On the cover: Photo on left····",verUcaJ.

,spout evaporator developed tor

an open -cycle ocean thermal energy convers ion system. on
top to boHorn"'········hoat,· and mass-transfer test apparatus,
turbine rotor , for the direct -contact condenser. and a sectional
view of a heat fJ;JXICt11!1n(ler
 Ocean
Thermal
Energy
Conversion
An Overview

SERI/SP ~220 ·»3024 DE89000838

November1989 UC Category: 262

Preface
Ocean thermal energy
thermal This ·f'i':x(·~ t''l t"l r·'k l:f'''t l''·i''\.i

();·.rE:(: research is funded the l . .f.S, · · ~.·.t U.l- .li·.·:" ·... l ·*..t.l-"'-d ·J.t.· The
to the tee.•nnotosv assessment of its
J)ot:eutJ.ttl··'·'·'·'·'·'·'·'·:(~·lttH>r asanalternative or asa supplement to convenuonat enerzv sources. funded research
to and will ()~·I·<l.:S(.: to the threshold of comm ercial ization. This ououcauon
rlrf) V 1 th(~ , all ()v erv iewof the (:rI;.E~(: f '/.·:. ;:··, ·h, ..·\ ;:"". 1 ;..,'>, '

'Ilel
Produced for the
WindlOcean Technologies Dtvtslon l
4iiiiiiii»iiiiiiii
u~s~ Department of Energy Solar Energy Research Institute
A Division of Midwest Research Institute
A Productof the
Solar Technical 1617 CoteBou levard
Information Program Golde n, CO 80401 ~3393

Operated for the

U~S~ Department of Energy
 Notice
oreoarec as an account of work an the United Statos governrnont Noither the United States ccvernmem
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comoeteness. or usofulnOS$ of any inforrnatioM; apparatus; or process cisclosed. or represents that Hs use would not
Reference name,trademark, manufacturer.
necessarnv constitute or recommencano». or the States or any agoncy thoroot Tho
of authors state or rofloctthose 01 tht) UnitodStates or any agoncy the roof,

National Technical ~nforrntttion

Sen/ico
UJ3. of Commerce
Road
22161
Prict); Microfiche A01
Printed AOS
Cooes are used for all Put)liC;atJc~ns. tho number of pagosin t h o !ntorrnanoo nblrh~jnit"'1~N
codes can bo found the currentissue onne lOHO\NHld PubltCtJtlc>ns an) ceneranv aVtlll;aOIH in roost liorades:
Govemmeot Announcernonts and Inat):x Tectmice! Abstract
availablekorn at: tho abOVE; address.
 Contents

Introduction . . • I.
'\lhnt ()'·.fE(.:?. I
of orsc
'Ihe Federal I·'rc\n·t~~:llr'r)

ChapterI-c-Power Cycles
"'..' ,',." ,.~ "'-.' orsc .5
·'- .. " e. n ". "' , orsc .6
()f'l··I.:.~(: S vstem s .9
Enhanced io
Current Activities in Power I()

Ch,.. pt.er2-1)lan.tl)e~:ig'1 and Locatlon 13

Land-Based and Near-Shore Facilities 13
Shelf-Mounted Facitiries ., . .' . . . < 14
Facilities
I··"f,{"\{il':if"i Ct' 14
PowerPlants 15
Current Activities in c:rrE:(:: 16

Chapter :;-]~lleSeaW'~I.t:erSystem 17
::s lH;l)e:n(l(;~(1 Seawater '\.f cr t~llH';: 17
Bottom-Mounted Seawaterxvstems 18
18
20
2()

Chapter 4-(:;(llnplelnellt.Ur}l()]'~F:,(~:I·lr(:)(lu
cts 21
Desalinated Water ., . . . < •••

ater-Supoortec Mariculture 22

23

Chapter 5-F;nV'it~(ln.ll1entallss·ues 25
Marine Interactions 25
Anrommz Coastline Interactions ., . . . < 26
ArmosnnencInteractions ., < , 26
Current Activities in Environmental Assessment 27

Chapter 6-!rhef\utureof ()"r:E:(:: 29

References ., . . . . . ., . . . . .,
Appendlx-s-Particlpants in the l)()E: Ocean EnergyTechnology
Program (1987-1989) ' < " " " " " " . " , . ,

iii
 Introduction

What is OlEC?

Figure 1

Introduction
History of OTEC

The Federal Program

2 Ocean TherrnaJ Energy Conversion: An Overview

Figure 4 Mini~OTEC off Keabote Point Howatt (Courtesy of
the Lockheed Missiles and Space Co,}

Introduction 3
4 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: An Overview
 Chapter 1
Power Cycles

Closed-Cycle OTEC

/"·.·,·...~·'\;:··.,,,::~:t'''''t'~·< \Xic:re and

i980s. 12 R.escarch. on

Warm Discharge water

water in to sea

Working
fluid
vapor
Wortdng
fluid
V8,por
t
Evaporator Condenser

Discharge water
to sea
Workingfluid
pressurizer
t
Cold
water in
(boner feedpump)

Working f:luid
Working fluid conoensate

PowerCycles 5
 Waterout ...-,

Ammonia in

Waterout
t
Ammonia out

a. Horizontal shell and tube

e. Vertical shell and tube

Ammonia
,.#'.~..,"

·1ft
Ammonia liquid

Seawater
e. Plate and fin d~ Plate and frame

Open-Cycle OTEC
 Cold seawater
Warm Noncondensable discharge
seawater in gases to sea

Desalinated Des-alinated

t
Vacuum chamber
water
vapor
(unsaturated)
water
vapor
{saturated} t Desalinated
Daaeralion
(optional) flash Condenser - - .... water
evaporator (optional)

,I
I
I

Noncondensable Warm seawater

t
Cold
gas-es dischargeto sea seawaterin

FI}'Jure 1 ,3 An open-cvcle OTEC system

Power Cycles 7
 Enriched
inert gases
~

.
t

8
Figure 1J) A hybrid OTEe system

Hybrid OTEC Systems

Power Cycles 9
 Current Activities in Power Cycles

Enhanced OTEC Systems

10 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: An Overview

Figure 1,9 Heat exchanger test facility at Argonne National Laboratory (Courtesy of ANL)

Power Cycles 11
 Chapter 2
Plant Design and Location

Land-Based and Near-Shore

Facilities

Figure 2.1 The land-based 100~kWe (:gr058) OTEe plant at

Nauru (Courtesy of Tokyo Electric Power CO+ Inc)
1

Plant Design and location 13

Floating Facilities

14 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: An Overview

Development of OTEC Power Plants

Plant Design and Location 15

16 Ocean Thermal Energy' Conversion: An Overview
 Chapter 3
The Seawater System

Suspended Seawater Systems

The Seawater System 17

Bottom-Mounted Seawater Systems

Discharge Pipe

Figure 3,2 Deplayrnent of the i -rn cote-water pipe at the

Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai~ (counesv of R,A4, Towill
Corporation)

18 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: An Overview

 Current Activities in Seawater
Systems

Pumps

20
 Chapter 4
Complementary OTEC Products

an ()··r~r.:(:: nroauce valuable Desalinated Water

cornptementary nffHlu.cts such oesannateo water
lion to ge:nt\~ratlung Jj()\VCC Thecold seawater be used
for marine life and for rerneersnon and
conrnuonmg. These notenrrauv svneratsnc nell V11fl{*%

make svsiems attractive to and

muniues even if the of oil remains 10\\\ Some
or()(IUC1S and QI::;~l·lnf."'*{:"·Q that could lje from
shown in

Sun

orec

Norl

Building

4,1 A
Deep-Water-Supported Mariculture

22 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: An Overview

Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Current Activities in Complementary
Products
·{·'~'t'''\;.A''t'','::~1'''tl'·'I<Y'l<.~< related or
i% continue at where the cold-
·,\;:!j~''\>::'''·t·'·tt··'l''''~''{:'''·t·~·l·(·'
trout
·M,~,.,~ ~,,~..~ "/~ -l'''''''''~ t
seawater for research in both (rr[S(:':
waters, but
tecrmoioav and its associated Additional water
Lil.,. -oumceo water to extend f)Yt'Y\/1Iflt~'f1 at the Hawaii Ocean Scienceand 'Iechnol-
nronncts available in thosemarkets. aeracent to to in "··l.<'::"\·!'ii::*:I<"··"I<t~L.
rerngen.:UJCHl available frcmcold
Df()(1UCIS and markets associated with cold seawater. fJ\VO
seawater can be used to or maintain the of commercial rnariculture veutures are under way therc.und
the which tend to deteriorate in the
others are in the of Ocean Farms
warm were conducted of Hawaii uses cold seawater to grow of
successtunvon fruits and asso" nrennum abalone each year. Anothercompany,
ciated vlith mcderateclimatea such as lettuce and straw- uses warm seawater to culture several of nucroaieae
berries. are grown in cooled and ·~t"'t'··lif'h:~'!·{:"',,·'l
that are sold as food supruemems, unarmaceun-
a the fresh water thatcondenses on the and food !ij('>:l"'j:'f'~/';'j;"'> f'l"

external surfaces of the coil d-water

can be used Other small are carried nut on a rrazmenteo

basis around the world to evaluate specialnon-power-
f.,,~·t"~···"1<';··~i·i'ti<···'·f.·t·'~.f·t' \t··,~,·, for cold seawater. Theseefforts are
{·l<·y"'\·il'.".I·U···'·.·'l'···t.....

not tied to (y'I"EC': commercian..zanon: h~(·\·ltff,~·\/t'~r

rnay offer the; to generate 't'~"':j"f 1 r"t·,s'''''.I.'':'' 't·'ij;·t";(·'\.(··l:li'i""t'·i':'

supptementar incomefrom an ()'I~E::(:

annncanons until ()"''['E:(:::systerl1s can deliver and
water to island markets at comoenuve

ComplementaryOTECProducts 23
 Chapter 5
Environmental Issues

The I)()E Ofi'I'Prouram has funded research to our of the effects shown in 5.1 are
uneerstanoma of ()(]"'T::(::: interactions with marine eco- from an ()v'rE~C~ 41C:onstn.lction activities may
;:::~'I..>··t·'''';::'~;··'*·;:::~.;··1

sysrems. and the and to the sea habitats and

"·~·.'·'···>".".e·.·'·""""'··'.,· ....n.1 to lessen any adverse interne- decreasmz subsurface Platforms and marine sub-
tions, These studieshave UflCOVCre(1 1'10 insurrnountable rnay attract fish and other marine auempts
environmentalobstacles to (YI<'r:;~(~ in cur- to reduce may increase the level of toxic sub",
rent evidence thatmost environmental effects will stances. Intake can draw marine the
be minimal with those associated with conven- and move amounts ofnutricnr-rich water up from
tional power Careful and strict the However, ()'·fI.:(:: can be and h)··
and well ~ trained
~..l*.~",f",/""..1U.%..~.l·\w,"~.. ;t\*·'·*··l,::·:~ I
t·'\·;%·lf··';':·' cared to minimize their effects on the environment.
(y]'·'·E:<:.::: systems that are envi ronmentaII y ta.~,:
O ......·,y,··\...··l·.·n.(.M;...

ofpower, The construction of land-based or shelf-mounted ()'l<·[~(.:

can disturb the sea bed. of t'y'\,..·\... ·"'~t'r·'\<·'t'·.:'<

and anchors may churn up the bottom

Marine Ecosystem Interactions and increase thenumber of in the water.
Like any offshore or shoreline commercial ('YI"E(:: This of disturbance can affect areas of
facilities will affect the marine environment. such as coral seagrass

o .
.~~--~:.:~~--"""" _~~ ...,., . . . . ,
+ Attraction
100

200

300
400
500

600 • Redistribution of nutrients

g • Chlorinereleases (negligible
15 700 with open-cycle operation)
i
o 800 • Trace metalsreleases
• Hull coating releases
900
• Temperature and pressure
1000 stresses

1100 • Withdrawal of nutrient.. rich

deep waters
1200 '<-:-~)«
1300 Bottom scouring
1400 "-------------------------------~~-~-~~~

Environmental Issues 25
 Adjoining Coastline Interactions

Atmospheric Interactions

26 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: An Overview

immeruate releases can be avoided conmtetctv resources in the Keahole J'>oint area, To evaluate
any absorbed gas into the seawater i"tl~"{"!"1f*'i'~,f;I'f':~ Hl:n~ u ",1!t"":rI'n
effectson the results of the monitor-
that below the mixed be with H. baseline of and
comnmma thesemethods. offshore water and offshore biota that: is estab-
lished at·N.E.I...>lI.'rhe(lE~r IS a state
Current Activities in Environmental effort that consists archival data and conecnnz
site: data to establish benchmark conditions at Keahole Point,
Assessment which is to be the area for (Jrl.:~(: in the
The of the various near The program is also technical and
state, and federal with atNI:~[J""1 call for fiscal for the environmental at the
all environmental monitoring program that will help sue.

Environmenta' Issues
 Chapter 6
The Future of OTEC

The J)()l:~ ()1.:1"r has prove11 the of closed- of desalinated water at: the: S'rl~' (rrt::t(: tech-
andhas it to the threshold of commer- has stimulated considerable interest in the process.
the program continues to advance
."" ",.'t ,..".•:. research in. surface CCHluc:nSt)fS bio-
t
ongOJ:ng [)()I:t programis to
'J.·;J·W:·~,~·~·'~,l""'t corrosion. and (tr"E(; The codes while
this research may allow '~l)l:ti'*i;;;'l':l"\} expenmentauv oemonstranna the technical. of
engmeer the 2·»»15MW~:; envisioned for electric power in an
cal island markets, In addition. the recentvfirst" nrocucuon shown in

Steam i~~~ __

Evaporators --~~11

To vacuum
exhaust system

The Future of OTEe 29

 term.

30 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: An Overview

 References

1. d' Arsonval. A; "Utilization des forces naturelles,

i\ venir de I'electricire. ~~ Revue \/oLI7 ~ :1881"
:Pl'. 37[)"m 372,

16. Bharath an, n.,and ~I·. Penney, "Flash Evaporation from

7. Shclpuk.B; a/\. i65~kW Open orne Turbulent Water Jets," AS:\:tE' Journal ofHeat Transfer,
ment," presented at the 12th Annual Intersociety vot 106" pp,4()7- 4 15,
m

( N.·onve:nnon
.c-:
,. ·It·,
> ,.
i::~ngHleenng
'1'· 1) 1 'It"1
l,l Jarnl l)eacll~ f< ..., •
.> ,

August 1985; also SER.lrrF',~251 ~2725.~ Golden, C:+().

References 31
 35. Devetomnenr Corporation, Hawaiian
ecnnotovv Park and Natural
/){)!llP.rllfl\'f} Environmental Monitor-

nrenareo tor the st.ate of 1.. Iawaii, unpublisned

36. Krutzcn. \VJ:::':+~ "'./\ Stare-ot-the-An Look at. orsc

Pumping lIth Annual
shore 3~
t·1 .. ..
t . . ouston, .. r .•
~.]N'X7

32
 tjtJen:tne~r, "Carbon Dioxide 46, 1..J no". T et
nresenteu at the Studies fete (Y·fl:.:(:: Plants
t:I1.. 2Jli·IC(:~rs lntcrnational Con '" xenunuc cf
shore Mechanicsand Arctic tinotneermv
NewYork: American of
pp.618·
N625,

4,7, from the Oceans: A Small

Land-Based Ocean Thermal
E'E·Z Resources TechnoloevAssessment. tlOO().lU11U." ,.., , •. +

Mechanics and Arctic ".. . ~, '.?''', ". '··',.··V'

1988.
13-·",vI8~Ne\\/ York: '"['he American of
Mechanical l pp. 585·····592,
 Appendix
Participants in the DOE Ocean Energy
Technology Program (1987-1989)

Oceanit i.aoorarorv Inc.

Pacific International Center for

EJv1+Rivera andSons

Florida Solar Center

Solar
l·lawaii Natural Institute State of Hawaii

Inc.

Texas i\.(fStr.vl ',. f ' ~ +.+ d·'.> ..

Makai Ocean nnsmeenne

t.in iversi tv of Delaware

Massachusetts Institute of

Inc.

Natural l..All)OJCah)fV of Hawaii

Appendix 35
 Information on the lJ,Sx ucoartrnem Ocean contact:

Headquarters
Dr.Robert L, San Martin Dr.Rc Gerakl 1...eader
Assistant for Renewable Solar Eneruv Research Institute
586~9275 1617 <::":oleBoule'lard
~~, ~.l,&.,t"'··),· *.. C::() 8()4() l
...,.... ..

Mr. I...ouis V Direc tor 231,·,·,1758

Office of Solar Electric 1e(:.nJI01(Jg)(~S
586,., 554()
.<.,.~ • "." .....ax ..... National Laboratories
Director 9700 South Avenue
'i::'h"" n'·~·>::·~c Ili vision
li"'<'f'~"'>t ~ •. ,'1<
K :J....f. ,.~, t:J~."".· t Il.:~60439
y... ..f.l.

12) 972~·823()
lJ~S*I)epart:nlt~td: ef'Energy
Forrestal l::S HItOI.n,}!
1()()O S\V
wasmnston, 1)(: 20585

Conservation and Renewable

J:>,(), Box 890()
Silver rvtl) 209()7
523--2929
462 . .4983 {f·.1ptt·1n,t'\fll\/ >':~ln'~ ~l

233--3(J71

36
se~\·\
·t:~ n·.·ero'·~.' liesearcbInstitu wtC
l.·~
'\ :,•... r
"oa p arch .tC).
t')o .. • . ..

s
.
", r"'.)' p' '.\ { ') .l''\ [ l:.l.l ..CMidwest Rese: IUbu
r- l 'i·.\'\i J.5 ·· ·· l~ ' itt \ vard
16\1 ColcBt)U\C
(Jo\d.en.~ (:()
r)......... i". ij., <:\" {';{' {orthe
U.S. 1)eparttnent of l!,nerg)'

st?JutSp.'220-'jo,?A
\)l',S9l){)OS3 ~
NOvember \ 9~9