Oceanic Thermal Energy Conversions

Amal Mandal Roll No-08101007015

Background Information
OTEC system is based

on the Rankine Cycle Uses the vertical temperature gradient in the ocean as a heat sink/source Mainly used in equatorial waters where temperature gradient is greatest

Closed Rankine Cycle Overview

1-2 Power in to

pressurize liquid to higher pressure 2-3 Heat addition to evaporate ammonia 3-4 Work produced from expansion through turbine 4-1 Heat extraction to condense the ammonia before pump

Rankine Cycle Calculations

wpump h2 h1 P2 P1

Closed

carnot 1 TL TH q out q in

q evaporator wt urbine q condenser

h3 h2

h3 h4 h4 h1

rankine 1

Pros of OTEC
Extremely benign impact on environment No dependency on oil Minimal maintenance costs compared to conventional

power production plants Government cannot tax OTEC plants that are off-shore. Provide air conditioning to buildings within the OTEC plant Open cycle OTEC systems can produce desalinated water which is very important in third-world countries

Cons of OTEC
Low thermal efficiency due to small temperature
gradient between heat sink and source Available only in equatorial waters Only moderate power outputs are available Currently this technology is not as monetarily feasible as conventional power production plants The manufacturing and installation of the extremely long cold water pipes is extremely time consuming and costly.

Problem Statement
To create and design an operating Oceanic
Thermal Energy Conversion model that employs a closed Rankine Cycle that utilizes ammonia as the working fluid to illustrate the viability.

Specifications
Produce 100 Watts of power Be smaller than 8 ft. wide, 6 ft. tall, and 2 ft.
deep. Final product must be easily portable. OTEC model must be aesthetically pleasing and allow viewers to easily understand and view the inner-workings of the Rankine Cycle utilized by OTEC systems. Must start and stop operation using simple mechanical or electrical devices Must not endanger the operator or anyone viewing the OTEC presentation

Heat Pump Conversion

One possible design idea is to convert a heat
pump into a power producing Rankine Cycle Many moderately sized Geothermal energy cycles use large commercially available AC units. Objective is to make the compressor function as a turbine/generator Add an auxiliary pump to circulate the working fluid throughout the cycle Very little modification is necessary to convert heat pumps and AC units into power producing units

Future Design Plans

Research Heat Pump

Conversion Find pump that fits mass flow rate and pressure specifications Determine whether shell and tube or plate and frame heat exchanger will be more efficient Select piping sizes based on calculations

Find optimal size of heat

exchangers for effective heat transfer between the ammonia and the heat sink/sources

Conclusion