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Emerging Membrane Technologies for Energy Production
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Emerging Membrane Technologies for Energy Production

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A: Sustainable Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2022) | Viewed by 12003
Please submit your paper and select the Journal "Energies" and the Special Issue "Emerging Membrane Technologies for Energy Production" via: https://susy.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload?journal=energies. Please contact the journal editor Adele Min ([email protected]) before submitting.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Endre Nagy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute of Biomolecular and Chemical Engineering, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary
Interests: Mass transfer and separation by membrane processes (1971–); Separation of optically active components by membrane processes (2000–2011); Controlled drug release (2002–2008); Biomass utilization, bioethanol, biochemicals production (2005–); Investigation of enzyme nanoparticles (2005–); Biocatalytic membrane reactor (2010–); Energy production by PRO membrane process (2013–)
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy production by membrane technology, capturing the salinity gradient energy from natural and wastewater, is very intensively researched worldwide. The most promising sustainable energy generation is pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) and reverse electrodialysis (RED). PRO and RED have been used mainly to capture natural salinity-gradient energy using seawater and river water, but their commercialization need still further improvement of the membrane selectivity and the operation conditions for reducing the consumed energy. PRO extracts salinity-gradient energy using semipermeable membranes to allow the transport of water from a low-concentration solution (such as river, brackish or wastewater) into a high-concentration draw solution (e.g., seawater). By the RED system, electricity is generated directly from salinity gradients. Seawater and freshwater are introduced into arrays or stacks of membranes with alternating anion-exchange membranes and cation-exchange membranes, directly generating an electrochemical potential.

A further source of energy comes from organic matter in wastewaters, which can be harnessed using microbial fuel-cell technology, allowing both wastewater treatment and power production. Exoelectrogenic bacteria release protons into the wastewater and transfer electrons to electrically conductive, inert, and high-porosity anodes. At the cathode, the electrons and protons combine with oxygen to form water, generating electric power.

The accurate description of the components transport is crucially important at the abovementioned processes. Manuscripts on mass transport and any applications of these processes or combination by other processes (hybrid ones), or applied in closed loop ones, are welcomed in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Endre Nagy
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • energy generation by membrane
  • pressure-retarded osmosis
  • reverse electrodialysis
  • salinity gradient
  • seawater-river water pair for energy
  • sustainable energy
  • blue energy
  • microbial fuel-cell for electric energy
  • hybrid processes for energy
  • mass transport

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 24146 KiB  
Article
Study of Pressure Retarded Osmosis Process in Hollow Fiber Membrane: Cylindrical Model for Description of Energy Production
by Endre Nagy, Ibrar Ibrar, Ali Braytee and Béla Iván
Energies 2022, 15(10), 3558; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15103558 - 12 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1383
Abstract
A new mathematical model was developed to predict the cylindrical effect of the membrane performance in the pressure retarded osmosis process. The cylindrical membrane transport layers (the draw side boundary and the porous membrane) were divided into very thin sublayers with constant mass [...] Read more.
A new mathematical model was developed to predict the cylindrical effect of the membrane performance in the pressure retarded osmosis process. The cylindrical membrane transport layers (the draw side boundary and the porous membrane) were divided into very thin sublayers with constant mass transport parameters, among others with a constant radius in every sublayer. The obtained second-order differential mass balance equations were solved analytically, with constant parameters written for every sublayer. The algebraic equation system involving 2N equations was then solved for the determinant solution. It was shown that the membrane properties, water permeability (A), salt permeability (B), structural parameter (S) and the operating conditions (inlet draw side solute concentration and draw side mass transfer coefficient) affect the water flux strongly, and thus the membrane performance, due to the cylindrical effect caused by the variable surface and volume of the sublayers. This effect significantly depends on the lumen radius. The lower radius means a larger change in the internal surface/volume of sublayers with ΔR thickness. The predicted results correspond to that of the flat-sheet membrane layer at ro = 10,000 μm. At the end of this manuscript, the calculated mass transfer rates were compared to those measured. It was stated that the curvature effect in using a capillary membrane must not be left out of consideration when applying hollow fiber membrane modules due to their relatively low lumen radius. The presented model provides more precise prediction of the performance in the case of hollow fiber membranes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Membrane Technologies for Energy Production)
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13 pages, 1877 KiB  
Article
Tailor-Made Phosphorylated Polyvinyl Alcohol/Tungsten Polyoxometalate Proton Exchange Membrane for a Bio-Electrochemical Energy Storage System
by Vassili Glibin, Vahid Vajihinejad, Victor Pupkevich and Dimitre G. Karamanev
Energies 2021, 14(23), 7975; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14237975 - 29 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1617
Abstract
In this work, the synthesis of a phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol (p-PVA)/polyoxometalate (tungsto-phosphate) membrane for the BioGenerator, a bio-electrochemical energy storage technology, is reported. It was shown that bonding of lacunary tungsto-phosphate ions to the carbon skeleton of a polymer matrix results in an [...] Read more.
In this work, the synthesis of a phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol (p-PVA)/polyoxometalate (tungsto-phosphate) membrane for the BioGenerator, a bio-electrochemical energy storage technology, is reported. It was shown that bonding of lacunary tungsto-phosphate ions to the carbon skeleton of a polymer matrix results in an increase in proton conductivity of up to 2.7 times, compared to previously studied phosphorylated PVA membranes. Testing of the membrane in an actual Fe3+/H2 electrochemical cell showed that it performs significantly better (0.28 W·cm−2 at 0.79 A·cm−2) than the previously used commercial Selemion HSF (Japan) membrane (0.18 W·cm−2 at 0.60 A·cm−2). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Membrane Technologies for Energy Production)
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22 pages, 2986 KiB  
Article
Energy Harvesting by Waste Acid/Base Neutralization via Bipolar Membrane Reverse Electrodialysis
by Andrea Zaffora, Andrea Culcasi, Luigi Gurreri, Alessandro Cosenza, Alessandro Tamburini, Monica Santamaria and Giorgio Micale
Energies 2020, 13(20), 5510; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13205510 - 21 Oct 2020
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 5349
Abstract
Bipolar Membrane Reverse Electrodialysis (BMRED) can be used to produce electricity exploiting acid-base neutralization, thus representing a valuable route in reusing waste streams. The present work investigates the performance of a lab-scale BMRED module under several operating conditions. By feeding the stack with [...] Read more.
Bipolar Membrane Reverse Electrodialysis (BMRED) can be used to produce electricity exploiting acid-base neutralization, thus representing a valuable route in reusing waste streams. The present work investigates the performance of a lab-scale BMRED module under several operating conditions. By feeding the stack with 1 M HCl and NaOH streams, a maximum power density of ~17 W m−2 was obtained at 100 A m−2 with a 10-triplet stack with a flow velocity of 1 cm s−1, while an energy density of ~10 kWh m−3 acid could be extracted by a complete neutralization. Parasitic currents along feed and drain manifolds significantly affected the performance of the stack when equipped with a higher number of triplets. The apparent permselectivity at 1 M acid and base decreased from 93% with the five-triplet stack to 54% with the 38-triplet stack, which exhibited lower values (~35% less) of power density. An important role may be played also by the presence of NaCl in the acidic and alkaline solutions. With a low number of triplets, the added salt had almost negligible effects. However, with a higher number of triplets it led to a reduction of 23.4–45.7% in power density. The risk of membrane delamination is another aspect that can limit the process performance. However, overall, the present results highlight the high potential of BMRED systems as a productive way of neutralizing waste solutions for energy harvesting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Membrane Technologies for Energy Production)
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14 pages, 2966 KiB  
Article
Novel Thermal Desalination Brine Reject-Sewage Effluent Salinity Gradient for Power Generation and Dilution of Brine Reject
by Ali Altaee and Nahawand AlZainati
Energies 2020, 13(7), 1756; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13071756 - 6 Apr 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2725
Abstract
Salinity gradient resource presents an essential role for power generated in the process of pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO). Researchers proposed several designs for coupling the PRO process with the desalination plants, particularly reverse osmosis technology for low-cost desalination but there is no study available [...] Read more.
Salinity gradient resource presents an essential role for power generated in the process of pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO). Researchers proposed several designs for coupling the PRO process with the desalination plants, particularly reverse osmosis technology for low-cost desalination but there is no study available yet on the utilization of the concentrated brine reject from a thermal desalination plant. This study evaluates the feasibility of power generation in the PRO process using thermal plant brine reject-tertiary sewage effluent (TSE) salinity gradient resource. Power generation in the PRO process was determined for several commercially available FO membranes. Water flux in Oasys Forward Osmosis membrane was more than 31 L/m2h while the average water flux in the Oasys module was 17 L/m2h. The specific power generation was higher in the thin film composite (TFC) membranes compared to the cellulose triacetate (CTA) membranes. The specific power generation for the Oasys membrane was 0.194 kWh/m3, which is 41% of the maximum Gibbs energy of the brine reject-TSE salinity gradient. However, the Hydration Technology Innovation CTA membrane extracted only 0.133 kWh/m3 or 28% of Gibbs free energy of mixing for brine reject-TSE salinity gradient. The study reveals the potential of the brine reject-TSE salinity gradient resource for power generation and the dilution of brine reject. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Membrane Technologies for Energy Production)
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