Employing the oceans for energy is still a very young science although the use of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion is not new - dating back as it does to 1881. Sadly only one place in the world is actually running a plant using and studying this technology and that is The Natural Energy Laboratory on the island of Hawaii. The expenditure needed to finance OTEC as a potential alternative energy source demands more serious investigation than ever before. It is difficult to get the costs down to a reasonable level because of the processes presently used to drive OTEC. However, as it presently would need to be set up with our current technologies, OTEC plants would have the capacity for disrupting and perhaps damaging the local environment.
There are three kinds 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. Warm sea water is pumped into the Ocean Thermal Energy Plants reaction chamber which heats up the gas (propane) to the point where it turns into a liquid. rotates large turbines. Cold sea water then reverses the process, reducing the temperature of the liquid, turning it back into a gas.
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. The driver of the engine's turbine in this OTEC set-up is mainly the sea water. 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.
At the moment, the "Hybrid Cycle Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion" still remains just a theory. It generally wants to present to us the idea of having to use the thermal energy of the ocean's waters to the highest level of our necessity. There are actually two sub-theories to the theory of Hybrid Cycling. The first involves using a closed cycling to generate electricity which is, in turn, used to create the vacuum environment needed for open cycling. 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.
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.
There are three kinds 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. Warm sea water is pumped into the Ocean Thermal Energy Plants reaction chamber which heats up the gas (propane) to the point where it turns into a liquid. rotates large turbines. Cold sea water then reverses the process, reducing the temperature of the liquid, turning it back into a gas.
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. The driver of the engine's turbine in this OTEC set-up is mainly the sea water. 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.
At the moment, the "Hybrid Cycle Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion" still remains just a theory. It generally wants to present to us the idea of having to use the thermal energy of the ocean's waters to the highest level of our necessity. There are actually two sub-theories to the theory of Hybrid Cycling. The first involves using a closed cycling to generate electricity which is, in turn, used to create the vacuum environment needed for open cycling. 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.
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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