Pressure Retarded Osmosis

If a membrane is used which allows water molecules to pass through, but not the molecules of dissolved salts, and it is arranged with fresh water on one side and salt water on the other side, as the water goes through the membrane, the water level on the salt water side will rise. This pressure difference can be used to generate a flow of water which will turn a turbine. This is the theory of operation of the Power Plant for generating electricity from the osmotic pressure difference between river water and sea water.

PRO has the potential to convert the osmotic pressure difference between fresh water (i.e. river water) and seawater to electricity. Moreover, it can recover energy from highly concentrated brine in seawater desalination. Nevertheless, relatively little research has been undertaken for fundamental understanding of the PRO process. In this study, the characteristics of the PRO process were examined using a proof-of-concept device. Forward osmosis (FO), reverse osmosis (RO), and nanofiltration (NF) membranes were compared in terms of flux rate and concentration polarization ratio. The results indicated that the theoretical energy production by PRO depends on the membrane type as well as operating conditions (i.e. back pressure). The FO membrane had the highest energy efficiency while the NF membrane had the lowest efficiency. However, the energy production rate was low due to high internal concentration polarization (ICP) in the PRO membrane. This finding suggests that the control of the ICP is essential for practical application of PRO for energy production.

Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO)uses the salinity gradient energy retrieved from the difference in the salt concentration between seawater and river water which corresponds to a hydraulic head of 270 metres, which is equivalent to pressure of 26 bars. The optimal working pressure is only about half of this, around11 to 15 bars The picture below shows a submarine hydroelectric power plant anchored to the sea floor. Fresh water, with potential energy (a head of water) of about 100 metres is piped downwards to a submerged hydraulic turbine which drives a conventional electrical generator. The high pressure fresh water is discharged into a low pressure tank maintained at the lower submerged level. The low pressure is maintained (counter intuitively) by the fresh water diluting the external salt water through an osmosis membrane, so that it is essentially 'sucked out' of the tank by seawater. That is to say that the fresh water diffuses out in the sea by osmosis, through a barrier of semi-permeable membranes, which prevent the passage of brine (saltwater) into the tank but allows fresh water to flow outwards In practice the fresh water will generally contain dissolved salts and particles such as sand, silt and agricultural residues. A flushing mechanism would probably be

required to prevent accumulation obstructive deposits on the fresh water (low pressure) side of the membranes. Obstructions on the sea surface of the membrane would tend to be flushed by the escaping water. Contributed by Tim Potten

Penerapan Sifat Koligatif Larutan

Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO)

Lily Chandra Roberto

(45) (50)

Tiffany Wijaya (51) Yopi Prabowo (52)