Harvesting Enhanced Blue Energy in Charged Nanochannels Using Semidiluted Polyelectrolyte Solution

Blue energy generation in nanochannels based on salinity gradients is currently the most promising method in the area of nonconventional energy production. We used a semidiluted pure sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC)-KCl aqueous solution to study the characteristics of blue energy generation within a charged nanochannel. We solve the corresponding equations for ionic transport using a numerical technique based on the finite element method. Our analysis focused on the electric double layer (EDL) potential field, open circuit current, diffuse potential, electric conductance, maximum generated pore power, and maximum energy conversion efficiency by varying concentrations of the salt in the left-side reservoir and the bulk polyelectrolyte. The results indicate that as the polyelectrolyte concentration increases, the extent of EDL overlap considerably reduces. With an increase in polyelectrolyte concentration, the open circuit current increases, while the diffuse potential reduces. It was observed that both electrical conductance and maximal pore power improve considerably with higher polyelectrolyte concentrations. Interestingly, our modeling framework demonstrates a power density substantially higher (up to 16.31 W/m²) than earlier configurations and surpasses the established commercial limit (5 W/m²). Furthermore, our findings reveal that the reservoir salt concentration significantly affects the rate of decline in the maximum energy conversion efficiency as the polyelectrolyte concentration increases. The research paves the way for the development of high-power-density devices with several practical applications.