Harnessing the Energy Generated When Freshwater Meets Saltwater

May 29th, 2017

I’d never heard of this before.

Via: Phys.org:

Penn State researchers have created a new hybrid technology that produces unprecedented amounts of electrical power where seawater and freshwater combine at the coast.

“The goal of this technology is to generate electricity from where the rivers meet the ocean,” said Christopher Gorski, assistant professor in environmental engineering at Penn State. “It’s based on the difference in the salt concentrations between the two water sources.”

That difference in salt concentration has the potential to generate enough energy to meet up to 40 percent of global electricity demands. Though methods currently exist to capture this energy, the two most successful methods, pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) and reverse electrodialysis (RED), have thus far fallen short.

2 Responses to “Harnessing the Energy Generated When Freshwater Meets Saltwater”

  1. cryingfreeman says:

    I wonder would that work with the Baltic, since it has low salinity by being cut off from the open ocean and fed fresh water from many rivers; they say you can even drink it in an emergency and not become dehydrated.

  2. Dennis says:

    Wow 🙂

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Sea#Salinity

    “At the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia the water is no longer salty and many fresh water species live in the sea.”

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