Researchers at Stanford University have developed a new way of generating renewable energy that is suitable for installation at wastewater treatment plants near the seashore.
New technology harnesses electricity generated by the mix of freshwater and saltwater to create meaningful electric load for wastewater treatment plants. The new process could make wastewater treatment plants distributed power facilities.
"Blue energy is an immense and untapped source of renewable energy,” study coauthor Kristian Dubrawski, a postdoctoral scholar in civil and environmental engineering, said in a press release. “Our battery is a major step toward practically capturing that energy without membranes, moving parts or energy input.”