Chapter 8
OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion)
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Introduction
OTEC, or Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, is an
energy technology that converts solar radiation to electric
power.
OTEC systems use the ocean's natural thermal gradient-
the fact that the ocean's layers of water have different
temperatures-to drive a power-producing cycle.
Mainly used in equatorial waters where temperature
gradient is greatest.
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How Does it Work
Carnot Efficiency (T1-T2)/T1: in transferring heat to do work,
the greater the spread in temperature between the heat
source and the heat sink, greater the efficiency of the
energy conversion.
As long as the temperature between the warm surface
water and the cold deep water differs by about 20°C (36°F),
an OTEC system can produce a significant amount of
power with a maximum Carnot Efficiency of about 6.7%.
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History
Jacques Arsene d’Arsonval
1881- Jacques Arsene d’Arsonval, French physicist, proposed
tapping the thermal energy of the ocean.
1930- Georges Claude, d’Arsonval’s student, built the 1st OTEC
plant in Cuba.
1935- Claude constructed another plant aboard a 10,000 ton
cargo vessel off the coast of Brazil.
Weather & waves destroyed both the plants before they could
become net power generators.
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History
1956- French scientists designed another OTEC plant for
Abidjan, Ivory Coast, West Africa.
The plant was never completed due to reduced energy
costs. Large amounts of cheap oil became available in the
1950’s.
1962- J. Hilbert Anderson & James H. Anderson, Jr. started
designing a cycle that focused on developing new, more
efficient component design.
1967- patented new "closed cycle" design.
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History
1970- Tokyo Electric Power Company successfully built & deployed a
120 kW closed-cycle OTEC plant on the island of Nauru.
1981- Became operational & produced about 120 kW of electricity .
90 kW was used to power the plant & the remaining electricity used
to power a school & several other places on Nauru.
Set a world record for power output from an OTEC system where the
power was sent to a real power grid.
6
History
1993: An open-cycle OTEC plant at Keahole Point, Hawaii,
produced 50 kW of electricity during a net power-producing
experiment.
This broke the record of 30 kW set by a Japanese system in
1982.
Today, scientists are developing new, cost-effective, state-of-
the-art turbines for open-cycle OTEC systems, experimenting
with anti corroding Titanium and plastics as rotor material.
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Open Cycle OTEC Power Plant
Open-cycle OTEC uses the tropical oceans' warm surface
water to make electricity.
When warm seawater is placed in a low-pressure
container, it boils.
The expanding steam drives a low-pressure turbine
attached to an electrical generator.
The steam, which has left its salt behind in the low-
pressure container, is almost pure fresh water.
It is condensed back into a liquid by exposing it to cold
temperatures from deep-ocean water.
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Open Cycle OTEC Power Plant
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Closed Cycle OTEC Power Plant
Closed-cycle systems use fluid with a low-boiling point,
such as ammonia, to rotate a turbine to generate electricity.
Warm surface seawater is pumped through a heat
exchanger where the low-boiling-point fluid is vaporized.
The expanding vapor turns the turbo-generator.
Then, cold, deep seawater-pumped through a second heat
exchanger-condenses the vapor back into a liquid, which is
then recycled through the system.
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Closed Cycle OTEC Power Plant
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Closed Cycle OTEC Power Plant
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Hybrid Cycle OTEC Power Plant
Hybrid systems combine the features of both the
closed-cycle and open-cycle systems.
In a hybrid system, warm seawater enters a vacuum
chamber where it is flash-evaporated into steam, similar
to the open-cycle evaporation process.
The steam vaporizes a low-boiling-point fluid (in a
closed-cycle loop) that drives a turbine to produces
electricity.
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Advantages of OTEC
Extremely benign impact on environment.
No dependency on oil.
Minimal maintenance costs compared to conventional
power production plants.
Open cycle OTEC systems can produce desalinated
water which is very important in third-world countries.
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Limitations of OTEC
Low thermal efficiency due to small temperature gradient
between heat sink and source.
OTEC technology is only ideally suitable in equatorial
waters.
Only moderate power outputs are available.
Currently this technology is not as monetarily feasible as
conventional power production plants.
The manufacturing and installation of the extremely long
cold water pipes is extremely time consuming and costly.
15
References
Non-Conventional Energy Resources by John B. H. Khan
Non-Conventional Energy Resources by S. Hasan Saeed and D.K. Sharma
Non-Conventional Energy Resources by G.D. Rai
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
conversion-basics
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Thank you
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