Alternative Energy from the Ocean
French engineer Jacques D’Arsonval was the first to conjure up the idea of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) in 1881. Too date, only one plant is employed anywhere in the world to pursue this goal and that is located at a laboratory in Hawaii. The great hurdle to get over with OTEC implementation on a wide and practical level is cost. With such an unlimited power source, you can never ask for cheaper costs since the processes involved driving OTEC are complex and serious funding is required. Unfortunately, the other down-side to these plants is they have the potential to damage local environments which some critics say offsets any benefits they may bring.
There are three types of OTEC:
“Closed Cycle OTEC” uses a low-boiling point liquid such as, for example, propane to act as an intermediate fluid. The intermediate fluid is boiled after the warm sea water is pumped by the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plant into the reaction chamber. This results in the intermediate fluid’s vapor pushing the turbine of the engine, which thus generates electricity. Cold sea water is then used to cool down the vapor.
When the ‘Open Cycle Ocean Thermal Energy’ system is used it is similar to it’s cousin the Closed Cycle except that no gas to form the intermediate liquid is present. With this method it is just the pressure of the sea that turns the turbines. Under the constraint of a vacuum, the warm sea water originating from the surface of the ocean is turned into a low-pressure vapor. By cleverly releasing this vapor into a highly focused area, it is possible for it to pump the rotate the turbines. To cool down the vapor and create desalinated water for human consumption, the deeper ocean’s cold waters are added to the vapor after it has generated sufficient electricity.
“Hybrid Cycle Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion” is really just a theory for the time being. The theory attempts to explain how we can utilise the worlds oceans to provide energy for the planet. The theory of Hybrid Cycling involves two sub-theories. The first involves using a closed cycling to generate electricity which is, in turn, used to create the vacuum environment needed for open cycling. The second component is the integration of two open cyclings such that twice the amount of desalinated, potable water is created than with just one open cycle.
A closed cycle OTEC plant can not only be used for producing electricity but also for treating chemicals. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plants of both types can also be employed to pump cold deep ocean water which can be used to refrigerate and also for air conditioning systems. Fish farming is also a benefit of using the water surrounding these plants as well as other mariculture and aquaculture studies. Perhaps you can see why this energy source has so many people interested as it has more than one benefit and much more research is required into the other possibilities it has.
