Evaluation of the Potential of Osmotic Energy as Renewable Energy Source in Realistic Conditions

The possibility of using osmotic energy as renewable energy source is discussed here, and some experimental results at realistic operating conditions are presented. It is shown how a membrane-based PRO system could transform osmotic energy of seawater into electricity aided by river or wastewater. This process mainly requires novel membranes, currently in development: some of these membranes are tested in realistic conditions of temperature, salinity and different flows values which makes possible to predict expected power productions