Alternative Energy from the Ocean

By Lucille Green

In 1881, French engineer Jacques D'Arsonval was able to envision the notion of having Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). 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. Cost is the main stumbling block that OTEC has yet to face and therefore providing it a hard time implementing on an extensive and sensible level. Energy from the ocean would be very clean burning and not add pollutants into the air but reducing costs is the main problem. Unintentionally, due to the disruptive effects that most of our current technologies give out to our environment and society, setting up OTEC plants can not avoid inflicting damages to any locality.

Three types of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion exist:

Type one is known as 'CCOTEC' or 'Closed Cycle OTEC' which requires a gas that can be turned into a liquid at a very low temperature - propane is one such example that can be employed. The intermediate fluid is boiled after the warm sea water is pumped by the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plant into the reaction chamber. The vapor created by this conversion pumps large turbines and creates electrical energy. Once this process has been completed, the resultant liquid is converted back to it's gas state by using cold sea water to cool it.

The primary difference between the Closed Cycle and the Open Cycle Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion methods is that the Open Cycle doe not require the use of the intermediate liquid. The sea water itself is the driver of the turbine engine in this OTEC format. Under the constraint of a vacuum, the warm sea water originating from the surface of the ocean is turned into a low-pressure vapor. When low-pressure vapor is released in a focused area, it will then have the control to drive the turbine. 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. One of these involves using the closed cycle technology to produce electricity which will feed the open cycle system vacuum. Using just one open cycle is not enough to create a massive amount of desalinated, potable water so the second component seeks to integrate two open cyclings that can produce twice as much as with just one.

A closed cycle OTEC plant can not only be used for producing electricity but also for treating chemicals. Moreover, refrigeration and air conditioning are other areas to which the used of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plants with both open cycling and close cycling kinds can be very beneficial by pumping up cold deep sea water. The water around the plants during the process can also be used to help promote fish farming projects as well. We certainly can derive an array of products and services by using this alternative energy source.

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