OTEC: Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

By: Jackie Rowley

FUNDAMENTALS

 75% of the Earth Covered by water  Ocean water stores much more heat than the atmosphere  Thermo-haline circulation creates temperature differences throughout Earth’s oceans

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First OTEC system

Idea thought of by Jacques D’Arsonval, in 1881. French physician that contributed greatly to electrophysiology.

His student, Georges Claude, created the first OTEC system in Cuba in 1930.

OTEC System

 Hot surface water, boils low boiling point liquid  Boiling liquid turns turbine which generates electricity  Electricity carried to land through underwater cable  Deep cold water used to cool and condense liquid

Closed System OTEC -Use of low boiling point fluid 1 2000. Snowden, Paul, Kazuhiro Kitazawa, Masayuk i Mac Takahashi . Deep Ocean Water as Our Next Natural Resource. Chapter 3: OTEC Is Not A Dream. Tokyo. http://www.terrapub.co.jp/e-libr ary/dow/index.html

Open System OTEC  Use of Water as fluid http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ffden 2.phys.uaf.edu/212_fall2003.web.dir/Yevette_Lancaster/open%2520otec.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ffden 2.phys.uaf.edu/212_fall2003.web.dir/Yevette_Lancaster/OTEC.htm&usg=__4BHbZGZTaiRYC8yzyTot1HARx5E=&h=277&w =353&sz=42&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=W10_4JFt_zIL4M:&tbnh=134&tbnw=171&ei=RqpvTey D468sAP3vt20Cw&prev=/images%3Fq%3DOpen%2BSystem%2BOTEC%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26biw%3D1280% 26bih%3D584%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=491&vpy=90&dur=404&hovh=199&hovw=253&tx=152 &ty=115&oei=RqpvTey-D468sAP3vt20Cw&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0

Benefits of Open System OTEC if perfected -Desalinated water -Mariculture -Air conditioning QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.

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http://www.carbonzeroplanet.org/renewables/wave tidal-oceanthermal.php

http://planetearthandhumanity.blogspot.com/2010/08/otec.html

OTEC Designs

PROS

 Reduces Carbon footprint by providing clean cost effective energy  Produces desalinated water for industrial, agricultural and residential uses CONS Promotes Global competitiveness and International Trade Enhances energy independence Has potential to mitigate green house gas emissions from burning fossil fuels