What Is Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion?
Alternative Energy from the Ocean
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) was conceived of by the French engineer Jacques D’Arsonval in 1881. With the development of this piece comes forth the fact that the only operating experimental OTEC plant is sheltered in no other place in the planet but to the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii. OTEC is a potential alternative energy source that needs to be funded and explored much more than it presently is but it is the expense that is the greatest problem. It is difficult to get the costs down to a reasonable level because of the processes presently used to drive OTEC. The other stumbling block is the potential damage they can cause on a local level even if they produce little or no pollution.
There are three types of OTEC:
Propane which is an example of a low-boiling point liquid is what the “Closed Cycle OTEC” uses to act as an intermediate fluid. The Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plant works in a way that it boils the intermediate fluid once it pumps the warm sea water into the reaction chamber. rotates large turbines. To cool down the vapor, putting in cold sea water is required.
There is no quite big difference between the “Open Cycle Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion” and the closed cycling but there is no intermediate fluid used in the Open Cycle. All that is used with this system is the sea water itself. Low-pressure vapor can be achieved as soon as warm sea water found on the surface of the ocean is utilized with the control of a vacuum. The power to drive the turbine is within the low-pressure vapor when released in a focused area. After the vapor has generated sufficient electricity, the deeper ocean’s cold waters are then added and used to produce desalinated water for human consumption and also to cool down the vapors.
The third type is called ‘Hybrid Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion’ but currently it is only in the theoretical stage. It seeks to describe the way that we could make maximum usage of the thermal energy of the ocean’s waters. The theory of Hybrid Cycling involves two sub-theories. One of these involves using the closed cycle technology to produce electricity which will feed the open cycle system vacuum. Following on from this is the second part which incorporates two open cycle plants that will produce twice the drinking water than one open cycle plant.
In addition to being used for producing electricity, a closed cycle OTEC plant can be utilized for treating chemicals. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plants both open cycling and close cycling kinds, are also able to be utilized for pumping up cold deep sea water which can then be used for refrigeration and air conditioning. Fish farming is also a benefit of using the water surrounding these plants as well as other mariculture and aquaculture studies. There is clearly quite an array of products and services that we could derive from this alternative energy source.
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
