Influence of natural organic matter fouling and osmotic backwash on pressure retarded osmosis energy production from natural salinity gradients

Fluidics for energy harvesting: from nano to milli scales

A large amount of untapped energy sources surrounds us. In this review, we summarize recent works of water-based energy harvesting systems with operation scales ranging from miniature systems to large scale attempts. We focus particularly on the triboelectric energy, which is produced when a liquid and a solid come into contact, and on the osmotic energy, which is released when salt water and fresh water are mixed. For both techniques we display the state of the art understanding (including electrical charge separation, electro-osmotic currents and induced currents) and the developed devices. A critical discussion of present works confirms the significant progress of these water-based energy harvesting systems in all scales. However, further efforts in efficiency and performance amelioration are expected for these technologies to accelerate the industrialization and commercialization procedure.

Exploring the Limitations of Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis: Membrane Fouling and the Limiting Flux

Osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) has shown great potential for low-cost and energy-efficient brine management. However, its performance can be significantly limited by membrane fouling. Here, we performed for the first time a comprehensive study on OARO membrane fouling, explored the associated fouling mechanisms, and evaluated fouling reversibility via simple physical cleaning strategies. First, internal membrane fouling at the draw (permeate) side was shown to be insignificant. Flux behavior in short-term operation was correlated to both the evolution of fouling and the change of internal concentration polarization. In long-term operation, membrane fouling constrained the OARO water flux to a singular, common upper limit, in terms of limiting flux, which was demonstrated to be independent of operating pressures and membrane properties. Generally, once the limiting flux was exceeded, the OARO process performance could not be improved by higher-pressure operation or by utilizing more permeable and selective membranes. Instead, different cyclic cleaning strategies were shown to be more promising alternatives for improving performance. While both surface flushing and osmotic backwashing (OB) were found to be highly effective when using pure water, a full flux recovery could not be achieved when a nonpure solution was used during OB due to severe internal clogging during OB. All in all, the presented findings provided significant implications for OARO operation and fouling control.

Recent development of pressure retarded osmosis membranes for water and energy sustainability: A critical review

With the goal of zero-liquid discharge and green energy harvest, extraction of abundant green energy from saline water via pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) technology is a promising but challenging issue for water treatment technologies to achieve water and energy sustainability. Development of high performance PRO membranes has received increased concerns yet still under controversy in practical applications. In this review, a comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of some key historical developments is first introduced covering the major advances of PRO engineering applications and novel membranes especially made in recent years. Then the critical performance indicators of PRO membranes including water flux and power density are briefly discussed. Subsequently, sufficient discussion on four performance limiting factors in PRO membrane and process is presented including concentration polarization, reverse solute diffusion, membrane fouling and mechanical stability. To fully address these issues, an updated insight is provided into recent major progresses on advanced fabrication and modification techniques of novel PRO membranes featuring enhanced performance with different configurations and materials, which are also reviewed in detail based on the viewpoint of design rationales. Afterwards, antifouling strategies and engineering applications are critically introduced. Finally, conclusions and future perspective of PRO membrane for practical operation are briefly discussed.

Volume reduction and water reclamation of reverse osmosis concentrate from coal chemical industry by forward osmosis with an osmotic backwash strategy

Coal chemical industry (CCI) generally utilizes reverse osmosis (RO) for water reclamation, which generates a highly concentrated stream containing refractory organic substances and high-concentration total dissolved solids (TDS). To address this issue, the present work focuses on volume reduction of RO concentrate (ROC) produced from CCI by forward osmosis (FO). We investigated the effects of membrane orientation and draw solution (DS) concentration on FO performance. Foulant removal was tested by using chemical cleaning, physical cleaning and osmotic backwash (OB). AL-FS (active layer facing feed solution) mode outcompeted AL-DS (active layer facing draw solution) mode, achieving a flux of 26.4 LMH, 92.5% water reclamation and energy consumption of 0.050 kWh·m^-3 with 4 M NaCl as DS. The FO process was able to reject >98% SO₄ ^2-, Mg²⁺and Ca²⁺, 92-98% Si and 33-55% total organic carbon (TOC). Ten-cycle (10 × 20 h) accelerated fouling test demonstrated approximately 30% flux decline in association with Si-containing foulants, which could be removed almost completely through OB with 97.1% flux recovery. This study provides a proof-of-concept demonstration of FO for volume reduction and water reclamation of ROC produced from CCI, making the treatment of ROC more efficient and more energy effective.

Organic Fouling in Forward Osmosis: A Comprehensive Review

Organic fouling in the forward osmosis process is complex and influenced by different parameters in the forward osmosis such as type of feed and draw solution, operating conditions, and type of membrane. In this article, we reviewed organic fouling in the forward osmosis by focusing on wastewater treatment applications. Model organic foulants used in the forward osmosis literature were highlighted, which were followed by the characteristics of organic foulants when real wastewater was used as feed solution. The various physical and chemical cleaning protocols for the organic fouled membrane are also discussed. The study also highlighted the effective pre-treatment strategies that are effective in reducing the impact of organic fouling on the forward osmosis (FO) membrane. The efficiency of cleaning methods for the removal of organic fouling in the FO process was investigated, including recommendations on future cleaning technologies such as Ultraviolet and Ultrasound. Generally, a combination of physical and chemical cleaning is the best for restoring the water flux in the FO process.

Two-Dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXene/GO Hybrid Membranes for Highly Efficient Osmotic Power Generation

Osmotic power has emerged as one of the promising candidates for clean and renewable energy. However, the advancement of present osmotic power-harvesting technologies, specifically pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) in this work, is hindered by the unsatisfactory membrane transport properties. Herein, we demonstrate the freestanding transition-metal carbides and graphene oxide hybrid membranes as high-performance PRO membranes. Due to the elimination of internal concentration polarization, the freestanding hybrid membrane can achieve a record-high power density up to approximately 56.4 W m^-2 with 2.0 M NaCl as the draw solution and river water (0.017 M) as the feed water at an applied hydraulic pressure difference of 9.66 bar. In addition, the hybrid membranes exhibit enhanced antifouling potential and antibacterial activity. The facile fabrication of the hybrid membranes shed light on a new membrane development platform for the highly anticipated osmotic power-harvesting technologies.

Factors Affecting the Performance of Membrane Osmotic Processes for Bioenergy Development

Forward osmosis (FO) and pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) have gained attention recently as potential processes to solve water and energy scarcity problems with advantages over pressure-driven membrane processes. These processes can be designed to produce bioenergy and clean water at the same time (i.e., wastewater treatment with power generation). Despite having significant technological advancement, these bioenergy processes are yet to be implemented in full scale and commercialized due to its relatively low performance. Hence, massive and extensive research has been carried out to evaluate the variables in FO and PRO processes such as osmotic membrane, feed solutions, draw solutions, and operating conditions in order to maximize the outcomes, which include water flux and power density. However, these research findings have not been summarized and properly reviewed. The key parts of this review are to discuss the factors influencing the performance of FO and PRO with respective resulting effects and to determine the research gaps in their optimization with the aim of further improving these bioenergy processes and commercializing them in various industrial applications.

Antifouling Double-Skinned Forward Osmosis Membranes by Constructing Zwitterionic Brush-Decorated MWCNT Ultrathin Films

Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) process is hindered by severe fouling occurring within the porous support of the forward osmosis (FO) membranes. We designed a novel double-skinned FO membrane containing a polyamide salt-rejecting layer and a zwitterionic brush-decorated, multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT/PSBMA) foulant-resisting layer on the back side. Our results demonstrated that the coating of the MWCNT/PSBMA layer on the porous polyketone (PK) support imparted enhanced hydrophilicity and smaller membrane pore size, thereby providing excellent resistance toward both protein adhesion and bacterial adsorption. We also further evaluated this resultant double-skinned membrane (i.e., TFC-MWCNT/PSBMA) in dynamic PRO fouling experiments using protein and alginate as model organic foulants. Compared to the pristine TFC-PK and hydrophobic TFC-MWCNT membranes, the TFC-MWCNT/PSBMA membrane exhibited not only the lowest water flux decline but also the highest water flux recovery after simple physical flushing. These results shed light on fabrication of antifouling PRO membranes for water purification purposes.

Concentration and Recovery of Dyes from Textile Wastewater Using a Self-Standing, Support-Free Forward Osmosis Membrane

Forward osmosis (FO) can potentially treat textile wastewaters with less fouling than pressure-driven membrane processes such as reverse osmosis and nanofiltration. However, conventional FO membranes with asymmetric architecture experience severe flux decline caused by internal concentration polarization and fouling as dye molecules accumulate on the membrane surface. In this study, we present a new strategy for concentrating dye by using a self-standing, support-free FO membrane with a symmetric structure. The membrane was fabricated by a facile solution-casting approach based on a poly(triazole- co-oxadiazole- co-hydrazine) (PTAODH) skeleton. Due to its dense architecture, ultrasmooth surface, and high negative surface charge, the PTAODH membrane exhibits excellent FO performance with minimal fouling, low reverse salt flux, and negligible dye passage to the draw solution side. Cleaning with a 40% alcohol solution, after achieving a concentration factor of ∼10, resulted in high flux recovery ratio (98.7%) for the PTAODH membrane, whereas significant damage to the active layers of two commercial FO membranes was observed. Moreover, due to the existence of cytotoxic oxadiazole and triazole moieties in the polymer structure, our PTAODH membrane exhibited an outstanding antibacterial property with two model bacteria. Our results demonstrate the promising application of the symmetric PTAODH membrane for the concentration of textile wastewaters and its superior antifouling performance compared to state-of-the-art commercial FO membranes.

Modeling and Simulation Studies Analyzing the Pressure-Retarded Osmosis (PRO) and PRO-Hybridized Processes

Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) is viewed as a highly promising renewable energy process that generates energy without carbon emissions in the age of the climate change regime. While many experimental studies have contributed to the quest for an efficiency that would make the PRO process commercially viable, computational modeling and simulation studies have played crucial roles in investigating the efficiency of PRO, particularly the concept of hybridizing the PRO process with reverse osmosis (RO). It is crucial for researchers to understand the implications of the simulation and modeling works in order to promote the further development of PRO. To that end, the authors collected many relevant papers and reorganized their important methodologies and results. This review, first of all, presents the mathematical derivation of the fundamental modeling theories regarding PRO including water flux and concentration polarization equations. After that, those theories and thermodynamic theories are then applied to depict the limitations of a stand-alone PRO process and the effectiveness of an RO-PRO hybridized process. Lastly, the review diagnoses the challenges facing PRO-basis processes which are insufficiently resolved by conventional engineering approaches and, in response, presents alternative modeling and simulation approaches as well as novel technologies.

Superior Antifouling Capability of Hydrogel Forward Osmosis Membrane for Treating Wastewaters with High Concentration of Organic Foulants

Wastewaters with high concentrations of organic pollutants pose a great challenge for membrane filtration due to their severe fouling propensity. In this study, a hydrogel forward osmosis (FO) membrane is explored for treating wastewaters of high concentration organic pollutants. This FO membrane has an ultrathin hydrogel selective layer, which is highly hydrophilic (water contact angle as low as 18°) and smooth (surface roughness <5 nm). Investigated with typical organic foulants (protein, alginate, humic acid, and oil) of high concentration (2000-20 000 mg/L), this hydrogel FO membrane exhibits remarkably superior antifouling capability, with its water flux decline ratio lower than a quarter that of commercial FO membrane under identical experimental conditions. The foulants on hydrogel membrane surface can be easily removed by simple physical cleaning without any chemical usage. At the same time, this hydrogel FO membrane achieves ∼2 times higher separation efficiency than commercial FO membrane in terms of specific water flux (J_W/J_S). The antifouling capability and separation efficiency of this FO membrane can be flexibly tailored during selective layer fabrication process. This study opens a new avenue for the treatment of high-strength organic wastewaters by developing a highly antifouling hydrogel-based FO membrane.

Effects of tannic acid on membrane fouling and membrane cleaning in forward osmosis

The fouling behavior during forward osmosis (FO) was investigated. Tannic acid was used as a model organic foulant for natural organic matter analysis since the main characteristics are similar, and calcium ions were added at different concentrations to explore the anti-pollution capability of FO membranes. The initial permeate flux and calcium ions strength were varied in different operating conditions to describe membrane fouling with membrane cleaning methods. The observed flux decline in FO changed dramatically with the type of foulant and the type of draw solution used to provide the osmotic driving force. Calcium ions aggravated membrane fouling and decreased transmembrane flux. Membrane cleaning methods included physical and physicochemical approaches, and there was no obvious difference among the typical cleaning methods (i.e., membrane flushing with different types of cleaning fluids at various crossflow velocities and backwashing with varying osmotic driving forces) with respect to flux recovery. Ultrasonic cleaning damaged the membrane structure and decreased permeate flux, and reverse diffusion of salt from the draw solution to the feed side accelerated after cleaning.

Evaluation of fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis for sustainable agriculture and water reuse in arid regions

The present study focused on the performance of the FDFO process to achieve simultaneous water reuse from wastewater and production of nutrient solution for hydroponic application. Bio-methane potential (BMP) measurements were firstly carried out to determine the effect of osmotic concentration of wastewater achieved in the FDFO process on the anaerobic activity. Results showed that 95% water recovery from the FDFO process is the optimum value for further AnMBR treatment. Nine different fertilizers were then tested based on their FO performance (i.e. water flux, water recovery and reverse salt flux) and final nutrient concentration. From this initial screening, ammonium phosphate monobasic (MAP), ammonium sulfate (SOA) and mono-potassium phosphate were selected for long term experiments to investigate the maximum water recovery achievable. After the experiments, hydraulic membrane cleaning was performed to assess the water flux recovery. SOA showed the highest water recovery rate, up to 76% while KH₂PO₄ showed the highest water flux recovery, up to 75% and finally MAP showed the lowest final nutrient concentration. However, substantial dilution was still necessary to comply with the standards for fertigation even if the recovery rate was increased.

Salinity Gradients for Sustainable Energy: Primer, Progress, and Prospects

Combining two solutions of different composition releases the Gibbs free energy of mixing. By using engineered processes to control the mixing, chemical energy stored in salinity gradients can be harnessed for useful work. In this critical review, we present an overview of the current progress in salinity gradient power generation, discuss the prospects and challenges of the foremost technologies - pressure retarded osmosis (PRO), reverse electrodialysis (RED), and capacitive mixing (CapMix) and provide perspectives on the outlook of salinity gradient power generation. Momentous strides have been made in technical development of salinity gradient technologies and field demonstrations with natural and anthropogenic salinity gradients (for example, seawater-river water and desalination brine-wastewater, respectively), but fouling persists to be a pivotal operational challenge that can significantly ebb away cost-competitiveness. Natural hypersaline sources (e.g., hypersaline lakes and salt domes) can achieve greater concentration difference and, thus, offer opportunities to overcome some of the limitations inherent to seawater-river water. Technological advances needed to fully exploit the larger salinity gradients are identified. While seawater desalination brine is a seemingly attractive high salinity anthropogenic stream that is otherwise wasted, actual feasibility hinges on the appropriate pairing with a suitable low salinity stream. Engineered solutions are foulant-free and can be thermally regenerative for application in low-temperature heat utilization. Alternatively, PRO, RED, and CapMix can be coupled with their analog separation process (reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, and capacitive deionization, respectively) in salinity gradient flow batteries for energy storage in chemical potential of the engineered solutions. Rigorous techno-economic assessments can more clearly identify the prospects of low-grade heat conversion and large-scale energy storage. While research attention is squarely focused on efficiency and power improvements, efforts to mitigate fouling and lower membrane and electrode cost will be equally important to reduce levelized cost of salinity gradient energy production and, thus, boost PRO, RED, and CapMix power generation to be competitive with other renewable technologies. Cognizance of the recent key developments and technical progress on the different technological fronts can help steer the strategic advancement of salinity gradient as a sustainable energy source.

Selection of suitable fertilizer draw solute for a novel fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis-anaerobic membrane bioreactor hybrid system

In this study, a protocol for selecting suitable fertilizer draw solute for anaerobic fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (AnFDFOMBR) was proposed. Among eleven commercial fertilizer candidates, six fertilizers were screened further for their FO performance tests and evaluated in terms of water flux and reverse salt flux. Using selected fertilizers, bio-methane potential experiments were conducted to examine the effect of fertilizers on anaerobic activity due to reverse diffusion. Mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) showed the highest biogas production while other fertilizers exhibited an inhibition effect on anaerobic activity with solute accumulation. Salt accumulation in the bioreactor was also simulated using mass balance simulation models. Results showed that ammonium sulfate and MAP were the most appropriate for AnFDFOMBR since they demonstrated less salt accumulation, relatively higher water flux, and higher dilution capacity of draw solution. Given toxicity of sulfate to anaerobic microorganisms, MAP appears to be the most suitable draw solution for AnFDFOMBR.

Organic Fouling of Graphene Oxide Membranes and Its Implications for Membrane Fouling Control in Engineered Osmosis

This study provides experimental evidence to mechanistically understand some contradicting effects of the characteristic properties of graphene oxide (GO), such as the high hydrophilicity, negative charge, strong adsorption capability, and large surface area, on the antifouling properties of GO membranes. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of forming a dense GO barrier layer on the back (i.e., porous) side of an asymmetric membrane for fouling control in pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO), an emerging engineered osmosis process whose advancement has been much hindered due to the severe irreversible fouling that occurs as foulants accumulate inside the porous membrane support. In the membrane fouling experiments, protein and alginate were used as model organic foulants. When operated in forward osmosis mode, the GO membrane exhibited fouling performance comparable with that of a polyamide (PA) membrane. Analysis of the membrane adsorption capacity showed that, likely due to the presence of hydrophobic regions in the GO basal plane, the GO membrane has an affinity toward organic foulants 4 to 5 times higher than the PA membrane. Such a high adsorption capacity along with a large surface area, however, did not noticeably aggravate the fouling problem. Our explanation for this phenomenon is that organic foulants are adsorbed mainly on the basal plane of GO nanosheets, and water enters the GO membrane primarily around the oxidized edges of GO, making foulant adsorption not create much hindrance to water flux. When operated in PRO mode, the GO membrane exhibited much better antifouling performance than the PA membrane. This is because unlike the PA membrane for which foulants can be easily trapped inside the porous support and hence cause severe irreversible fouling, the GO membrane allows the foulants to accumulate primarily on its surface due to the sealing effect of the GO layer assembled on the porous side of the asymmetric membrane support. Results from the physical cleaning experiments further showed that the water flux of GO membranes operated in PRO mode can be sufficiently restored toward its initial prefouling level.

Impaired Performance of Pressure-Retarded Osmosis due to Irreversible Biofouling

Next-generation pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) approaches aim to harness the energy potential of streams with high salinity differences, such as wastewater effluent and seawater desalination plant brine. In this study, we evaluated biofouling propensity in PRO. Bench-scale experiments were carried out for 24 h using a model wastewater effluent feed solution and simulated seawater desalination brine pressurized to 24 bar. For biofouling tests, wastewater effluent was inoculated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and artificial seawater desalination plant brine draw solution was seeded with Pseudoalteromonas atlantica. Our results indicate that biological growth in the feed wastewater stream channel severely fouled both the membrane support layer and feed spacer, resulting in ∼50% water flux decline. We also observed an increase in the pumping pressure required to force water through the spacer-filled feed channel, with pressure drop increasing from 6.4±0.8 bar m(-1) to 15.1±2.6 bar m(-1) due to spacer blockage from the developing biofilm. Neither the water flux decline nor the increased pressure drop in the feed channel could be reversed using a pressure-aided osmotic backwash. In contrast, biofouling in the seawater brine draw channel was negligible. Overall, the reduced performance due to water flux decline and increased pumping energy requirements from spacer blockage highlight the serious challenges of using high fouling potential feed sources in PRO, such as secondary wastewater effluent. We conclude that PRO power generation using wastewater effluent and seawater desalination plant brine may become possible only with rigorous pretreatment or new spacer and membrane designs.

Membrane-based osmotic heat engine with organic solvent for enhanced power generation from low-grade heat

We present a hybrid osmotic heat engine (OHE) system that uses draw solutions with an organic solvent for enhanced thermal separation efficiency. The hybrid OHE system produces sustainable energy by combining pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) as a power generation stage and membrane distillation (MD) utilizing low-grade heat as a separation stage. While previous OHE systems employed aqueous electrolyte draw solutions, using methanol as a solvent is advantageous because methanol is highly volatile and has a lower heat capacity and enthalpy of vaporization than water. Hence, the thermal separation efficiency of a draw solution with methanol would be higher than that of an aqueous draw solution. In this study, we evaluated the performance of LiCl-methanol as a potential draw solution for a PRO-MD hybrid OHE system. The membrane transport properties as well as performance with LiCl-methanol draw solution were evaluated using thin-film composite (TFC) PRO membranes and compared to the results obtained with a LiCl-water draw solution. Experimental PRO methanol flux and maximum projected power density of 47.1 L m(-2) h(-1) and 72.1 W m(-2), respectively, were achieved with a 3 M LiCl-methanol draw solution. The overall efficiency of the hybrid OHE system was modeled by coupling the mass and energy flows between the thermal separation (MD) and power generation (PRO) stages under conditions with and without heat recovery. The modeling results demonstrate higher OHE energy efficiency with the LiCl-methanol draw solution compared to that with the LiCl-water draw solution under practical operating conditions (i.e., heat recovery<90%). We discuss the implications of the results for converting low-grade heat to power.

Forward osmosis niches in seawater desalination and wastewater reuse

This review focuses on the present status of forward osmosis (FO) niches in two main areas: seawater desalination and wastewater reuse. Specific applications for desalination and impaired-quality water treatment and reuse are described, as well as the benefits, advantages, challenges, costs and knowledge gaps on FO hybrid systems are discussed. FO can play a role as a bridge to integrate upstream and downstream water treatment processes, to reduce the energy consumption of the entire desalination or water recovery and reuse processes, thus achieving a sustainable solution for the water-energy nexus. FO hybrid membrane systems showed to have advantages over traditional membrane process like high pressure reverse osmosis and nanofiltration for desalination and wastewater treatment: (i) chemical storage and feed water systems may be reduced for capital, operational and maintenance cost, (ii) water quality is improved, (iii) reduced process piping costs, (iv) more flexible treatment units, and (v) higher overall sustainability of the desalination and wastewater treatment process. Nevertheless, major challenges make FO systems not yet a commercially viable technology, the most critical being the development of a high flux membrane, capable of maintaining an elevated salt rejection and a reduced internal concentration polarization effect, and the availability of appropriate draw solutions (cost effective and non-toxic), which can be recirculated via an efficient recovery process. This review article highlights the features of hybrid FO systems and specifically provides the state-of-the-art applications in the water industry in a novel classification and based on the latest developments toward scaling up these systems.

Module-scale analysis of pressure retarded osmosis: performance limitations and implications for full-scale operation

We investigate the performance of pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) at the module scale, accounting for the detrimental effects of reverse salt flux, internal concentration polarization, and external concentration polarization. Our analysis offers insights on optimization of three critical operation and design parameters--applied hydraulic pressure, initial feed flow rate fraction, and membrane area--to maximize the specific energy and power density extractable in the system. For co- and counter-current flow modules, we determine that appropriate selection of the membrane area is critical to obtain a high specific energy. Furthermore, we find that the optimal operating conditions in a realistic module can be reasonably approximated using established optima for an ideal system (i.e., an applied hydraulic pressure equal to approximately half the osmotic pressure difference and an initial feed flow rate fraction that provides equal amounts of feed and draw solutions). For a system in counter-current operation with a river water (0.015 M NaCl) and seawater (0.6 M NaCl) solution pairing, the maximum specific energy obtainable using performance properties of commercially available membranes was determined to be 0.147 kWh per m(3) of total mixed solution, which is 57% of the Gibbs free energy of mixing. Operating to obtain a high specific energy, however, results in very low power densities (less than 2 W/m(2)), indicating that the trade-off between power density and specific energy is an inherent challenge to full-scale PRO systems. Finally, we quantify additional losses and energetic costs in the PRO system, which further reduce the net specific energy and indicate serious challenges in extracting net energy in PRO with river water and seawater solution pairings.

Comparison of energy efficiency and power density in pressure retarded osmosis and reverse electrodialysis

Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) and reverse electrodialysis (RED) are emerging membrane-based technologies that can convert chemical energy in salinity gradients to useful work. The two processes have intrinsically different working principles: controlled mixing in PRO is achieved by water permeation across salt-rejecting membranes, whereas RED is driven by ion flux across charged membranes. This study compares the energy efficiency and power density performance of PRO and RED with simulated technologically available membranes for natural, anthropogenic, and engineered salinity gradients (seawater-river water, desalination brine-wastewater, and synthetic hypersaline solutions, respectively). The analysis shows that PRO can achieve both greater efficiencies (54-56%) and higher power densities (2.4-38 W/m(2)) than RED (18-38% and 0.77-1.2 W/m(2)). The superior efficiency is attributed to the ability of PRO membranes to more effectively utilize the salinity difference to drive water permeation and better suppress the detrimental leakage of salts. On the other hand, the low conductivity of currently available ion exchange membranes impedes RED ion flux and, thus, constrains the power density. Both technologies exhibit a trade-off between efficiency and power density: employing more permeable but less selective membranes can enhance the power density, but undesired entropy production due to uncontrolled mixing increases and some efficiency is sacrificed. When the concentration difference is increased (i.e., natural → anthropogenic → engineered salinity gradients), PRO osmotic pressure difference rises proportionally but not so for RED Nernst potential, which has logarithmic dependence on the solution concentration. Because of this inherently different characteristic, RED is unable to take advantage of larger salinity gradients, whereas PRO power density is considerably enhanced. Additionally, high solution concentrations suppress the Donnan exclusion effect of the charged RED membranes, severely reducing the permselectivity and diminishing the energy conversion efficiency. This study indicates that PRO is more suitable to extract energy from a range of salinity gradients, while significant advancements in ion exchange membranes are likely necessary for RED to be competitive with PRO.