Osmotic Renewable Energy: A New Way To Generate Electricity
The world has now started to rise from the ashes of artificial urbanization and ready to go green with the bio-compatible substances that are mostly under research or have received commercialization touch. Fundamental or application based, the brand new technology is believed to be the exclusive ambassador of the next generation. As a matter of fact, different research institutes have already published thousands of papers, each one, trying to improve the quality and usability of their million dollar ideas.
A group of scientists from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has recently unveiled their work that is related to clean energy and carved a new path for osmotic power alongside solar, wind and hydro power. More accurately, the potential of their research is inspired by our nature and it shows how energy could be evolved when fresh water meets sea water with the help of a membrane. The team comprising of nanoscale biology department members have created a one of a kind energy generation system with a 3 atom thick semipermeable membrane in the middle of fluids with different salt concentrations.
The system set-up
If the experiment is carried out between sea water and fresh water then the salt ions from sea water pass through the membrane channel to reach fresh water until the system reaches equilibrium condition. As such the method is osmosis, and with the help of ion transfer electricity could be harnessed if applied and controlled maintaining certain parameters.
EPFL scientists have designed a two compartment system, in which one is filled with sea water and another with fresh water. In the middle a nano-porous membrane is stitched. While salt ions pass through the channel, the electrons are ported to an electrode, the key element to devise electricity. Owing to the membrane’s property, the positive ions are pushed through whereas negative ions were driven away, this action maintains a certain voltage in two different compartments which ultimately generates electricity.
The team revealed that the pore structure was very important for them to decide as larger or smaller than the accurate size would have complicated the process and might cease the system from running. The membrane is made of molybdenum disulfide and depending on its thinner structure, electricity increases.
Application wise, it produces a huge impact with 1MW of electricity if passed through 1 m^2 membrane featuring 30% of its surface covered with pores. Plus the membrane is easy to reproduce with chemical vapor deposition. The greater challenge is to scale up the performance which could be realized, incorporating uniform pores. According to the team, if the system could be further developed then it will soon be a potential form of renewable energy. The complete research was published in Nature.
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A group of scientists from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has recently unveiled their work that is related to clean energy and carved a new path for osmotic power alongside solar, wind and hydro power. More accurately, the potential of their research is inspired by our nature and it shows how energy could be evolved when fresh water meets sea water with the help of a membrane. The team comprising of nanoscale biology department members have created a one of a kind energy generation system with a 3 atom thick semipermeable membrane in the middle of fluids with different salt concentrations.
The system set-up
EPFL scientists have designed a two compartment system, in which one is filled with sea water and another with fresh water. In the middle a nano-porous membrane is stitched. While salt ions pass through the channel, the electrons are ported to an electrode, the key element to devise electricity. Owing to the membrane’s property, the positive ions are pushed through whereas negative ions were driven away, this action maintains a certain voltage in two different compartments which ultimately generates electricity.
The team revealed that the pore structure was very important for them to decide as larger or smaller than the accurate size would have complicated the process and might cease the system from running. The membrane is made of molybdenum disulfide and depending on its thinner structure, electricity increases.
Application wise, it produces a huge impact with 1MW of electricity if passed through 1 m^2 membrane featuring 30% of its surface covered with pores. Plus the membrane is easy to reproduce with chemical vapor deposition. The greater challenge is to scale up the performance which could be realized, incorporating uniform pores. According to the team, if the system could be further developed then it will soon be a potential form of renewable energy. The complete research was published in Nature.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
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