Salinity Gradient Power Conversion

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Encyclopedia of Ocean Engineering
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Synonyms

SGPC - salinity gradient power conversion; PRO - pressure-retarded osmosis; RED - reverse electrodialysis; AEM - anion-exchange membrane; CEM - cation-exchange membrane

Definition

Salinity gradient power is the power available from the difference in the salt concentration between sea water and river fresh water and it is often called osmotic power or blue energy. This form of power is available when two solutions with different salinity levels are mixed together. Salinity Gradient Power Conversion (SGPC) is a technology that uses the osmotic pressure, i.e., the chemical potential of concentrated and dilute solutions of salt, to drive a turbine to generate electricity.

Salinity Gradient Power Resource

In order to utilize the salinity gradient power, a large amount of both sea water and fresh water are needed. River mouths, where fresh river water discharges to the sea, are naturally potential areas for SGPC development and are widely distributed around the world (Lewis et al. 2011...

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References

  • IRENA (2014) Ocean energy technology brief, 2 June 2014

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  • Lewis A, Estefen S, Huckerby J, Musial W, Pontes T, Torres-Martinez J (2011) Ocean energy. In: Edenhofer O, Pichs-Madruga R, Sokona Y, Seyboth K, Matschoss P, Kadner S, Zwickel T, Eickemeier P, Hansen G, Schlomer S, von Stechow C (eds) IPCC special report on renewable energy sources and climate change mitigation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK/New York

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  • Schaetzle O, Buisman CJN (2015) Salinity gradient energy: current state and new trends. Engineering 1(2):164–166

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  • Scråmestø OS, Skilhagen S-E, Nielsen WK (2009) Power production based on osmotic pressure. In: Waterpower XVI, Spokane, WA, USA, 27–30 July 2009

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  • van den Ende K, Groeman F (2007) Blue energy. Leonardo Energy, KEMA Consulting, Arnhem. Available at: www.leonardo-energy.org/webfm_send/161

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Correspondence to Zhen Gao .

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Gao, Z. (2022). Salinity Gradient Power Conversion. In: Cui, W., Fu, S., Hu, Z. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ocean Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6946-8_190

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