Battery Power - September/October 2013 - (Page 13)
A Novel Single-Compartment Concentration Cell Driven by Natural
Evaporation for Green Energy Harvesting
Andrew A.Yang
Corr Instruments, LLC
Utilizing the difference in salt concentration of rivers and
seas for green energy production has been the subject of many
studies since the 1970s.1 Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) is one
of the methods utilized for harvesting this type of energy and relies on the use of ion-exchange membranes.2 Another method is
an electrochemical concentration cell, which relies on differing
salt concentrations.3,4 Solar evaporation has been used to maintain the concentration difference in some concentration cells.5
However, in all concentration cells, two separate streams or two
separate liquid compartments are required, making the concentration cells expensive and bulky. The two separate streams or
compartments also require additional energy to operate. The
objective of this study is to demonstrate a simple concentration
cell that is driven by natural evaporation and has only one liquid
compartment for producing sustainable energy.
www.BatteryPowerOnline.com
Experimental
Figure 1 shows the experimental setup for testing the prototype concentration cell design.
A porous cup was
filled with a dilute
KCl solution
(0.01 to 1 m) and
suspended in ambient air. Two Ag/
AgCl electrodes
were used, with
one being placed
inside the porous
cup to act as the
positive electrode Figure 1. Schematic diagram of a singleand the other one compartment concentration cell for genwrapped on the
erating electrical energy by in-situ natural
outside surface of evaporation.
the porous cup to
Corr Instruments Article Continued on Page 14
September/October 2013 • Battery Power
13
http://www.ioxus.comhttp://www.ioxus.comhttp://www.BatteryPowerOnline.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Battery Power - September/October 2013