Alternative Energy from the Ocean

Posted under environment by Lucille Green

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.

Three types of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion exist:

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.

It is already taken that intermediate fluid is used in closed cycling and even though there is no such thing involved in the Open Cycle, still, “Open Cycle Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion” isn’t that poles apart from closed cycling. In this kind of OTEC format, the main driver of the engine’s turbine is the sea water itself. Warm surface water is converted into a low pressure vapor by in a vacuum. The low-pressure vapor is released in a focused area and it has the power to drive the turbine. The benefit of this system is that once the water has been used and electricity generated, salt is removed (as part of the process), then it is pumped to much lower depths where it cools down ready to be used as drinking water.

“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.