A molecular theory for optimal blue energy extraction by electrical double layer expansion

Electrical double layer expansion (CDLE) has been proposed as a promising alternative to reverse electrodialysis (RED) and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) processes for extracting osmotic power generated by the salinity difference between freshwater and seawater. The performance of the CDLE process is sensitive to the configuration of porous electrodes and operation parameters for ion extraction and release cycles. In this work, we use a classical density functional theory (CDFT) to examine how the electrode pore size and charging/discharging potentials influence the thermodynamic efficiency of the CDLE cycle. The existence of an optimal charging potential that maximizes the energy output for a given pore configuration is predicted, which varies substantially with the pore size, especially when it is smaller than 2 nm. The thermodynamic efficiency is maximized when the electrode has a pore size about twice the ion diameter.