OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION

(NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCE OF ENERGY) OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION INTRODUCTION: Oceans which occupy large areas of earth surface are origin of variety of energy sources such as ocean currents, waves, tides, hydrates, and temperature and salinity gradients at varying depth. OTEC is based on tapping energy potential created by temperature difference between sun-warmed surface water and deep polar fed bottom currents to generate electricity. Assuming that about 1.5 percent of the total incident solar energy could be converted into electricity by using OTEC plants, the power output would be 500 million megawatts. This is equal to 6000 million barrels of oil per day in terms of energy equivalent. According to MNES estimates, India has a potential of exploiting 80,000 MW of OTEC based power.

WORKING PRINCIPLE
This plant works on the principle of a closed Rankine cycle. The operating cycle is essentially the same as the one used in Steam Power Plants fired by coal, oil or uranium. But the working fluid used here is either warm sea water or Ammonia or preferably a halocarbon refrigerant. The OTEC plant utilizes the temperature difference between the solar warmed ocean surface waters and the cold deep waters to produce electricity. Warm seawater is used in evaporators to evaporate the working fluid. This evaporated fluid expands in a low pressure turbine, which is coupled with a turbo alternator to produce electricity. Then the vapour from the turbine is condensed by the cold seawater taken from the deep sea. Power equation: The electrical power developed is given by, Efficiency of the alternator. = Density of the fluid. C = Specific Heat. Q = Volume of warm water. T = Temperature of the warm seawater. T = Temperature difference between warm & cold seawater. P = (CQ/T)(T)^2 =

Types of OTEC plants:

1. 2. 3.
Closed cycle OTEC plant. Open cycle OTEC plant. Hybrid cycle OTEC plant.

Closed cycle: In Closed cycle OTEC plants, ammonia or preferably a halocarbon refrigerant is used as the working fluid at about 27.5deg C. Warm seawater vaporizes a working fluid, flowing through a heat exchanger (evaporator). The vapor expands at moderate pressures and turns a turbine coupled to a generator that produces electricity. The condensed fluid from the condenser is again pumped back to the evaporator and recycled. The line diagram of closed cycle OTEC plant is

Open cycle: In open cycle OTEC plants the working fluid used is warm seawater. The warm seawater is "flash"-evaporated in a vacuum chamber to produce steam at an absolute pressure of about 2.4 kilopascals (kPa). As the pressure is low the turbine should be about 12 times larger in diameter than a closed cycle plant of the same rating. The steam coming out of the turbine condenses into ordinary water without salinity in the condenser. The line diagram of open cycle OTEC is

Hybrid cycle: A hybrid cycle combines the features of both the closed-cycle and open-cycle systems. In a hybrid OTEC system, warm seawater enters a vacuum chamber where it is flash-evaporated into steam, which is similar to the open-cycle evaporation process. The steam vaporizes the working fluid of a closed-cycle loop on the other side of an ammonia vaporizer. The vaporized fluid then drives a turbine that produces electricity.

 The steam condenses within the heat exchanger and provides desalinated water. The line diagram of Hybrid cycle OTEC is

VARIOUS PARTS TURBINES: Steam flows through large, low-pressure turbines, entering at a pressure of about 2.4 kPa. These turbines must be able to handle the large steam flows necessary to produce a significant amount of electric power. The most reliable and cost-effective turbine for a 100-megawatt (electric) (MW) (net) plant would be a low-speed (200 rpm) unit measuring 43.6 meters in diameter, which requires more development. Multistage turbines used in nuclear or coalfired power plants are already available. The low-pressure stages of these turbines typically operate at conditions close to those needed in an open-cycle OTEC plant. The rotor that makes up the last stage (which is typically about 5 meters in diameter) together with a modified stator can produce about 2.5 MW of electricity (gross). Larger plants will require either several turbines operating in parallel or major advances in turbine technology that will lead to larger rotors. HEAT EXCHANGERS: Heat exchangers are a big part of the major performance and cost issues relating to closed-cycle systems. Open-cycle flash-evaporators include those with open-channel flow, falling films, and falling jets. These conventional evaporators typically perform to within 70% to 80% of the maximum thermodynamic performance at acceptable hydraulic losses. Research at the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), now the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), led to the development of a vertical-spout evaporator that can perform to within 90% of the thermodynamic limit. In this evaporator, water is drawn upward through a vertical pipe (a spout) and violently sprayed outward by escaping steam. To enhance performance, the spray may fall on screens that further break up the droplets and increase the evaporation rate.

Titanium was the original material chosen for closed-cycle heat exchangers because it resists corrosion. However, it is an expensive option for plants that use large heat exchangers. Corrosion-resistant copper-nickel alloys, which can be used to protect platforms and cold-water pipes, are not compatible with ammonia, the most common working fluid. A suitable alternative to these materials may be aluminum. Layers of slime and marine organisms can grow quickly on surfaces exposed to warm seawater. In heat exchangers, this buildupknown as biofoulingreduces the heat-transfer efficiency. The biofouling can be prevented by mixing chlorine in the pipes intermittently, for a total of about 1 hour a day, at a concentration of 70 ppb.

CONDENSERS:
After steam passes through the turbines, it can be condensed in direct-contact condensers or surface condensers. The surface condensers considered for use in OTEC systems are similar to those used in conventional power plants; however, these surface condensers must operate under lower pressures and with higher amounts of noncondensable gases in the steam. Surface con-densers keep the cooling seawater separate from the spent steam during condensation. By using indirect contact, the condensers produce desalinated water that is relatively free of seawater impurities. Steam in the open-cycle system contains non condensable gases that can interfere with power production. These gases oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide are released from the seawater when it is exposed to low pressures under vacuum. Air also enters the open-cycle vacuum vessel through leaks, although good construction techniques can reduce the rate of air leakage to very low levels. Unless these gases are removed from the vacuum chamber, they can interfere with condensation, particularly with surface condensers, by blanketing the condensing surfaces; they can even build up enough pressure to stop evaporation. An exhaust compressor can remove these non condensable gases.

Plant Location Commercial ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plants must be located in an environment that

is stable enough for efficient system operation. The temperature of the warm surface seawater must differ about 20C (36F) from that of the cold deep water that is no more than about 1000 meters (3280 feet) below the surface. The natural ocean thermal gradient necessary for OTEC operation is generally found between latitudes 20 deg N and 20 deg S. Of these possible sites, a tropical islands with growing power requirements and

dependence on expensive imported oil are the most likely areas for OTEC development. The following map shows the regions, which are having different temperature differences between

surface and depth of 1000m.

ADVANTAGES Renewable energy resource Consistent 24-hour-a-day potential (wind and solar energy can only be captured when the wind is blowing

or the sun is shining)

Fresh Water-- Produces desalinated water for industrial, agricultural, and residential uses. System

analysis indicates that a 2-megawatt (electric) (net) plant could produce about 4300 cubic meters of desalinated water each day Food--Aquaculture products can be cultivated in discharge water - AND temperate agriculture products can be grown in the tropics by cooling the roots with the discharged cold seawater. Air Conditioning--The cold deep seawater can provide large amounts of very efficient air conditioning or industrial cooling - even after it has passed through the OTEC plant. OTEC can also be used to produce methanol, ammonia, hydrogen, aluminum, chlorine, and other chemicals Mineral Extraction-- OTEC could provide to mine ocean water for its 57 elements dissolved in solution. The only problem is the cost of the extraction process. The Japanese recently began investigating the concept of combining the extraction of uranium dissolved in seawater with wave-energy technology. OTEC is non-polluting. It is probably the most environmentally friendly energy available on the planet today

.MATHEMATIC CALCULATION
A igorous treatment of OTEC reveals that a 20 K temperature difference will provide as much energy as a hydroelectric plant with 34 m head for the same volume of water flow. The low temperature difference means that water volumes must be very large to extract useful amounts of heat and enormous heat exchangers must be employed compared to those used at a plant running with a larger temperature difference such as in conventional thermal power generation.[27] [edit]Variation

of ocean temperature with depth

The total insolation received by the oceans (covering 70% of the earth's surface, with clearness index of 0.5 and average energy retention of 15%) is5.457 x e10 Megajoules/year (MJ/yr) x .7 x .5 x .15 = 2.87 x e10 MJ/yr We can use Lambert's law to quantify the solar energy absorption by water,

where, y is the depth of water, I is intensity and is the absorption coefficient. Solving the above differential equation,

The absorption coefficient may range from 0.05 m1 for very clear fresh water to 0.5 m1 for very salty water. Since the intensity falls exponentially with depth y, heat absorption is concentrated at the top layers. Typically in the tropics, surface temperature values are in excess of 25 C (77 F), while at 1 kilometer (0.62 mi), the temperature is about 510 C (4150 F). The warmer (and hence lighter) waters at the surface means there are no thermal convection currents. Due to the small temperature gradients, heat transfer by conduction is too low to equalize the temperatures. The ocean is thus both a practically infinite heat source and a practically infinite heat sink. This temperature difference varies with latitude and season, with the maximum in tropical, subtropical and equatorial waters. Hence the tropics are generally the best OTEC locations. [edit]Open/Claude

cycle

In this scheme, warm surface water at around 27 C (81 F) enters an evaporator at pressure slightly below the saturation pressures causing it to vaporize.

Where Hf is enthalpy of liquid water at the inlet temperature, T1.

This temporarily superheated water undergoes volume boiling as opposed to pool boiling in conventional boilers where the heating surface is in contact. Thus the water partially flashes to steam with two-phase equilibrium prevailing. Suppose that the pressure inside the evaporator is maintained at the saturation pressure, T2.

Here, x2 is the fraction of water by mass that vaporizes. 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 vapor quality (steam content). The steam is separated from the water as saturated vapor. The remaining water is saturated and is discharged to the ocean in the open cycle. The steam is a low pressure/high specific volume working fluid. It expands in a special low pressure turbine.

Here, Hg corresponds to T2. For an ideal isentropic (reversible adiabatic) turbine,

The above equation corresponds to the temperature at the exhaust of the turbine, T5. x5,s is the mass fraction of vapor at state 5. The enthalpy at T5 is,

This enthalpy is lower. The adiabatic reversible turbine work = H3-H5,s . Actual turbine work WT = (H3-H5,s) x polytropic efficiency

The condenser temperature and pressure are lower. Since the turbine exhaust is to be discharged back into the ocean, a direct contact condenser is used to mix the exhaust with cold water, 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,

The temperature differences between stages include that between warm surface water and working steam, that between exhaust steam and cooling water, and that between cooling water reaching the condenser and deep water. These represent external irreversibilities that reduce the overall temperature difference. The cold water flow rate per unit turbine mass flow rate,

Turbine mass flow rate,

Warm water mass flow rate,

Cold water mass flow rate

[edit]Closed/Anderson

cycle

Developed starting in the 1960s by J. Hilbert Anderson of Sea Solar Power, Inc. In this cycle, QH is the heat transferred in the evaporator from the warm sea water to the working fluid. The working fluid exits the evaporator as a gas near its dew point. The high-pressure, high-temperature gas then is expanded in the turbine to yield turbine work, WT. The working fluid is slightly superheated at the turbine exit and the turbine typically has an efficiency of 90% based on reversible, adiabatic expansion. From the turbine exit, the working fluid enters the condenser where it rejects heat, -QC, to the cold sea water. The condensate is then compressed to the highest pressure in the cycle, requiring condensate pump work, WC. Thus, the Anderson closed cycle is a Rankine-type cycle similar to the conventional power plant steam cycle except that in the Anderson cycle the working fluid is never superheated more than a few degrees Fahrenheit. Owing to viscous effects, working fluid pressure drops in both the evaporator and the condenser. This pressure drop, which depends on the types of heat exchangers used, must be considered in final design calculations but is ignored here to simplify the analysis. Thus, the parasitic condensate pump work, WC, computed here will be lower than if the heat exchanger pressure drop was included. 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

where WN = WT + WC is the net work for the thermodynamic cycle. For the idealized case in which there is no working fluid pressure drop in the heat exchangers,

and

so that the net thermodynamic cycle work becomes

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