Sustainable Energy From Salinity Gradients

Salinity gradient energy, also known as blue energy and osmotic energy, is the energy obtainable from the difference in salt concentration between two feed solutions, typically sea water and river water. It is a large-scale renewable resource that can be harvested and converted to electricity. Efficient extraction of this energy is not straightforward, however. Sustainable Energy from Salinity Gradients provides a comprehensive review of resources, technologies and applications in this area of fast-growing interest. Key technologies covered include pressure retarded osmosis, reverse electrodialysis and accumulator mixing. Environmental and economic aspects are also considered, together with the possible synergies between desalination and salinity gradient energy technologies. Sustainable Energy from Salinity Gradients is an essential text for R&D professionals in the energy & water industry interested in salinity gradient power and researchers in academia from post-graduate level upwards. For more than ten years the Editors have been sharing substantial research activities in the fields of renewable energy and desalination, successfully participating to a number of European Union research projects and contributing to the relevant scientific literature with more than 100 papers and 2 books on Desalination technologies and their coupling with Renewable Energy. They are intensely working in the field of Salinity Gradient Power, carrying out research with specific focus o.n open-loop and closed-loop reverse electrodialysis and pressure retarded osmosis. Covers applications of pressure retarded osmosis, reverse electrodialysis, and capacitive mixing for salinity gradient power in one convenient volume Presents the environmental aspects and economics of salinity gradient energy Explores possible synergies between desalination and salinity gradient energy

Salinity Gradient Heat Engines classifies all the existing SGHEs and presents an in-depth analysis of their fundamentals, applications and perspectives. The main SGHEs analyzed in this publication are Osmotic, the Reverse Electrodialysis, and the Accumulator Mixing Heat Engines. The production and regeneration unit of both cycles are described and analyzed alongside the related economic and environmental aspects. This approach provides the reader with very thorough knowledge on how these technologies can be developed and implemented as a low-impact power generation technique, wherever low-temperature waste-heat is available. This book will also be a very beneficial resource for academic researchers and graduate students across various disciplines, including energy engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, electrical and mechanical engineering. Focuses on advanced, yet practical, recovery of waste heat via salinity gradient heat engines Outlines the existing salinity gradient heat engines and discusses fundamentals, potential and perspectives of each of them Includes economics and environmental aspects Provides an innovative reference for all industrial sectors involving processes where low-temperature waste-heat is available.

The socio-economic activities due to world development are promoting increasing pressures on land, creating competition and conflicts, resulting in suboptimal use of resources. Integrated planning and management of land resources is a top subject of Agenda 21 (managed by FAO), which deals with the cross-sectoral aspects of decision-making for the sustainable use and development of natural resources. This is essential for life-support systems and its productive capacity. In this context, there is a need to find new strategies for sustainable development that links social and economic progress with environmental protection and enhancement. Electrokinetic transport processes (EK) uses a low-level direct current as the “cleaning agent”. EK has been applied to the remediation of polluted soils and other contaminated matrices. It also shows a great potential to be used in different fields, as in saline soil restoration, nutrients recovery from wastes or repair and maintenance of building structures. EK may be an integrated approach for new strategies aiming at sustainable development and to support waste strategies, with worldwide interest. EK can also be coupled with phytoremediation and integrated with nanotechnology, enlarging the scope of its application. The conciliation of the EK in the recovery of secondary resources, remediation and conservation is a multidisciplinary novel approach that opens new technical possibilities for waste minimization, through upgrading of particulate waste products and the recovery of secondary resources for industrial, agricultural or social use.

Blue Energy Extraction Using Salinity Gradients presents a collection of case studies on real-world power plants from around the world that involve sustainable energy extraction via salinity gradients. Using real-world examples, the book explains and demonstrates the fundamentals, technologies, processes, and application of salinity gradient energy extraction methods, and offers practical solutions. The opening chapter of the book provides an overview of the fundamentals and technologies of salinity gradient energy. Each Subsequent chapter analyses a real-world salinity gradient power plant from a different region of the world and includes examples from developed and developing economies on three continents. For each case study, key aspects of performance are evaluated, and the benefits and operational challenges are discussed. Validated mathematical models are also included to improve readers understanding of how to control operating parameters. Blue Energy Extraction Using Salinity Gradients provides a unique perspective on the commercialization of salinity gradient energy extraction, and is an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and industry engineers. Reviews the latest technologies, progress, and developments in sustainable energy generation using salinity gradients Provides real-world case studies from working power stations around the globe, focusing on the practical challenges that are faced by their implementation Critically evaluates the potential for energy generation using salinity gradients, which regions yield the greatest potential, and supports this understanding with mathematical models includes examples of full-scale osmotic power extraction

The revised edition presents, extends, and updates a thorough analysis of the factors that cause and accelerate the aging of conductive and insulating materials of which transmission and distribution electrical apparatus is made. New sections in the second edition summarize the issues of the aging, reliability, and safety of electrical apparatus, as well as supporting equipment in the field of generating renewable energy (solar, wind, tide, and wave power). When exposed to atmospheric corrosive gases and fluids, contaminants, high and low temperatures, vibrations, and other internal and external impacts, these systems deteriorate; eventually the ability of the apparatus to function properly is destroyed. In the modern world of "green energy", the equipment providing clean, electrical energy needs to be properly maintained in order to prevent premature failure. The book’s purpose is to help find the proper ways to slow down the aging of electrical apparatus, improve its performance, and extend the life of power generation, transmission, and distribution equipment.

Covering technology, modeling, field experience, installation and grid connection, this text offers a high-level technical overview of ocean renewable energy generation. It examines wave, tidal, current, salinity, and thermal energy generation and includes the novel technology of marine solar arrays.

Membrane technologies are currently the most effective and sustainable methods utilized in diversified water filtration, wastewater treatment, as well as industrial and sustainable energy applications. This book covers essential subsections of membrane separation and bioseparation processes from the perspectives of technical innovation, novelty, and sustainability. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the latest improvements and concerns with respect to membrane fouling remediation techniques, issues of bioincompatibility for biomedical applications, and various subareas of membrane separation processes, which will be an efficient resource for engineers.

Membrane-Based Salinity Gradient Processes for Water Treatment and Power Generation focuses on the various types of membrane- based salinity gradient processes that can be applied for desalination. Topics cover salinity gradient processes for desalination, such as Forward Osmosis (FO) and Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO), with chapters selected exclusively from a number of world-leading experts in various disciplines and from different continents. Sections include discussions on the theoretical and fundamental approaches to salinity gradient processes, various types of membrane materials and development, i.e., flat sheet and hollow fiber, various salinity water sources for an economically feasible process, and large-scale applications. Finally, the book focuses on economically feasible process optimization when both operational and capital costs are considered. Features specific details on salinity gradient techniques for various desalination applications of industrial and academic interest Contains unique discussions on membrane development and process optimization that normally only appear briefly in research articles Includes examples of internationally best practices for the evaluation of several system parameters, including thermodynamic optimization, high power density membrane development, and more Discusses large-scale applications and provides examples of such implementations, such as Statkraft, Japanese Megaton, and Korean GMVP