Performance of Reverse Electrodialysis System for Salinity Gradient Energy Generation by Using a Commercial Ion Exchange Membrane Pair with Homogeneous Bulk Structure

Salinity gradient energy is a prominent alternative and maintainable energy source, which has considerable potential. Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is one of the most widely studied methods to extract this energy. Despite the considerable progress in research, optimization of RED process is still ongoing. In this study, effects of the number of membrane pairs, ratio of salinity gradient and feed velocity on power generation via the reverse electrodialysis (RED) system were investigated by using Fujifilm cation exchange membrane (CEM Type 2) and FujiFilm anion exchange membrane (AEM Type 2) ion exchange membranes. In the literature, there is no previous study based on a RED system equipped with Fujifilm AEM Type II and CEM Type II membranes that have homogeneous bulk structure. Using 400 _m of intermembrane distance, maximum obtainable power density by 5 pairs of Fujifilm membranes at 1:45 salinity ratio and with a linear flow rate of 0.833 cm/s was 0.426 W/m2. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
YÖK 100-2000 117M023
Acknowledgments: This research has been financially supported by bilateral collaboration program (TUBITAK-NCBR-2549) between Turkey and Poland (Project No: TÜBİTAK 117M023). We acknowledge FUJIFILM Manufacturing Europe BV for sending us Fujifilm AEM Type 2 and Fujifilm CEM Type 2 membranes for our tests. E. Altıok is grateful for the PhD scholarship of Turkish Higher Education Council (YÖK 100-2000).
Funding: This research was funded by TÜBİTAK, grant number TÜBİTAK 117M023.