Osmotic Power generation from geothermal wells

The project aims at demonstrating the profitability of salinity power technology (pressure retarded osmosis or PRO) integrated with Danish geothermal plants, by allowing the geothermal plants to co-generate electricity and heat. The project partners wish to demonstrate the enormous potential held by the PRO technology when mixing waters with large differences in salinity, and at the same time limit construction costs by using readily available standard components. Preliminary studies by the project partners Applied Biomimetic and Aalborg University have shown promising results, spurring interest into further investigations of the process at larger scale. The geothermal plants of both Sønderborg Fjernvarme and HOFOR/HGS (Amager) have been included in the project, and PRO pilot plants will be set up at both locations. Initially, these will be used to verify the PRO process, and optimize the process in greater detail with focus on maximizing the energy production under different process conditions. The project is expected to demonstrate that the integrated geothermal plants can viably produce renewable PRO generated electricity. Also, the operational risks of the geothermal plants will be reduced, since the PRO process will make the water less corrosive and reduce its scaling potential.