane higher is the power
production. A target for efficiency of membranes has been set at 5 W/m2 for
producing osmotic power on commercial basis. At present, at the prototype plant
located in Oslo, a maximum power density of 3.1 W/m2 has managed to obtain with
thin film composite (TFC) membrane.

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4.3 RATE OF FOULING

Over the course of time, substances in the water may get captured within the
membrane’s support structure or on the membrane surfaces, reducing the flow of
water through the membrane, and causing a reduction in the power output and overall
system efficiency. This phenomenon is known as Fouling. Proper pre- treatment of
both seawater and river water, proper design of the membrane modules, careful
selection of the membrane etc are the measures taken to delay fouling. Sometimes,
when the organic content in the water is too high, a secondary filtration process like
ultrafiltration becomes necessary in addition to the common filtration process which
further increases the total generation cost.

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CHAPTER 5

COMMONLY USED MEMBRANES

5.1 CELLULOSE ACETATE MEMBRANE

Cellulose acetate membrane is prepared by casting a solution on the glass plate

and immersing in ice cold water after solvent evaporation. After solidification, the
membrane is annealed between 800 C and 950 C. Usually, the casting solution consists
of cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, dioxane, acetone, acetic acid and methanol.
This improvement in the performance is achieved by changing the casting
parameters. Casting parameters like casting speed, changes in the temperature of the
coagulation bath etc also changes of the supporting material lead to improvement in
performance of this type of membranes over time. Starting with a membrane
performance of approximately 0.5 W/m2, this type of membrane was improved to a
performance close to 1.3 W/m2.

5.2 THIN FILM COMPOSITE (TFC) MEMBRANE

TFC membranes are made by the interfacial polymerization of

trimesoylchloride and m- phenylenediamine. Starting with a membrane performance
of approximately 0.1 W/m2, this type of membrane was improved a performance
close to 3.5 W/m2. Till now, at the prototype power plant located in Norway, a
membrane performance of 3 W/m2 has been managed to obtain.

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CHAPTER 6

PROTOTYPE OSMOTIC POWER PLANT

Fig 6.1 Prototype PRO power plant in Norway

The world’s first osmosis driven prototype for power generation has now been
put into operation. It is located in Tofte in South Norway. It is a complete prototype
of the Osmotic power production system. The prototype is a major milestone towards
the commercialization of Osmotic Power and creates a unique test site for future
technology development of Osmotic Power. The plant generated the first small kWh
of electricity from osmosis in November 2009, and the first proof of the concept of
producing power by osmosis has been recorded. Since the prototype is designed to
be used as a laboratory for the ongoing development of the technology, it will
contribute to technology enhancements in order to reach the objective of producing

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power at a competitive cost, and creating the basis for up-scaling the various
components to commercial scale. In addition to that, it increases the awareness of
Osmotic Power among governments and manufacturers that are invited to test the
technology. Also, the prototype will be a starting point to test and measure
environmental challenges such as measuring potential algae bloom related to the
discharge of brackish water. When building a prototype for a completely new
technology, several considerations had to be made related to the choice of location.
First of all, fresh water and sea water with satisfactory quality must be available.
Secondly, the location shall be available for the researchers, suppliers and also
governmental representatives, hence not too far from a large city. Based on these
requirements, the site was chosen.

6.1 PROTOTYPE DESIGN

Fig 6.2 Prototype power plant location

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The prototype was designed with all necessary systems and components for
continues PRO operation. Based on the assumption that a membrane with an
efficiency of 5 W/m2 will be developed during the lifetime of the plant, 10 kW
installed power capacity was set as the overall design criteria. This gave the lead for
water supply for both water qualities, as well as sizing of the individual components.
The sea water feed to the plant is supplied trough water pipes from approximately 30
meters below sea level, just outside the harbor. The water is filtered through a mesh
before it enters the plant. The fresh water at the plant location flows from a small lake
up in the hillside. In the lake water, the content of NOM (Natural Organic Matter) is
significant, and also the content of other particles. There are also large seasonal
variations in the water quality which makes the selection of a proper filtration method
even harder. The water is filtered through a mesh, but for safeguarding of the PRO
membranes, the secondary treatment of water is done by ultra filtration. A major
focus activity is to identify the minimal pre-treatment necessary to operate the plant,
and to design the appropriate system optimized to fulfill the requirements for
operating the membrane system in a continuous mode through the entire lifetime of
the membranes. For this plant 2000 m2 of membrane has been installed based on a
modified spiral wound 8” module. This is a convenient and standardized design
where membranes easily can be replaced and also a standard that other suppliers can
relate to. After some time in operation we also expect to test alternative module
design optimized for PRO operation. The first membranes installed are based on
conventional cellulose acetate membranes, redesigned for PRO operation. The
membranes will be replaced when new and improved membranes are designed and
produced in sufficient amounts. Besides the membrane system, the plant is equipped
with 2 specially design energy recovery devices. Although this technology is well
proven in desalination system, the installation in this plant is unique due to the low
operating pressure. It will be very important to learn the operations of these units in
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PRO, and also to test the efficiency and leakages experienced in a low pressure
system. A turbine with a generator is installed to generate electricity from the
pressurized water. With continues flow of water at approximately 12 bar, a Pelton
turbine was chosen. To be able to generate as much electricity as possible from the
membranes installed, the turbine must be optimized for the correct flow of water at
the given pressure. In a full scale installation, the combined efficiency of the turbine
and generator is expected to exceed 85%. The overall objectives of the prototype are
firstly, confirming that the designed system can produce power on a reliable 24-
hour/day production. Secondly, the plant will be used for further testing of
technology achieved from parallel research activities to substantially increase the
efficiency. The performance and efficiency of the individual component, as well as
the system efficiency as a whole, will be directed towards the targets for commercial
production of Osmotic Power. These activities will mainly be focused on membranes,
membrane modules, and pre-treatment of water, pressure exchanger equipment, and
power generation (turbine and generator).

Fig 6.3 Component layout in prototype PRO power plant

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CHAPTER 7

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHALLENGES

The feasibility studies of the Osmotic power concept were initiated in the late
nineties. The result of the study was that Osmotic Power could have a significant,
global potential. But the studies also revealed that the semi permeable membrane
would require significant improvement. Due to the exposure to very high pressures,
membranes used for Reverse Osmosis can’t be used for this application. So the
research since then has mainly been focused on the design and production of a semi-
permeable membrane optimized for Osmotic Power. A target for the efficiency of the
membranes have been set at 5 W/m2 for producing Osmotic Power on commercial
basis based on economic calculations. During these years the power density of the
membrane developed has increased from less than 0.1 W/m 2
up to today’s
membranes producing close to 3 W/m2.The main problems encountered while the
testing and development of membranes are the following. To exploit the driving force
that the osmotic pressure differences represent, the membrane needs to be as thin as
possible, but at the same time should withstand the pressure difference. Plus the water
flux should be in the similar range (at least) as the common Reverse Osmosis (RO)
membranes and also the retention of salt is important. Although the best RO
membranes today has the potential of producing more than 6 W/m2 based on their
water flux and salt retention, the thickness limits the efficiency to less than 1 W/m2.
In addition to the development of the membrane, there are also significant activities
on the design and development of the membrane modules since the standard spiral
wound module design has limitations both in the internal flow pattern and pressure
losses.

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CHAPTER 8

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

The Osmotic power is considered to be the one with least negative

environmental impact even among non- conventional energy resources. Osmotic
Power plants will extract the energy from this process without polluting discharges to
the atmosphere or water. This process doesn’t produce any form of emissions that
could possibly have a role in global warming or climate change. Osmotic Power has
excellent environmental performance and it is quite sure that it will qualify for
supportive policy measures by governments to increase the share of renewable
energy.

One potential problem that has been in discussion since the beginning is the
chance for any adverse effects on the marine environment due to the discharge of
brackish water by the Osmotic Power plant. Over a period of time, this can alter the
local marine environment and result in changes for animals and plants living in the
discharge area. However, since most rivers run into oceans at places where people
have already built cities or industrial areas such as harbors, most of the potential sites
for Osmotic Power generation can be utilized without affecting pristine areas.
Moreover, the plants can be constructed partly or completely underground (e.g. in the
basement of an industrial building or under a park) which will make them very
discreet. In these areas the environmental impacts off shore are estimated to be of
minor importance.

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CHAPTER 9

OSMOTIC POWER- PROS AND CONS

The most attractive part of the Osmotic power prospects is the overall low
negative impact on the environment compared to fossil fuel based power generation
techniques and most of the other non- conventional renewable energy techniques. In
fact, it is the most eco- friendly method of power production available at present.
Being a zero emission process, it doesn’t contribute to climate change in any way.
Also, in osmotic power plant power production is continuous (24×7 power
production). It generates and supplies power continuously. Also it doesn’t depend on
environmental factors unlike most of the other renewable processes. And when it
comes to safety, Osmotic power stands tall since no living thing is harmed or is under
threat during the production process.

The single major disadvantage of Osmotic power is nothing but the cost of
power generation. It is estimated that Osmotic power is almost 36 times more
expensive than the conventional power which is a major obstacle in its
commercialization. The costs are mainly in three categories; construction costs,
installation costs and pumping costs. Construction costs vary depending upon the
location and type of power plant. For example, for seafloor based plants construction
costs are higher compared to land based power plants. Installation costs and pumping
costs are generally very high for Osmotic power plants. Cost of the semi permeable
membrane required for obtaining required membrane performance is very high. The
membrane used for the process should be thick and strong enough to withstand high

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pressure across the both sides of the membrane modules. But when the membrane is
made thick, the power density drops significantly. The effort required in
manufacturing of specially designed membranes with high power density and
pressure withstanding capacities is high. Moreover, periodic cleaning or replacement
of these membranes further increases the cost of the process. Another negative effect
of Osmotic power production, as discussed in the previous section is the change in
salinity of the local marine environment that the release of brackish water to the sea
could cause over a period of time. Change in salinity affects the local ecosystem
negatively and it could cause phenomena like Algal bloom. Although this could be
considered as a potential problem, it is certain that the effect is very local to cause
any series consequences.

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CHAPTER 10

FUTURE PROSPECTS

From the current state of osmotic power projects, it is clear that there are
several technical and system-related tasks to be addressed. And there are today
several groups of companies and research institutes working to solve the challenges
like the Norwegian Hydropower firm Statcraft. The Osmotic power is no more a
concept but a reality. But the answer to the question whether this will be a new and
attractive solution in the renewable energy market, will depend on some major factors
like supplier industry, Energy utilities etc. Osmotic Power was founded in the field
for desalination and there are still significant resemblance looking into the individual
components. It is crucial that the future suppliers for Osmotic Power such as
membrane manufacturers are willing to spent time and resources on bringing the
technology from where it is today and improve and scale it up into an industrial size.
Like, the research on a new lower cost membrane made of electrically modified
polyethylene plastic is being carried out by Statcraft which could make the process a
bit cheaper

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CHAPTER 11

CONCLUSION

Osmotic energy has got enormous potential for power generation around the
world. But it is not something we can start using in the nearest future, especially for
developing countries. The obstacles like cleaning of the membrane and the higher
conversion costs have not fully overcome at present. However, in the future if the
technology develops further and costs decrease, osmotic energy may become a major
alternative to conventional methods.

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REFERENCES

1. Real-time Emulation of a Pressure Retarded Osmotic Power Generation System,

Sudharshan Kaarthik, Student Member, IEEE, J. Maisonneuve, Member, IEEE, P.
Pillay, Fellow, IEEE. IEEE Journals and Magazines 2016.
2. A. P. Straub, A. Deshmukh, and M. Elimelech, “Pressure-retarded osmosis for
power generation from salinity gradients: is it viable Energy Environ. Sci., vol. 9, pp.
31–48, 2016. [Online]. Available:http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C5EE02985F.
3. Osmotic power, a new renewable energy source – Article by Stein Erik Skilhagen
Head of Osmotic Power, Statkraft AS, Lilleakerveien 60216 OSLO, NORWAY.

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