A cup of tea in the hands of the crown princess of Norway, Mette-Marit, was so special. It was the first drink tea brewed with a power of osmosis, the results of the first osmotic power plant in the world which it was inaugurated in Tofte, Norway, 24 November.
The new generators harness the energy of the meeting of fresh water and sea water to generate clean electricity. "Salt alone may not be able to save the world, we believe that this osmotic power will become an important part of a global renewable energy sources in the future," said Bard Mikkelsen, head of Statkraft, the Norwegian state-owned energy company.
Alternative energy company, began solar energy, wind, until the water, build a prototype osmotic power plant in Hurum, the edge of the Gulf of Oslo, 60 kilometers south of the capital of Norway. "When the fresh water from rivers flowing into the sea and mixes with salt water, there is energy released," he said, "Statkraft has developed technologies and systems to capture that energy."
This osmosis energy utilization is based on natural phenomenon of osmosis, which it allows the trees to suck water from the leaf. The principle was then applied to this new power plant to deliver fresh water and sea water has a high salt content to a chamber separated by an artificial membrane. Thin membrane can pass water, but impenetrable salt.
The molecule of salt in sea water draw fresh water through the membrane, causing pressure on the chamber sea level rises. It happened because the water flows from high concentration to higher concentrations. Pressure is equivalent to the tank water as high as 120 meters or it is equal to a waterfall used to drive turbines and it generate electricity.
Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Riis-Johansen was very proud of the inauguration of the first osmotic power plant in the world. "We were at the forefront, and we have opened something opened before," he said.
Riis-Johansen deserve proud of its inauguration of this osmotic power plant. Although electricity was generated prototypes to merely make tea and coffee, which it produces environmentally friendly and clean electricity . Unlike other alternative energy, like wind and solar power, osmosis is also better. This new energy source is to produce electricity without any unaffected stable weather conditions. "This is a form of renewable energy producing stable and reliable energy," said by Stein Erik Skilhagen, who had the responsible project at Statkraft.
The power plant can also be built below ground, for example under the factory building or park. Another advantage of this osmotic power plant also does not cause pollution to the atmosphere or water, and it does not affect the flora and fauna in the river or on the seabed.
Before Statkraft uses osmosis to generate electric power, the phenomenon is only used by industry to desalinate sea water or distilled into fresh water. Now almost all the countries bordering the sea are to take advantage of this osmosis energy, because it takes only a meeting of freshwater and seawater. Provided that there is a river flowing into the sea, osmotic power plant could be erected.
Osmotic energy potential worldwide is estimated at 1 700 terawatt hours (TWh) per year, it is equivalent to half the EU's energy production or it is equal to the electricity consumption of China in 2002.
The problem now is a more energy efficient membrane. The idea to create electricity from the energy osmosis has actually emerged in the 1970s. However, the membrane at that time was very low capacity and electricity costs are still cheap so that no one wants to invest to make the membrane.
This prototype was built by the government of Norway to test and develop technology osmosis membranes to attract quite a lot of water in order to create an effective pressure to drive a turbine. At present, the prototype plant could only produce the 2000-4000 watt hours per day, or it is enough to light a stove only.
To improve membrane technology, Statkraft works with research institutions and industry in Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. At present, the most efficient membrane is only capable of producing 3 watts per square meter, so it does not meet commercial standards, that is 5 watts per square meter.
Statkraft expects to start building power plants in 2015 for his first commercial osmosis. The plan, power plants have the capacity to 25 megawatts, it is
enough to meet the electricity needs of 10 thousand homes.
