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Electricity from salt water using a two-layer membrane

30.10.2018

The device is capable of converting 35,7% of the chemical energy stored in salt water into usable electricity. It is as efficient a source of electricity as wind turbines and more efficient than most solar panels.

Nature loves balance and seeks to balance the disproportionate parts of the system. An example of this is a process such as osmosis. If in one part of the system the solution contains more of some elements and substances than in the other, then the solvent (usually water) enters the first one in order to equalize the concentration of substances on both sides. There are two features here: the process takes place unilaterally and this is facilitated by a natural membrane that allows the solvent to pass through. Osmosis helps, for example, plants to absorb moisture: the roots "collect" it, but the plant cells do not release it back.

The same process is used by scientists to create a high-speed power line that receives electricity from salt water. When the ionic lattice of salts, consisting of bundles of positively and negatively charged particles, dissolves in water, the bundles are broken, leaving the particles free to participate in osmosis. If charged thin membranes are placed between salt and fresh water, then the particles will flow from one side to the other, balancing the number of positive and negative charges. This generates an electric current. Membranes for such a process are already in use, but they are expensive and tend to leak over time. This allows the particles to pass back in the wrong direction, reducing the amount of electricity they can produce.

Researchers in China have created a new, two-layer membrane that has different properties on both sides, from pore size to the charge of the membrane itself. Each layer passes particles with a certain charge. This encourages a constant flow of charged particles from one side to the other, preventing them from drifting backwards in the wrong direction. The new membranes were named after the two-faced Janus, the ancient Roman god of doors, entrances and exits.

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