Osmose PRO: Blue Energy Without a Membrane
Osmosis, between fresh and salt water, is based on a natural physical principle: when two bodies of water with different salinities are brought into contact, they spontaneously seek equilibrium, tending towards a homogeneous mixture.
This phenomenon of cell migration generates a phenomenal force (osmotic pressure), linked to the salinity gradient, which current technological processes strive to capture and harness with the help of membranes that are costly to manufacture and maintain. WattOsmose does not use a membrane.
The energy potential is immense: for example, a flow rate of one cubic meter per second (1 m³/s) of fresh water mixing with salt water releases a theoretical usable power of approximately one megawatt (1 MW).
On an industrial scale, a mixing flow of 900 m³/s would generate a continuous power of 900 MW, equivalent to the electricity production capacity of a nuclear reactor at the Bugey power plant. Just to illustrate these figures, the Rhône River has a flow rate of 1,700 m³/s.
Contact: hydralium@windtrap.eu