Osmotic power generation

Prepared by:
Vatsal N. Patel
En.No:201403100510009

Guided by: Co-guided by:

Palak Desai, Mayur Patel,
Assistant professor, Assistant professor,
Mech.-Auto. department Mech.-Auto. department
Contents:
• Introduction
• Osmosis
• Examples of osmosis
• Principle of osmosis
• Pressure retarded osmosis(PRO)
• Construction
• Component
• Operation
• Advantages
• Disadvantages
• References
Introduction⁽¹⁾:
• Osmotic power is energy available from difference in salt
concentration between sea water and river water.
• It is huge and unique energy source.
• Renewable energy source that converts pressure differential
between water with high salinity and water with low salinity in
to hydraulic pressure.
• Fresh water moves by osmosis through membrane in to sea
water.
Osmosis⁽¹⁾:
Before After

Fig.(1):Osmosis
•Osmosis means passage of water from a region of
high water concentration (often freshwater) through a
semi permeable membrane to a region of low water
concentration (often NaCl).
•The membrane only lets water molecules pass. Salt
molecules, sand and other contaminants are prevented
to do so.
Examples of osmosis⁽³⁾:

Fig.(2): Pruned fingers Fig.(3): Contact lenses

Principle of osmotic power⁽²⁾:

•Osmotic power is
generated by pressure
retarded osmosis
(PRO).
F
•Technique to separate
solvent (fresh water)
from a solution that is
more concentrated (sea
water) and also
Fig.(4): Pressure Retarded Osmosis pressurised.
Pressure retarded osmosis⁽²⁾:
• It relies on water molecules moving through a semi permeable
membrane.
• Semi permeable membrane allows solvent (fresh water) to
pass to the concentrated solution (sea water) side by side
osmosis.
Construction⁽²⁾:

Fig.(5): Commercial setup for osmotic power generation

Components⁽²⁾:
• A semi-permeable membrane modules
• Fresh water and sea water filters
• Turbine
• Pressure exchanger
Operation⁽²⁾:

Fig.(6): Operation of osmotic power

Advantages⁽¹⁾:
• Steady, Predictable output.
• Adaptable for small or large generating stations.
• Scalable or modular design, making it possible to increase
installed capacity.
• Generating sites near load centers, limiting power
transmission needs.
• Good potential for power plant sites.
Disadvantages⁽¹⁾:
• High risk of clogging and gradual degradation of semi-
permeable membranes, necessitating pressure-filtering
pretreatment of fresh water and periodic membrane re-
placement (every 5 to 7 years).
• Initial cost is very high.
First osmotic power plant⁽²⁾:

Fig.(7): First osmotic power plant built in Norway by the company Statcraft,
opened in November 2009
Video for understanding the
working⁽²⁾:
References:
1. D. Adokar, D. Patil and A. Gupta ;Generation of power by
osmosis (2013); International Journal of Engineering
Technology and Advanced Engineering vol. 3.
2. Stein Erik Skilhagen, Osmotic power-a new, renewable
energy source (2008), Science, 1975, vol. 189, pp. 654-655.
3. www.enotes.com, Examples of osmosis.
Thank you