Energy generation from salinity gradients with reverse electrodialysis: fouling management and process design

Salinity gradient energy is the energy that can be harvested from mixing two solutions with different salinities. In the Netherlands, this energy is popularly know as 'Blue Energy'. Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is used to harvest this clean, sustainable and renewable source of energy. In this thesis, the effect of the majors contributors of RED fouling are investigated and new anti-fouling strategies are proposed. The breathing cell, presented in this thesis, is a new design that operates a RED stack, introduces a paradigm change from a static to a dynamic stack. The effects of scaling-up RED are also evaluated and discussed. The obtained knowledge contributed substantially towards achieving the final crucial steps towards commercialization of the RED technology.