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BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
In
ELECTRICAL ENGNIEERING
By
DEBI CHARAN GOND
( 1101214054 )
The distinctive feature of OTEC energy systems is that the end products
include not only energy in the form of electricity, but several other synergistic
products. The principle design objective was to minimize plan cost by minimizing
plant mass, and taking maximum advantage of minimal warm and cold water
flows. Power is converted to high voltage DC, and is cabled to shore for
conversion to AC and integration into the local power distribution network.
The oceans are thus a vast renewable energy resource, with the potential to
help us produce billions of watts of electric power.
OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION
Oceans cover more than 70% of Earth's surface, making them the world's
largest solar collectors. The sun's heat warms the surface water a lot more than the
deep ocean water, and this temperature difference creates thermal energy. Just a
small portion of the heat trapped in the ocean could power the world.
Most people have been witness to the awesome power of the world's oceans.
For least a thousand years, scientists and inventors have watched ocean waves
explode against coastal shores, felt the pull of ocean tides, and dreamed of
harnessing these forces. But it's only been in the last century that scientists and
engineers have begun to look at capturing ocean energy to make electricity.
The ocean can produce two types of energy: thermal energy from the sun's
heat, and mechanical energy from the tides and waves. Ocean thermal energy is
used for many applications, including electricity generation. Ocean mechanical
energy is quite different from ocean thermal energy. Even though the sun affects
all ocean activity, tides are driven primarily by the gravitational pull of the moon,
and waves are driven primarily by the winds. As a result, tides and waves are
sporadic sources of energy, while ocean thermal energy is fairly constant. Also,
unlike thermal energy, the electricity conversion of both tidal and wave energy
usually involves mechanical devices.
Intensive Energy
The energy associated with OTEC derives from the difference in temperature
between two thermal reservoirs. The top layer of the ocean is warmed by the sun to
temperatures up to 20 K greater than the seawater near the bottom of the ocean.
OTEC energy is different from geothermal energy in that one cannot assume the
cold reservoir is infinite. The physical energy of two large reservoirs of fluid at
different temperatures is
in J/kg where r is the mass of warm water divided by the mass of cold water
entering the plant(1). For optimal performance, r is approximately 0.5. It is
assumed in this analysis that the specific heat of the two fluid reservoirs is an
average value over the often small temperature difference, but varying with salinity
in the case of seawater.
OTEC requires a temperature difference of about 36 deg F (20 deg C). This
temperature difference exists between the surface and deep seawater year round
throughout the tropical regions of the world. To produce electricity, we either use a
working fluid with a low boiling point (e.g. ammonia) or warm surface sea water,
or turn it to vapor by heating it up with warm sea water (ammonia) or de-
pressurizing warm seawater. The pressure of the expanding vapor turns a turbine
and produces electricity.
Land-based and near-shore are more advantageous than the other two. OTEC
plants can be mounted to the continental shelf at depths up to 100 meters, however
may make shelf-mounted facilities less desirable and more expensive than their
land-based counterparts. Floating OTEC facilities with a large power capacity, but
has the difficulty of stabilizing and of mooring it in very deep water may create
problems with power delivery.
Closed-Cycle OTEC
Required condensate pump work, wC. The major additional parasitic energy
requirements in the OTEC plant are the cold water pump work, wCT, and the warm
water pump work, wHT. Denoting all other parasitic energy requirements by wA, the
net work from the OTEC plant, wNP is
The thermodynamic cycle undergone by the working fluid can be analyzed without
detailed consideration of the parasitic energy requirements. From the first law of
thermodynamics, the energy balance for the working fluid as the system is
wN = QH + QC
Where wN = wT + wC is the net work for the thermodynamic cycle. For the special
idealized case in which there is no working fluid pressure drop in the heat
exchangers,
QH = ∫ THds
H
and
QC = ∫ TCds
C
wN = ∫ THds + ∫ TCds
H C
Subcooled liquid enters the evaporator. Due to the heat exchange with warm sea
water, evaporation takes place and usually superheated vapor leaves the
evaporator. This vapor drives the turbine and 2-phase mixture enters the condenser.
Usually, the subcooled liquid leaves the condenser and finally, this liquid is
pumped to the evaporator completing a cycle.
Open-Cycle OTEC
The open cycle consists of the following steps: (i) flash evaporation of a
fraction of the warm seawater by reduction of pressure below the saturation value
corresponding to its temperature (ii) expansion of the vapor through a turbine to
generate power; (iii) heat transfer to the cold seawater thermal sink resulting in
condensation of the working fluid; and (iv) compression of the non-condensable
gases (air released from the seawater streams at the low operating pressure) to
pressures required to discharge them from the system.
h2 = h1 = hf + x2hfg
Here, x2 is the fraction of water by mass that has vaporized. The warm water mass
flow rate per unit turbine mass flow rate is 1/x2.
The low pressure in the evaporator is maintained by a vacuum pump that also
removes the dissolved non condensable gases from the evaporator. The evaporator
now contains a mixture of water and steam of very low quality. The steam is
separated from the water as saturated vapour. The remaining water is saturated and
is discharged back to the ocean in the open cycle. The steam we have extracted in
the process is a very low pressure, very high specific volume working fluid. It
expands in a special low pressure turbine.
h3 = hg
s5,s = s3 = sf + x5,ssfg
The above equation corresponds to the temperature at the exhaust of the turbine,
T5. x5,s is the mass fraction of vapour at point 5.
h5,s = hf + x5,shfg
The condenser temperature and pressure are lower. Since the turbine exhaust will
be discharged back into the ocean anyway, a direct contact condenser is used. Thus
the exhaust is mixed with cold water from the deep cold water pipe which results
in a near saturated water, That water is now discharged back to the ocean.
h6=hf, at T5. T7 is the temperature of the exhaust mixed with cold sea water, as the
vapour content now is negligible,
There are the temperature differences between stages. One between warm surface
water and working steam, one between exhaust steam and cooling water and one
between cooling water reaching the condenser and deep water. These represent
external irreversibility’s that reduce the overall temperature difference.
The cold water flow rate per unit turbine mass flow rate,
OTEC offers one of the most benign power production technologies, since
the handling of hazardous substances is limited to the working fluid (e.g.,
ammonia), and no noxious by-products are generated. OTEC requires drawing sea
water from the mixed layer and the deep ocean and returning it to the mixed layer,
close to the thermo cline, which could be accomplished with minimal
environmental impact. Aquaculture is perhaps the most well-known byproduct of
OTEC. Cold-water delicacies, such as salmon and lobster, thrive in the nutrient-
rich, deep, seawater from the OTEC process. Micro algae such as Spirulina, a
health food supplement, also can be cultivated in the deep-ocean water.
V. BENEFITS OF OTEC
We can measure the value of an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plant
and continued OTEC development by both its economic and no economic benefits.
OTEC’s economic benefits include the:
VI. DISADVANTAGES
OTEC-produced electricity at present would cost more than electricity
generated from fossil fuels at their current costs. The electricity cost could
be reduced significantly if the plant operated without major overhaul for 30
years or more, but there are no data on possible plant life cycles.
OTEC plants must be located where a difference of about 40° Fahrenheit (F)
occurs year round. Ocean depths must be available fairly close to shore-
based facilities for economic operation. Floating plant ships could provide
more flexibility.
VII. APPLICATIONS
Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) systems have many applications
or uses. OTEC can be used to generate electricity, desalinate water, support deep-
water Mari culture, and provide refrigeration and air-conditioning as well as aid in
crop growth and mineral extraction. These complementary products make OTEC
systems attractive to industry and island communities even if the price of oil
remains low.
3. Nihous G.C. and. Vega L.A (1991), "A Review of Some Semi-empirical OTEC
Effluent Discharge Models", in Oceans ‘91, Honolulu, Hawaii. [The OTEC
effluent models are summarized]
5. Ocean Data Systems Inc. (1977). OTEC Thermal Resource Report for Hawaii
Monterey, CA: Ocean Data Systems, Inc.