Wader,
LLC is developing systems to improve the energy efficiency of coastal
desalination plants, wastewater treatment plants, and industrial plants
worldwide by allowing the plants to generate clean renewable energy
from their waste stream. The apparatus, patented as the Hydrocratic
Generator, is placed at the outflow line of the coastal plant and captures
the energy generated by the mixing of salt and fresh water and returns
this clean, green power to the plant for baseline power needs.
The
design of the Hydrocratic Generator is simple and flexible allowing
for use in many environments. The components of the device are readily
available. The generator does not require the use of high maintenance
membranes and generates clean energy without the use of hydrocarbons
or the generation of carbon dioxide. This energy is generated continuously
as long as fresh and salt water are flowing through the device. The
generator also assists in the disposition of wastewater and brine from
desalination facilities, wastewater treatment plants, or industrial
plants by bringing the salt content closer to that found naturally in
the ocean.
This
energy generated is called salinity gradient energy and is comparable
to wave energy in the estimated power available with estimates in the
range of 2,000 TWh/annum where TW is terra watt or one trillion watts.
The
company is ready to roll out engineered systems for trials and production.
The first prototype will be tested in a typical usage situation. We
envision a system designed with input from offshore oil & gas engineers
that have extensive experience in structural design. To date, Wader,
LLC, has tested the concept, run computational fluid dynamic analysis
on early model test results, expanded and modified the device based
on empirical results, field tested the device at the docks in San Pedro
and at sea on the Scripps FLIP. Wader, LLC, has continued to build on
intellectual property protection through patents, copyrights, proprietary
data and trade secrets.
The
system consists of three subsystems, namely an injection system, an
open vertical tub immersed in a water column and a means to extract
the energy and deliver the power to shore, such as an underwater turbine
and underwater power cable. The system flexibility in design allows
for entry into multiple markets.
The
Figure reflects the results of a lab experiment conducted by Wader,
LLC, wherein brine from a desalination plant is released into the ocean
environment within 4% of the ambient salinity.
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