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December 5, 2019 02:10 am
Original Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/zq64RBuHxOc/rivers-could-generate-2000-nuclear-power-plants-worth-of-energy-with-blue-membrane
Rivers Could Generate 2,000 Nuclear Power Plants Worth of Energy With 'Blue' Membrane
sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: Green energy advocates may soon be turning blue. A new membrane could unlock the potential of 'blue energy,' which uses chemical differences between fresh- and saltwater to generate electricity. If researchers can scale up the postage stamp -- size membrane in an affordable fashion, it could provide carbon-free power to millions of people in coastal nations where freshwater rivers meet the sea. Blue energy's promise stems from its scale: Rivers dump some 37,000 cubic kilometers of freshwater into the oceans every year. This intersection between fresh- and saltwater creates the potential to generate lots of electricity -- 2.6 terawatts, according to one recent estimate, roughly the amount that can be generated by 2,000 nuclear power plants. By pumping positive ions to the other side of a semipermeable membrane, researchers can create two pools of water: one with a positive charge, and one with a negative charge. If they then dunk electrodes in the pools and connect them with a wire, electrons will flow from the negatively charged to the positively charged side, generating electricity.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Original Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/zq64RBuHxOc/rivers-could-generate-2000-nuclear-power-plants-worth-of-energy-with-blue-membrane
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