Technological University of the Philippines-Taguig

Km. 14 East Service Rd. Western Bicutan Taguig City

GROUP NO. 10
OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in Alternative Source of

Energy

Submitted by:

De Luna, Jan Calvin

Garcia, Gerome

Sabater, Andrei

Submitted to:

Engr. June Raymond L. Mariano

Date Submitted

August 15, 2018

 Table of Contents

I. Introduction (Definition)
II. History of OTEC (Timeline)
III. OTEC Updates
a.) How Far Off is OTEC?
b.) Countries suited for OTEC
c.) Currently Operating OTEC Plants
d.) Proposed Projects
IV. Technical Difficulties
V. OTEC Other Applications
VI. How does it Work? (Working Principle)
VII. How does OTEC work?
VIII. Parts and Components
IX. Advantages and Disadvantages
X. Philippine Issues and Updates
XI. OTEC International Laws
XII. OTEC Conclusion and Recommendation
 I. Introduction
Earth, a beautiful planet where life exists. Home of millions of living species, it can be
birds, fishes, plants, bacteria, insects and us, humans. What made Earth a planet
capable of existence of life is because of its vast amount of water which is one major
proponent to life coexist. Our planet, Earth has a 75% amount of water surface where a
lot of fishes and other undiscovered species lived, fishes that is consumed by us for
food and where we get something to quench our thirst. But did you know that there’s
more to that? How about generating energy from the ocean? Sounds interesting right,
so here it is…

So here it is, the earth is covered with water. Much of it especially to those areas near
the equator has warm water surface. The issue is not how warm the surface water is
but the gap of the water surface that is being heated from the sun and the bottom part
of the ocean where the suns heat cannot be anymore penetrated or affected much of
the sun’s heat. From there, temperature difference is created. Technically speaking,
temperature difference (heat flux) can be converted to electrical energy to produce
power.

Because of the big temperature difference of ocean surface and the depths, Ocean
Thermal Energy Conversion is proposed as an alternative source of energy. And how
much energy are we talking about here, Up to 88,000 TWh/yr of power could be
generated from OTEC without affecting the ocean’s thermal structure or 1000 times
more of the energy requirement that is needed to supply the world’s electricity.

Definition:

In Encyclopedia Britannica:

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), form of energy conversion that makes use of
the temperature differential between the warm surface waters of the oceans, heated by
solar radiation, and the deeper cold waters to generate power in a conventional
heat engine.

In OTEC News:

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a marine renewable energy

technology that harnesses the solar energy absorbed by the oceans to generate
electric power. The sun’s heat warms the surface water a lot more than the deep
ocean water, which creates the ocean’s naturally available temperature gradient, or
thermal energy
 II. History of OTEC (Timeline)
1881: French physicist Jacques d'Arsonval suggests extracting heat energy from the
oceans.

1926: Georges Claude, a student of d'Arsonval's, builds a prototype, on-shore energy-

extracting machine on the coast of Cuba. In 1935, he tries and fails to construct an
experimental off-shore OTEC plant on a cargo ship. With Paul Boucheret, Claude
receives a US patent for an open-cycle OTEC system (number 2006985) on July 2,
1935.

1927: OTEC gains first widespread publicity when Albert G. Ingalls writes up the idea in
an article "Inexhaustible Power from Sea Water—a Dream or a Prophecy?" in Scientific
American (May 1927, pages 339–342).

1960s: American engineer J. Hilbert Anderson (a specialist in refrigeration and heat

cycles) and his son James Anderson, Jr. begin studying ocean thermal energy. Having
identified major shortcomings in Claude's OTEC plant, they propose using a closed loop
of "working fluid" to remove heat from the upper ocean in a similar way to the
mechanism of a refrigerator. They're granted US patent 3312054 for their "Sea Water
Power Plant," based on closed-cycle OTEC using propane as the working fluid, on April
4, 1967.

1974: The United States opens the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii (NELHA) on
130 hectares (322 acres) of land at Keahole Point on the Kona coast as its primary test
laboratory for OTEC. Using closed-cycle technology, it successfully builds a prototype,
offshore, "mini-OTEC" plant on a US Navy barge.

1980: India begins a long series of research studies into OTEC, currently led by its
National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).

1982: Tokyo Electric Power Company and Toshiba successfully construct a small
(100kW) OTEC plant on the island of Nauru, though much of the electricity is used to
operate the plant and only 30-40kW is successfully fed into the power grid.

1993: The Natural Energy Laboratory sets a new record for open-cycle OTEC of 50kW.
Six years later, it successfully tests a 120kW closed-cycle plant.

2008: Tamil Nadu Electricity Board is operating an experimental 1MW plant at

Kulasekarapattinam, near Tiruchendur in the Tuticorin district.
2009: US Navy contracts Lockheed Martin to develop a 5–10MW OTEC plant (currently
budgeted at $12.5million).

2015: Lockheed Martin opens its OTEC plant in Hawaii, connects it to the US power
grid, and announces plans for a much more ambitious 10MW plant in China.

III. OTEC Updates:

A.) How far off is OTEC?

Scientists and engineers have been trying to extract useful heat energy from the oceans
for over a century, with varying amounts of success. So far, only a few small-scale
experimental units are operating. One is producing about 100kW of electricity (about 5-
10 percent as much as a single wind turbine) in Japan, another is generating about half
as much in Hawaii, and a third is now producing about 1MW in India; these are tiny
amounts of energy that don't prove the long-term commercial viability of OTEC in a
world where there are many other sources of power and the economics of energy have
to be rewritten from one day to the next.

All that could be about to change, however. After years of planning and construction,
the Lockheed Martin company finally finished work on a 100kW prototype OTEC plant in
Hawaii in August 2015. Depending on how successful that proves to be, bigger plants
could follow; Lockheed has already announced plans for a 10MW offshore plant (with
100 times more generating capacity) in China . Under current economic conditions,
OTEC plants are most likely to be constructed in or near small tropical islands that have
little or no energy resources of their own, a high-dependence on expensive, imported
oil, and perhaps a pressing shortage of freshwater as well; a combined OTEC power
and desalination plant could be very attractive in that situation. Early customers are
likely to include power-hungry US naval bases in tropical American territories—and
that's one of the reasons why the US Navy is currently investing in the technology.

B.) Countries that are suited for OTEC Plants

98 Countries located between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer.
 C.) Currently Operating OTEC Plants

In March 2013, Saga University with various Japanese industries completed the
installation of a new OTEC plant. Okinawa Prefecture announced the start of the OTEC
operation testing at Kume Island on April 15, 2013. The main aim is to prove the
validity of computer models and demonstrate OTEC to the public. The testing and
research will be conducted with the support of Saga University until the end of FY 2016.
IHI Plant Construction Co. Ltd, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, and Xenesys Inc were
entrusted with constructing the 100 kilowatt class plant within the grounds of the
Okinawa Prefecture Deep Sea Water Research Center. The location was specifically
chosen in order to utilize existing deep seawater and surface seawater intake pipes
installed for the research center in 2000. The pipe is used for the intake of deep sea
water for research, fishery, and agricultural use.[19] The plant consists of two 50 kW
units in double Rankine configuration. The OTEC facility and deep seawater research
center are open to free public tours by appointment in English and Japanese. Currently,
this is one of only two fully operational OTEC plants in the world. This plant operates
continuously when specific tests are not underway.

In 2011, Makai Ocean Engineering completed a heat exchanger test facility at NELHA.
Used to test a variety of heat exchange technologies for use in OTEC, Makai has
received funding to install a 105 kW turbine. Installation will make this facility the
largest operational OTEC facility, though the record for largest power will remain with
the Open Cycle plant also developed in Hawaii.

In July 2014, DCNS group partnered with Akuo Energy announced NER 300 funding for
their NEMO project. If successful, the 16MW gross 10MW net offshore plant will be the
largest OTEC facility to date. DCNS plans to have NEMO operational by 2020.

An ocean thermal energy conversion power plant built by Makai Ocean Engineering
went operational in Hawaii in August 2015 . The governor of Hawaii, David Ige, "flipped
the switch" to activate the plant. This is the first true closed-cycle ocean Thermal
Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant to be connected to a U.S. electrical grid . It is a demo
plant capable of generating 105 kilowatts, enough to power about 120 homes.
 D.) Proposed Projects

Bahamas
Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTE) currently has plans to install two 10 MW
OTEC plants in the US Virgin Islands and a 5-10 MW OTEC facility in The Bahamas. OTE
has also designed the world’s largest Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) plant for a
resort in The Bahamas, which will use cold deep seawater as a method of air-
conditioning. In mid-2015, the 95%-complete project was temporarily put on hold while
the resort resolved financial and ownership issues In August 22, 2016, the government
of the Bahamas announced that a new agreement had been signed under which the
Baha Mar resort will be completed. On September 27, 2016, Bahamian Prime Minister
Perry Christie announced that construction had resumed on Baha Mar, and that the
resort was slated to open in March 2017.
OTE expects to have the SWAC plant up and running within two years of Baha Mar's
opening.
Hawaii
Lockheed Martin's Alternative Energy Development team has partnered with Makai
Ocean Engineering to complete the final design phase of a 10-MW closed cycle OTEC
pilot system which planned to become operational in Hawaii in the 2012-2013 time
frame. This system was designed to expand to 100-MW commercial systems in the near
future. In November, 2010 the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC)
awarded Lockheed Martin a US$4.4 million contract modification to develop critical
system components and designs for the plant, adding to the 2009 $8.1 million contract
and two Department of Energy grants totaling over $1 million in 2008 and March 2010.
A small but operational ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plant was
inaugurated in Hawaii in August 2015. The opening of the research and development
100-kilowatt facility marked the first time a closed-cycle OTEC plant was connected to
the U.S. grid.
Hainan
On April 13, 2013 Lockheed contracted with the Reignwood Group to build a 10
megawatt plant off the coast of southern China to provide power for a planned resort
on Hainan island. A plant of that size would power several thousand homes. The
Reignwood Group acquired Opus Offshore in 2011 which forms its Reignwood Ocean
Engineering division which also is engaged in development of deepwater drilling.
Japan
Currently the only continuously operating OTEC system is located in Okinawa
Prefecture, Japan. The Governmental support, local community support, and advanced
research carried out by Saga University were key for the contractors, IHI Plant
Construction Co. Ltd, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, and Xenesys Inc, to succeed with
this project. Work is being conducted to develop a 1MW facility on Kume Island
requiring new pipelines. In July 2014, more than 50 members formed the Global Ocean
reSource and Energy Association (GOSEA) an international organization formed to
promote the development of the Kumejima Model and work towards the installation of
larger deep seawater pipelines and a 1MW OTEC Facility. The companies involved in the
current OTEC projects, along with other interested parties have developed plans for
offshore OTEC systems as well. - For more details, see "Currently Operating OTEC
Plants" above.
United States Virgin Islands
On March 5, 2014, Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTEC)[54] and the 30th
Legislature of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) signed a Memorandum of
Understanding to move forward with a study to evaluate the feasibility and potential
benefits to the USVI of installing on-shore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)
renewable energy power plants and Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) facilities. The
benefits to be assessed in the USVI study include both the baseload (24/7) clean
electricity generated by OTEC, as well as the various related products associated with
OTEC and SWAC, including abundant fresh drinking water, energy-saving air
conditioning, sustainable aquaculture and mariculture, and agricultural enhancement
projects for the Islands of St Thomas and St Croix.
On July 18, 2016, OTE's application to be a Qualifying Facility was approved by the
Virgin Islands Public Services Commission.[28] OTE also received permission to begin
negotiating contracts associated with this project.
Kiribati
South Korea's Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO) received
Approval in Principal from Bureau Veritas for their 1MW offshore OTEC design. No
timeline was given for the project which will be located 6 km offshore of the Republic of
Kiribati.
Martinique
Akuo Energy and DCNS were awarded NER300 funding on July 8, 2014 for their NEMO
(New Energy for Martinique and Overseas) project which is expected to be a 10.7MW-
net offshore facility completed in 2020. The award to help with development totaled 72
million Euro.
Maldives
On February 16, 2018, Global OTEC Resources announced plans to build a 150 kW
plant in the Maldives, designed bespoke for hotels and resorts. “All these resorts draw
their power from diesel generators. Moreover, some individual resorts consume 7,000
litres of diesel a day to meet demands which equates to over 6,000 tonnes of CO2
annually” said Director, Dan Grech. The EU awarded a grant and Global OTEC resources
launched a crowdfunding campaign for the rest.
 IV. Technical Difficulties

Dissolved gases

The performance of direct contact heat exchangers operating at typical OTEC boundary
conditions is important to the Claude cycle. Many early Claude cycle designs used a
surface condenser since their performance was well understood. However, direct
contact condensers offer significant disadvantages. As cold water rises in the intake
pipe, the pressure decreases to the point where gas begins to evolve. If a significant
amount of gas comes out of solution, placing a gas trap before the direct contact heat
exchangers may be justified. Experiments simulating conditions in the warm water
intake pipe indicated about 30% of the dissolved gas evolves in the top 8.5 meters (28
ft) of the tube. The trade-off between pre-dearation of the seawater and expulsion of
non-condensable gases from the condenser is dependent on the gas evolution
dynamics, deaerator efficiency, head loss, vent compressor efficiency and parasitic
power. Experimental results indicate vertical spout condensers perform some 30%
better than falling jet types.

Microbial fouling

Because raw seawater must pass through the heat exchanger, care must be taken to
maintain good thermal conductivity. Biofouling layers as thin as 25 to 50 micrometres
(0.00098 to 0.00197 in) can degrade heat exchanger performance by as much as 50%.
A 1977 study in which mock heat exchangers were exposed to seawater for ten weeks
concluded that although the level of microbial fouling was low, the thermal conductivity
of the system was significantly impaired. The apparent discrepancy between the level of
fouling and the heat transfer impairment is the result of a thin layer of water trapped by
the microbial growth on the surface of the heat exchanger.

Another study concluded that fouling degrades performance over time, and determined
that although regular brushing was able to remove most of the microbial layer, over
time a tougher layer formed that could not be removed through simple brushing. The
study passed sponge rubber balls through the system. It concluded that although the
ball treatment decreased the fouling rate it was not enough to completely halt growth
and brushing was occasionally necessary to restore capacity. The microbes regrew
more quickly later in the experiment (i.e. brushing became necessary more often)
replicating the results of a previous study. The increased growth rate after subsequent
cleanings appears to result from selection pressure on the microbial colony.
Continuous use of 1 hour per day and intermittent periods of free fouling and then
chlorination periods (again 1 hour per day) were studied. Chlorination slowed but did
not stop microbial growth; however chlorination levels of .1 mg per liter for 1 hour per
day may prove effective for long term operation of a plant. The study concluded that
although microbial fouling was an issue for the warm surface water heat exchanger, the
cold water heat exchanger suffered little or no biofouling and only minimal inorganic
fouling.

Besides water temperature, microbial fouling also depends on nutrient levels, with
growth occurring faster in nutrient rich water. The fouling rate also depends on the
material used to construct the heat exchanger. Aluminium tubing slows the growth of
microbial life, although the oxide layer which forms on the inside of the pipes
complicates cleaning and leads to larger efficiency losses. In contrast, titanium tubing
allows biofouling to occur faster but cleaning is more effective than with aluminium.

Sealing

The evaporator, turbine, and condenser operate in partial vacuum ranging from 3% to
1% of atmospheric pressure. The system must be carefully sealed to prevent in-leakage
of atmospheric air that can degrade or shut down operation. In closed-cycle OTEC, the
specific volume of low-pressure steam is very large compared to that of the pressurized
working fluid. Components must have large flow areas to ensure steam velocities do
not attain excessively high values.

Parasitic power consumption by exhaust compressor

An approach for reducing the exhaust compressor parasitic power loss is as follows.
After most of the steam has been condensed by spout condensers, the non-condensible
gas steam mixture is passed through a counter current region which increases the gas-
steam reaction by a factor of five. The result is an 80% reduction in the exhaust
pumping power requirements.
 V. OTEC Other Applications:

Desalination

Desalinated water can be produced in open- or hybrid-cycle plants using surface

condensers to turn evaporated seawater into potable water. System analysis indicates
that a 2-megawatt plant could produce about 4,300 cubic metres (150,000 cu ft) of
desalinated water each day. Another system patented by Richard Bailey creates
condensate water by regulating deep ocean water flow through surface condensers
correlating with fluctuating dew-point temperatures. This condensation system uses no
incremental energy and has no moving parts.

On March 22, 2015, Saga University opened a Flash-type desalination demonstration

facility on Kumejima. This satellite of their Institute of Ocean Energy uses post-OTEC
deep seawater from the Okinawa OTEC Demonstration Facility and raw surface
seawater to produce desalinated water. Air is extracted from the closed system with a
vacuum pump. When raw sea water is pumped into the flash chamber it boils, allowing
pure steam to rise and the salt and remaining seawater to be removed. The steam is
returned to liquid in a heat exchanger with cold post-OTEC deep seawater. The
desalinated water can be used in hydrogen production or drinking water (if minerals are
added).

Air conditioning

The 41 °F (5 °C) cold seawater made available by an OTEC system creates an

opportunity to provide large amounts of cooling to industries and homes near the plant.
The water can be used in chilled-water coils to provide air-conditioning for buildings. It
is estimated that a pipe 1 foot (0.30 m) in diameter can deliver 4,700 gallons of water
per minute. Water at 43 °F (6 °C) could provide more than enough air-conditioning for
a large building. Operating 8,000 hours per year in lieu of electrical conditioning selling
for 5-10¢ per kilowatt-hour, it would save $200,000-$400,000 in energy bills annually.

The InterContinental Resort and Thalasso-Spa on the island of Bora Bora uses an SWAC
system to air-condition its buildings. The system passes seawater through a heat
exchanger where it cools freshwater in a closed loop system. This freshwater is then
pumped to buildings and directly cools the air.
In 2010, Copenhagen Energy opened a district cooling plant in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The plant delivers cold seawater to commercial and industrial buildings, and has
reduced electricity consumption by 80 percent. Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation
(OTE) has designed a 9800-ton SDC system for a vacation resort in The Bahamas.

Chilled-soil agriculture

OTEC technology supports chilled-soil agriculture. When cold seawater flows through
underground pipes, it chills the surrounding soil. The temperature difference between
roots in the cool soil and leaves in the warm air allows plants that evolved in temperate
climates to be grown in the subtropics. Dr. John P. Craven, Dr. Jack Davidson and
Richard Bailey patented this process and demonstrated it at a research facility at the
Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA). The research facility
demonstrated that more than 100 different crops can be grown using this system. Many
normally could not survive in Hawaii or at Keahole Point.

Japan has also been researching agricultural uses of Deep Sea Water since 2000 at the
Okinawa Deep Sea Water Research Institute on Kume Island. The Kume Island facilities
use regular water cooled by Deep Sea Water in a heat exchanger run through pipes in
the ground to cool soil. Their techniques have developed an important resource for the
island community as they now produce spinach, a winter vegetable, commercially year
round. An expansion of the deep seawater agriculture facility was completed by
Kumejima Town next to the OTEC Demonstration Facility in 2014. The new facility is for
researching the economic practicality of chilled-soil agriculture on a larger scale.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the best-known byproduct, because it reduces the financial and energy
costs of pumping large volumes of water from the deep ocean. Deep ocean water
contains high concentrations of essential nutrients that are depleted in surface waters
due to biological consumption. This "artificial upwelling" mimics the natural upwellings
that are responsible for fertilizing and supporting the world's largest marine
ecosystems, and the largest densities of life on the planet.

Cold-water delicacies, such as salmon and lobster, thrive in this nutrient-rich, deep,
seawater. Microalgae such as Spirulina, a health food supplement, also can be
cultivated. Deep-ocean water can be combined with surface water to deliver water at
an optimal temperature.

Non-native species such as salmon, lobster, abalone, trout, oysters, and clams can be
raised in pools supplied by OTEC-pumped water. This extends the variety of fresh
seafood products available for nearby markets. Such low-cost refrigeration can be used
to maintain the quality of harvested fish, which deteriorate quickly in warm tropical
regions. In Kona, Hawaii, aquaculture companies working with NELHA generate about
$40 million annually, a significant portion of Hawaii’s GDP.

The NELHA plant established in 1993 produced an average of 7,000 gallons of

freshwater per day. KOYO USA was established in 2002 to capitalize on this new
economic opportunity. KOYO bottles the water produced by the NELHA plant in Hawaii.
With the capacity to produce one million bottles of water every day, KOYO is now
Hawaii’s biggest exporter with $140 million in sales.

Hydrogen production

Hydrogen can be produced via electrolysis using OTEC electricity. Generated steam with
electrolyte compounds added to improve efficiency is a relatively pure medium for
hydrogen production. OTEC can be scaled to generate large quantities of hydrogen. The
main challenge is cost relative to other energy sources and fuels.

Mineral extraction

The ocean contains 57 trace elements in salts and other forms and dissolved in
solution. In the past, most economic analyses concluded that mining the ocean for
trace elements would be unprofitable, in part because of the energy required to pump
the water. Mining generally targets minerals that occur in high concentrations, and can
be extracted easily, such as magnesium. With OTEC plants supplying water, the only
cost is for extraction. The Japanese investigated the possibility of extracting uranium
and found developments in other technologies (especially materials sciences) were
improving the prospects.
 VI. How does it work? (Working Principle)

Most of the electricity we use comes from heat engines of one kind or another. A heat
engine is a machine that cycles between two different temperatures, one hot and one
cold, usually extracting heat energy from a fuel of some kind. In a steam engine or a
steam turbine, for example, coal heats water to make hot, high-pressure steam, which
is then allowed to expand and cool down to a lower temperature and pressure, pushing
a piston and turning a wheel as it does so. The greater the temperature difference
between the hot steam and the cooled water vapor it becomes, the more energy can be
extracted (and the more efficient the engine).

In OTEC, we use the temperature difference between the hot surface of the ocean and
the cooler, deeper layers beneath to drive a heat engine in a broadly similar way—
except that no fuel is burned: we don't need to create a difference in temperature by
burning fuel because a temperature gradient exists in the oceans naturally! Since the
temperature difference is all-important, we need the biggest vertical, temperature
gradient we can possibly find (at least 20° and ideally more like 30–40°). In practice,
that means a place where the surface waters are as hot as we can find and the deep
waters (perhaps 500–1000m or 1000–3000ft beneath ) are as cold as possible. The
best place to find such a combination is in the tropics (between the latitudes of about
20°N and 20°S).

OTEC is one of the continuously available renewable energy resources that could
contribute to base-load power supply. According to the study of Pelc and Fujita (2002)
and World Energy Council (2000), The resource potential for OTEC is considered to be
much larger than for other ocean energy forms. Up to 88,000 TWh/yr of power or
about one thousand times as much energy as used by man globally could be generated
from OTEC without affecting the ocean’s thermal structure. According to the US
Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (DOE/NREL), on a
typical day, the tropical oceans mop up heat energy equivalent to 250 billion barrels of
oil. Converting a mere 0.005 percent of this into electricity would be enough to power
the whole of the United States! However, impressive-sounding estimates like this don't
take account of the tremendous practical difficulties involved in harvesting ocean
energy.
 VII. How does OTEC work?

There are essentially two different kinds of OTEC plant, known as closed cycle and open
cycle.

Closed cycle

In closed-cycle OTEC, there is a long, closed loop of pipeline filled with a fluid such as
ammonia, which has a very low-boiling point (−33°C or 28°F). (Other fluids, including
propane and various low-boiling refrigerant chemicals, have also been successfully used
for transporting heat in OTEC plants.) The ammonia never leaves the pipe: it simply
cycles around the loop again and again, picking up heat from the ocean, giving it up to
the OTEC power plant, and returning as a cooled fluid to collect some more. How does
it work? First, the pipe flows through a heat exchanger fixed in the hot surface waters
of the ocean, which makes the ammonia boil and vaporize. The heated ammonia vapor
expands and blows through a turbine, which extracts some of its energy, driving a
generator to produce electricity. Once the ammonia has expanded, it passes through a
second heat exchanger, where cool water pumped up from the ocean depths condenses
it back to a liquid so it can be recycled. You can think of the ammonia working in a
broadly similar way to the coolant in a refrigerator, which is also designed to pick up
heat from one place (the chiller cabinet) and carry it elsewhere (the room outside)
using a closed-loop cycle. In OTEC, the ammonia picks up heat from the hot, surface
ocean waters (just as the coolant chemical picks up heat from the chiller compartment),
carries it to a turbine where much of its energy is extracted, and is then condensed
back to a liquid so it can run round the loop for more heat (just as the coolant in a
refrigerator is compressed and cooled in the fins around the back of the machine).

Open cycle

In open-cycle OTEC, the sea water is itself used to generate heat without any kind of
intermediate fluid. At the surface of the ocean, hot sea water is turned to steam by
reducing its pressure (remember that a liquid can be made to change state, into a gas,
either by increasing its temperature or reducing its pressure). The steam drives a
turbine and generates electricity (as in closed-cycle OTEC), before being condensed
back to water using cold water piped up from the ocean depths. One of the very
interesting byproducts of this method is that heating and condensing sea water
removes its salt and other impurities, so the water that leaves the OTEC plant is pure
and salt-free. That means open-cycle OTEC plants can double-up as desalination plants,
purifying water either for drinking supplies or for irrigating crops. That's a very useful
added benefit in hot, tropical countries that may be short of freshwater.

Land- and sea-based OTEC (Hybrid OTEC)

Open- and closed-cycle OTEC can operate either on the shore (land-based) or out at
sea (sometimes known as floating or grazing). Both have advantages and
disadvantages, which we'll consider in a moment. Land-based OTEC plants are
constructed on the shoreline with four large hot and cold pipelines dipping down into
the sea: a hot water input, a hot water output, a cold-water input, and a cold-water
output. Unfortunately, shoreline construction makes them more susceptible to problems
like coastal erosion and damage from hurricanes and other storms.

Sea-based OTEC plants are essentially the same but have to be constructed on some
sort of tethered, floating platform, not unlike a floating oil platform, with the four pipes
running down into the sea; early prototypes were run from converted oil tankers and
barges. They also need a cable running back to land to send the electrical power they
generate ashore. Hybrid forms of OTEC are also possible. So, for example, you could
build an OTEC platform some distance offshore on the continental shelf, which would
share some of the advantages of land-based OTEC (stability and durability, closeness to
the shore, and so on) and floating OTEC (opportunity to exploit a greater temperature
gradient, so generating power more efficiently).

VIII. Parts and Components

Platforms
A platform is used as a base for all OTEC operations, major components such as
platform mooring, turbine, heat exchanger: evaporator and condenser, cold water
pipes, cable wires and other accessories.
Pipes
Pipe is used to draw cold water from below the surface of the ocean and also to
discharge water back to the ocean

Heat exchanger
Shell and tube, Plate & Frame, and
Aluminum Plate-Fin type are Heat Exchangers that can be used as a medium of heat
transfer for closed cycle type OTEC only.
Commonly used material/s:
Shell & Tube - stainless steel
Plate & Frame - copper-nickel
Aluminum Plate Fin - aluminum
Working Fluid:
Propylene
Ammonia

Evaporators and Condensers

Evaporator & Condenser - is used in Open cycle type OTEC only.
Evaporator - is used to vaporize warm water
Type: Flash Evaporator
Material: Aluminum Alloy
Condenser - is used to transfer heat from the cold water to become condensate.
Type: Surface Condenser
Working Fluid: Sea Water

Pump
Pump is used to propel warm water above the surface of ocean and cold water below
the surface of the ocean.
560,000kg/sec for 100MW, warm water pump
460,000 kg/sec for 100MW, cold water pump
Types: (Centrifugal)
Axial Flow Pump Working Fluid Pump
Feeding Pump Vacuum Pump for Open Cycle
Circulation Pump Submersible/Non-Submersible
Material:
Carbon Steel Stainless Steel Copper Insulating Material

Turbines
Turbine – is used to convert the steam from thermal energy to kinetic energy and by
actuating it to generator to produce electrical energy.
Material:
Turbines shaft/rotor- carbon steel or low alloy steel
Turbine blades- 12% chromium stainless steel or higher alloy steel
Turbine casing- carbon steel
Type: Low Pressure Axial Flow Turbine

Power cables
is used to transfers electricity back to a shore-based electrical grid.

IX. Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

OTEC sounds immensely attractive: it's clean, green renewable energy that doesn't
involve burning fossil fuels, producing large amounts of greenhouse gases, or releasing
toxic air pollution. By helping to reduce our dependence on fuels such as petroleum,
OTEC could also help to reduce the "collateral" damage the world suffers from an oil-
dependent economy—including wars fought over oil and water pollution from tanker
spills. It could also provide a very useful source of power for tropical island states that
lack their own energy resources, effectively making them self-sufficient. As we've
already considered, open-cycle OTEC can play a useful part in providing pure, usable
water from ocean water. OTEC can also be used to produce fuels such as hydrogen; the
electricity it generates can be used to power an electrolysis plant that would split
seawater into hydrogen and oxygen, which could be bottled or piped ashore and then
used to power such things as fuel cells in electric cars. The waste cooling water used by
an OTEC plant can also be used for aquaculture (growing fish and other marine food
such as algae under controlled conditions), refrigeration, and air conditioning.

Disadvantages

The biggest problem with OTEC is that it's relatively inefficient. The laws of physics (in
this case, the Carnot cycle) say that any practical heat engine must operate at less than
100 percent efficiency; most operate well below—and OTEC plants, which use a
relatively small temperature difference between their hot and cold fluids, have among
the lowest efficiency of all: typically just a few percent. For that reason, OTEC plants
have to work very hard (pump huge amounts of water) to produce even modest
amounts of electricity, which brings two problems. First, it means a significant amount
of the electricity generated (typically about a third) has to be used for operating the
system (pumping the water in and out). Second, it implies that OTEC plants have to be
constructed on a relatively large scale, which makes them expensive investments.
Large-scale onshore OTEC plants could have a considerable environmental impact on
shorelines, which are often home to fragile, already threatened ecosystems such as
mangroves and coral reefs.

Although OTEC plants are only suitable for tropical seas with relatively large
temperature gradients, that's less of a problem than it sounds. According to DOE/NREL,
OTEC could theoretically operate in 29 different sovereign territories (including warmer,
southern parts of the United States) and 66 developing nations; and temperate parts of
the world that can't operate OTEC most likely have alternative forms of ocean power
they could exploit, including offshore wind turbines, tidal barrages, and wave power.

Although OTEC produces no chemical pollution, it does involve a human intervention in

the temperature balance of the sea, which could have localized environmental impacts
that would need to be assessed. One important (and often overlooked) impact of OTEC
is that pumping cold water from the deep ocean to the surfaces releases carbon
dioxide, the greenhouse gas currently most responsible for global warming. The amount
released is only a fraction (perhaps 10 percent) as much as that produced by a fossil-
fueled power plant, however.
A 100MW power plant would be expected to pump on the order of 12 million gallons
(44,400 tonnes) per minute.

For comparison, pumps must move a mass of water greater than the weight of the
battleship Bismarck, which weighed 41,700 tonnes, every minute. This makes pumping
a substantial parasitic drain on energy production in OTEC systems, with one Lockheed
design consuming 19.55 MW in pumping costs for every 49.8 MW net electricity
generated. For OTEC schemes using heat exchangers, to handle this volume of water
the exchangers need to be enormous compared to those used in conventional thermal
power generation plants, making them one of the most critical components due to their
impact on overall efficiency. A 100 MW OTEC power plant would require 200
exchangers each larger than a 20-foot shipping container making them the single most
expensive component.

A heat engine gives greater efficiency when run with a large temperature difference. In
the oceans the temperature difference between surface and deep water is greatest in
the tropics, although still a modest 20 to 25 °C. It is therefore in the tropics that OTEC
offers the greatest possibilities.OTEC has the potential to offer global amounts of
energy that are 10 to 100 times greater than other ocean energy options such as wave
power.OTEC plants can operate continuously providing a base load supply for an
electrical power generation system.

The main technical challenge of OTEC is to generate significant amounts of power

efficiently from small temperature differences. It is still considered an emerging
technology. Early OTEC systems were 1 to 3 percent thermally efficient, well below the
theoretical maximum 6 and 7 percent for this temperature difference. Modern designs
allow performance approaching the theoretical maximum Carnot efficiency.
Advantages

Eco- friendly
Minimal maintenance costs compared to other power production plants
Provide air conditioning to buildings within the OTEC plant
Fresh water - first by-product is fresh water. A small 1 MW OTEC is capable of
producing some 4,500 cubic meters of fresh water per day, enough to supply a
population of 20,000 with fresh water
Open cycle OTEC systems can produce desalinated water which is very important in
third-world countries
Chilled soil agriculture- cold seawater flowing through underground pipes, chills the
surrounding soil. Thereby allowing many plants evolved in temperate to be grown in
subtropics due to temp. difference in the plant roots in cool soil and plant leaves in
warm air
Has the potential to generate large amounts of electricity

Can create cold fresh water, which can be used for air-conditioning or drinking water.

Has no emissions

Disadvantages
At present electricity produced is much more expensive than fossil fuel power plants.
May damage the ecosystem based on the plants location.
Construction of the power plant is very expensive and requires a huge amount of space.
Low efficiency based on the small temperature difference.
The plants requires a huge volume of water to operate which means it needs a massive
pump to draw out water from the ocean.
Large temperature difference required, therefore limited to tropical regions

Not particularly energy efficient

Getting water from the depths of the ocean is a difficult engineering challenge

Have to transmit electricity large distances to get it onshore

 X. Philippine Issues and Updates

Philippines set to have first ocean energy plant by 2018

The Department of Energy (DoE) expects the Philippines’ first ocean energy facility to
start commercial operations by 2018.

Data from the National Renewable Energy Plan book showed that the first project to go
into operation will be the 10-megawatt Cabangan ocean energy thermal conversion
(Otec) project in Zambales.

The Cabangan project is one of 20 indicative power projects, which are expected to
require a combined P11 billion in investments.

“While the country is endowed with vast ocean resource potential, there have been very
limited activities in this sector. This is primarily because of the high investment cost for
its exploitation,” the DoE said.

A study conducted by the Mindanao State University indicated that the country, being
an archipelago, has a theoretical capacity of 170,000 megawatts over a 1,000 square
kilometer ocean resource area.— AMY R. REMO

Source: INQUIRER.NET

Tariff issues stall Philippine ocean energy project

[MANILA] Has the Philippines lost the opportunity to be the first country in the world
to commercialise ocean thermal energyconversion (OTEC)?

In 2011, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the first OTEC plant in
Zambales province will be operational in 2018. That would have made the Philippines
the first country to scale up OTEC technology.

Due to the delay in granting the feed-in tariff (FIT) rate, the opening has been moved
back to 2022, says Desiree Latimer, president of Bell Pirie Power (Philippines), which
holds a 1,200-hectare service contract in Zambales to generate 10 megawatts of
electricity using OTEC.

“The project has been overtaken by another proposed 10-megawatt plant in

Martinique island in the Caribbean, which is expected to go live before
Zambales,”(Qouted by Latimer)adding the Philippines might still be the first to
commercialise OTEC technology in Asia unless China’s proposed 10-megawatt project
in Hainan Island opens first.Latimer says the risk is on the investor’s side and the
technology supplier who will have to provide performance and availability guarantees
to the power plant. This is why the FIT rate is important to lenders and investors.

In 2012, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) granted FIT rates to four
renewable technologies: biomass, hydro, wind and solar. It deferred the FIT for
ocean energy until more data are in, upon which the ERC said it will base the FIT.

But Latimer says that will be “a stumbling block to ocean energy development
because it will be difficult for lenders and investors to invest in ocean energy without
the guarantee of a FIT rate”. The FIT rate petition for ocean is 17.65 pesos
(US$0.38) per kilowatt hour.

The 2011 National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) targets 70.5 megawatts of
ocean power from 2016 to 2030.

The figures anticipated the FIT decision in 2012 but since the FIT rate is delayed, the
forecast “is no longer valid and has been superseded with one still unpublished,”
Latimer says, adding that the 2016 NREP draft no longer expects an ocean energy
project to happen in 2016-2020.

Another bottleneck is the lack of comprehensive data, plus social acceptance and
environment issues, adds Mario Marasigan, director of the DOE’s renewable energy
management bureau.

While ocean energy projects may be out of sight because it is underwater, they still
impact on the marine environment. “The immediate vicinity of potential sites are
fishing grounds, most are navigation routes, and if suddenly an infrastructure is up,
then food security issues may arise,” Marasigan qouted.

Security concerns are valid as well since some Philippine waters are threatened by
pirates and bandits, he adds.

Source: Scidev.net South East Asian and Pacific desk

 Conceptual design of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) power
plants in the Philippines

Conceptual designs for a 5-MW onland-type and a 25-MW floating-type OTEC

power plant are proposed. Optimum conditions are determined and plant
specifications are computed. Cost estimates show that a floating-type 25-MW
OTEC power plant can generate electricity at a busbar power cost of 5.33 to 7.57
cents/kW Ã h while an onshore type 5-MW plant can generate electricity at a
busbar cost of 14.71 to 18.09 cents/kW Ã h.

Problems and issues

 lack of comprehensive data, plus social acceptance and environment issues

 Impact on the marine environment.
 Security concerns are valid as well since some Philippine waters are
threatened by pirates and bandits.
Research and studies

 A study conducted by the Mindanao State University indicated that the country,
being an archipelago, has a theoretical capacity of 170,000 megawatts over a
1,000 square kilometer ocean resource area.

XI. OTEC International Laws

42 U.S. Code § 9101 - Congressional declaration of policy

It states that:

(1)

authorize and regulate the construction, location, ownership, and operation of ocean
thermal energy conversion facilities connected to the United States by pipeline or cable,
or located in whole or in part between the highwater mark and the seaward boundary
of the territorial sea of the United States consistent with the Convention on the High
Seas, and general principles of international law;

(2)

authorize and regulate the construction, location, ownership, and operation of ocean
thermal energy conversion plantships documented under the lawof the United States,
consistent with the Convention on the High Seas and general principles of international
law;

(3)

authorize and regulate the construction, location, ownership, and operation of ocean
thermal energy conversion plantships by United States citizens, consistent with the
Convention on the High Seas and general principles of international law;

(4)

establish a legal regime which will permit and encourage the development of ocean
thermal energy conversion as a commercial energy technology;

(5)

provide for the protection of the marine and coastal environment, and consideration of
the interests of ocean users, to prevent or minimize any adverse impact which might
occur as a consequence of the developmentof such ocean thermal energy conversion
facilities or plantships;

(6)

make applicable certain provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. 1177 et
seq.) to assist in financing of ocean thermal energy conversion facilities and plantships;

(7)

protect the interests of the United States in the location, construction, and operation of
ocean thermal energy conversion facilities and plantships; and

(8)

protect the rights and responsibilities of adjacent coastal States in ensuring that Federal
actions are consistent with approved State coastal zone management programs and
other applicable State and local laws.
 XII. OTEC Conclusion and Recommendation

It is predicted that in the year 2040, the world will consume 820 quadrillion Btu of
energy. More renewable energy methods will have to be integrated into our society in
order to meet energy needs as our supply of fossil fuels runs out. Ocean thermal
energy conversion is one method for producing renewable energy. A common concern
with developing OTEC is the impact on the environment. For smaller scale OTEC plants,
reports by the NOAA have concluded that the environmental impact is small but that
there is not enough evidence to determine the magnitude of the environmental impact
from commercial OTEC plants. More information on the environmental impact of OTEC
will be discovered once more large scale OTEC plants are operational. OTEC is not just
a great way to produce electrical energy but can also be used to desalinate seawater,
provide cold water for air conditioning and irrigation, as well as provide nutrient rich
water for mariculture.

Power generated from OTEC technology will be inexpensive when compared to the unit
cost of power from other plants like hydro, diesel and wave. As a result, several
proposals for the development of OTEC in Pacific island countries have been submitted
to the investors for consideration. Therefore, the OTEC technology is the best solution
to meet the world’s increasing energy demands thereby reducing the need for importing
petroleum products.

Some of the areas related to the OTEC technology currently being considered in
research include the development of new materials from cold water pipe and the
improvement of the heat transfer coefficient for heat exchanges for a period of time.

However, the OTEC researchers believe that involvement of the private sector firms is
very limited owing to the need of enormous initial investment. Another major factor
that hinders the OTEC plant development is the limited availability of land-based sites in
the tropical regions where deep-sea water is close enough to the shore to make the
operation of the plant feasible.

Upon resolving these issues related to the OTEC development, the technology could
easily change the face of energy consumption by causing a shift from fossil fuels
Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_thermal_energy_conversion#Cycle_types

• https://www.makai.com/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion/

• https://www.britannica.com/technology/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion

• http://www.otecnews.org/what-is-otec/

• https://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-otec-works.html

• https://www.slideshare.net/harshmsankhala/otec

• https://www.power-eng.com/articles/2015/08/makai-ocean-engineering-
connects-world-s-largest-otec-plant-to-u-s-grid.html

• http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ocean_thermal_energy_conversion

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_thermal_energy_conversion#Bahamas

• https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/energy/news/tariff-issues-stall-philippine-
ocean-energy-project.html

• https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/9101

• https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=343

• https://www.slideshare.net/harshmsankhala/otec

• https://www.power-eng.com/articles/2015/08/makai-ocean-engineering-
connects-world-s-largest-otec-plant-to-u-s-grid.html

• http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ocean_thermal_energy_conversion