Energy comparison and cost estimation of pressure-retarded osmosis using spiral wound membrane

Advancements in Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) technology are enhancing the feasibility of evaluating its economic viability against other renewable energy production methods. This is done using the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) as a metric. The study focuses on three PRO scenarios designed to minimize environmental impact and promote sustainable energy. These scenarios utilize a spiral-wound membrane module combined with hyper-saline solutions from Reverse Osmosis (RO) and wastewater from demineralization processes. Experimental results using a commercial spiral-wound membrane in the PRO system yielded LCOE values of USD 0.0702/kWh for a draw solution (DS) concentration of 36.2 g/l, USD 0.0563/kWh for 44.2 g/l, and USD 0.0721/ kWh for 51.8 g/l. The study also evaluated environmental viability by considering the cost of CO2 emissions. This comprehensive comparison highlighted PRO's competitiveness with fossil fuels, showing it to be a reasonable alternative to coal and oil but less practical than natural gas. Specifically, the environmental analysis revealed that PRO is approximately 25.2 % more competitive than coal and 9.76 % more competitive than oil but 27.16 % less competitive compared to natural gas in terms of CO2 emission costs. This underscores the importance of considering carbon emission mitigation in energy generation.