Enhanced Ionic Conductivity and Power Generation Using Ion-Exchange Resin Beads in a Reverse-Electrodialysis Stack

Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is a promising technique for harvesting energy by mixing seawater with river water. The energy production is usually limited by ionic conductivity in dilute compartments of a RED system. Novel tests were conducted in this research, which used ion-exchange resin beads (IERB) to replace nonconductive spacer fabrics in RED compartments with dilute NaCl solution in a modified stack containing Fumasep FKS and Fumasep FAS membranes. We compared the conductivity of an IERB packed bed with that of an inert glass-beads-packed bed as a control to confirm IERB’s effectiveness. When applied in a RED system, IERB decreased the stack resistance by up to 40%. The maximum gross power density improved by 83% in the RED stack compared to that in a regular RED stack at 1.3 cm/s average linear flow velocity. IERB-filled stack resistance was modeled. The model results fit well with experimental data, thereby confirming the effectiveness of the new approach presented here. The net power density is also estimated based on the measured pressure drop and pumping energy model. Both gross and net power density was improved by over 75% at higher flow rate. A net power density of 0.44 W/m² was achieved at a cell thickness of 500 μm. To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first to study the impact of IERB on power generation and establishes a new approach to improving the power performance of a RED system