The Solar Ocean Energy Liaison

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Nova Southeastern UniversityNSUWorksThe OTEC Liaison NSU Digital Collections1-1-1980Volume 4, Number 1 ( January 1980)The Solar Ocean Energy LiaisonFollow this and additional works at: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/nsudigital_otec-liaisonPart of the Energy Policy Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Natural ResourcesManagement and Policy Commons, Oceanography Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons,Science and Technology Studies Commons, and the Water Resource Management CommonsThis Newsletter is brought to you for free and open access by the NSU Digital Collections at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in TheOTEC Liaison by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact nsuworks@nova.edu.NSUWorks CitationThe Solar Ocean Energy Liaison, "Volume 4, Number 1 ( January 1980)" (1980). The OTEC Liaison. Paper 29.http://nsuworks.nova.edu/nsudigital_otec-liaison/29Solar OCEAN ENERGY Liaison INCORPORATING The OTEC liaison VOLUME 4 NUMBER 1 January 1980 MINI-OTEC PERFORMS AS EXPECTED OFF HAWAII NO POTENTIAL PROBLEMS MATERIALIZED Second Deployment Planned Mini-OTEC, the world's first Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion demonstration plant, has accomplished its original mission by generating 50 kilowatts of electricity for several months to prove that the 100-year-old concept works. During three and a half months of operation (500 hours to-tal, 102 hours continuous), Mini-OTEC has performed as its designers expected without encountering any of the seawater hurdles predicted for such plants . Lockheed Project Manager Delbert N. Burwell said that OTEC "unknowns" have become "knowns" . Some of the possible hurdles could have been biofouling of the heat exchangers; gas (carbon dioxide) en-trapped in the cold water brought up from great depths, possibly affecting the effi-ciency of the seawater pumps; and debris both of animal life and of inorganic mater-ials clogging the warm-water and cold-water inlet screens. Potential biofouling was controlled by continuously injecting minute amounts of chlorine (less than one-tenth part per mil-lion parts of water) into the seawater flow, and is most likely responsible for the ab-sence of biofouling-slime buildup in the Alfa-Laval titanium plate-type heat ex-changers. However questions still remain regarding the amount of biofouling present in the ocean water brought up from great depths, though experiments have indicated that little or none exists. Inlet-screen fouling, estimated before startup at around seven pounds per day, turned out to be non-existent. Pressure fluctuations in the ammonia loops, predicted by some OTEC research-ers, did not materialize. The seawater surge tank built into the seawater inlet system helped to stabilize the flow rate . The seawater design temperature differ-ential was 36.5 0 F. The actual temperature differential was slightly greater . Power consumption was slightly higher than predicted for the plant equipment and the deck I ights, but was lower for the hotel lights, the air compressor, and the chlori-nation systems. The primary control system used for Mini-OTEC operations was the constant-evaporator-flow mode. This mode was pre-viously tested on a small scale by Alfa-(continued on Page 2) ------FIRST LARGE-SCALE OTEC HARDWARE NOW READY FOR OCEAN TEST BED TRW has recently delivered a pair of 1 MWe heat exchangers to DOE for installation and testing on OTEC-1. Illustrated above is the evaporator. A photo of the condensor appears elsewhere in this issue. Solar OCEAN ENERGY Liaison INCORPORATING The OTEC Liaison AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER ENGAGED AS LIAISON FOR ALL FORMS OF SOLAR ENERGY FROM THE SEA, INCLUDING: OTEC (OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION) WAVE - TIDAL - CURRENT OFFSHORE WIND - BIOMASS SALINITY GRADIENTS VOLUME 4 NUMBER 1 January 1980 EDITOR/PUBLISH ER Richard Arlen Meyer TYPESETTER AND COpy EDITOR Shelly Treshansky ART DIRECTOR Pamela Greenfield BUSINESS MANAGER Kathleen Guido SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Mildred Ward Solar OCEAN ENERGY Liaison is published monthly by Popular Products Incorporated at 1303 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA. Phone (312) 427-3000. Printed in USA. Copyright 1980 by Popular Products Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. All rights reserved. Contents of this newsletter may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without permission. Solar OCEAN ENERGY Liaison will not assume any responsibility for manuscripts or photos either left or submitted on speculation. Subscription prices are listed below: United States and possessions: one year $125, two years $200. Foreign: Add $15 per year for air mail. Single copies: US $10.50 per copy. Foreign $11.25 per copy. ISSN: 0162-8755 Page 2 MINI-OTEC PERFORMS AS EXPECTED OFF HAWAII: NO POTENTIAL PROBLEMS MATERIALIZED (continued from Page 1 ) Laval, and proved to be successful for reli-able hands-off operation of Mini-OTEC. The constant - reservoi r-Ievel control mode was tested only once, but hands-off operation could not be maintained. Based on this experience, future control systems for plate heat exchangers should provide a constant flow to the evaporator. The average gross electrical output dur-ing testing was 48.7 kW, with a maximum of 53 kW and a minimum of 47 kW. The table entitled Power Summary appearing in this issue compares the design condition to actual test values. In the case of the test values, some measurements were combined readings . The typical net output obtained was about 12 kW, compared to a design range of 10 to 15 kW. Reams of performance data remain to be analyzed and reduced, but it can be safely said that the plant performed essen-tially as predicted. Second Deployment Awaits Funding The plant was shut down in November 1979 only because the allocated operating funds had been expended and most of the test objectives had been achieved. Mini-OTEC was moved from its operational site off the Kona Coast of Hawaii to Honolulu in November. The cold-water pipe was left in place at the site tethered to a marking buoy . It will be reconnected to the OTEC barge for the second phase of testing prob-ably in late spring or early summer of this year. Funding is expected to be borne pri-marily by DOE. Design Values Typical Test Components Nomi nal Maximum Values (kW) (kW) (kW) Generator Gross Outpu t 50 . 0 - 53.0 Cold Water Pump 11. 9 13.6 14.3 Warm Water Pump 9.4 10 . 7 10.3 Condens ate Pump 6.0 7. 2 } 6 . 2 Reflux Pump 1.0 5.0 Auxi 1 i ar i es 4 . 0 8.0 4. 0 Net 10.0 15.0 18.2 POWER SUMMARY OF FIRST MINI-OTEC DEPLOYMENT OCEAN ENERGY COUNCIL EXPANDS Recent open meetings in Washington hosted by the Ocean Energy Council (OEC) have been attended by over 100 persons, indicating the increasing popularity of this organization inside the OTEC/ocean energy community. The bi-monthly meetings are open to both members and non-members. Membership in the OEC has now risen to over fifty individuals and organizations representing virtually all areas of the inter-national OTEC community: industry, gov-ernment, researchers, utilities, \ users, and legal and financial interests. Co~porate/Or­ganizational memberships include Ashland Development, Devco International, Global Marine, Lockheed, J . Ray Mc Dermott, the National Marine Engineers Beneficial Asso-ciation, Simplex Wire and Cable, the Solar Energy Research Institute, Solaramco, the Trane Company, TRW, and Westinghouse Electric. An advisory board and action commit-tees are being formed to further the aims and activities of the advocacy organization. Further information can be obtained by writing to the Ocean Energy Council, Box 57198, Washington DC 20037, or from the editor of this publication . SERI COMPLETES NEW OTEC FILM One of the recent major efforts of the Ocean Systems Branch of the Solar Energy Research I nstitute of Golden, Colorado to disseminate information to the public has been the production of a twelve-minute film on OTEC. The project, headed by Don Petty of SE R I, was completed with the co-operation of DOE, industry, and other rep-resentatives of the OTEC community. The footage includes coverage of Mini-OTEC, OTEC-1, and general educational infor-mation on OTEC technology and commer-cial readiness. 6TH OTEC MEETING PROCEEDINGS ARE NOW ON THE WAY A recent letter from Gordon L. Dugger, Chairman of the Sixth OTEC Conference held last June, advises that the Conference Proceedings have been "at long last" de-livered to DOE for approval , printing, and mailing. The Proceedings are expected to be in the mail to all attendees on or before March 10th, 1980. Solar OCEAN ENERGY Liaison Chicago 60605 January 1980 • NAVAL RESEARCH IN UNRELATED FIELD MAY LEAD TO BREAKTHROUGH IN OTEC BIOFOULING CONTROL First surfacing at the MTS meeting in New Orleans last October, research by the US Navy's Civil Engineering laboratory (CEl) at Port Hueneme, California may lead to inexpensive control of biofouling on OTEC heat exchangers. A miniature thermal ocean-current sen-sor developed by a project at CE l and ini-tially funded by the Naval Facilities En-gineering Command and the Naval Ocean Research and Development Activity uses low-voltage electricity to completely elim-inate biofouling. The current sensor was developed to provide a system for measuring deep ocean currents which would replace present tech-niques that are cumbersome, costly, and frequently inefficient, especially when used for long periods. The device, which is two inches long and a quarter-inch in diameter, is based on a principle that has been known in the lab-oratory for some time. When four metallic films are heated by an electric current, the flow of water past them causes heat loss. The speed and direction of the flow can then be determined by the change in tem-perature in each of the four films. Prac-tical application, however, depends on the fabrication of a watertight package that would not leak and lose calibration as a result of a short circuit and would not deteriorate as a result of biofouling. Working with platinum, an inert metal, CEl engineers led by Theodore Kretsch-mer devised a means of using a laser in a high-speed computer- controlled process to cut the platinum into four film resistors only half an inch long and only 0.1 micron thick. The four films are deposited on a hol-low cylindrical alumina ceramic substrate and then covered with a special plastic coating that provides complete insulation and waterproofing. On top of this an outer layer of platinum is placed to protect the plastic coating. This exterior platinum lay-er provides the key to the anti-foul ing. The platinum becomes an anode in an electrochemical cell. With the stainless-steel mounting shaft serving as the cathode, a slight electrical current is impressed on the platinum anode. Chlorine is formed on the platinum surface and through hydroly-sis forms hypochlorite, a powerful anti-foulant. A sensor protected in this manner has been exposed in sea water for as long as five months with no biofouling detected. By comparison, a standard sensor recov-ered from the ocean after just 16 days was found to have a 70% speed-measuring error due to severe fouling by marine growth. Since only a small electric current is re-quired for the anti-fouling process, energy consumption is minimized. It is estimated that a D-size lithium cell has sufficient en-ergy to keep more than 20 sensors strung along a cable free of fouling for one year. Sin&e the chemicals generated by this technique affect only the platinum surface there is no environmental hazard. It was also observed in the tests that when the electric current was turned off, the fouling buildup which ensued was completely re-moved when the current was turned on again. Additional details of this new develop-ment will be provided in a paper at the Offshore Technology Conference in Hou-ston in early May. ~COUSTEAU SOCIETY MOVING ITS HEADQUARTERS TO VIRGINIA The Cousteau Society, an avid support-er of all forms of ocean energy (see the Oc-tober 1979 issue of OEI. has announced that it will move its base of operations to the Norfolk-Hampton Roads area of Vir-ginia . In co-operation with the community of Norfolk, the Society will establish a Cousteau Center to house its activities and serve as a staging area for expeditions of the research ship Calypso. At present, the Society operates from three locations: New York, los Angeles, and the Marseilles/Monaco area. Opera-tions in those areas will be reduced, and most of their activities will be transferred to the new Cousteau Center. Captain Cousteau said: .. Our members, now numbering over 160,000, will be more effectively served by this facility." The many scientific and governmental facilities in the Hampton Roads area, as well as its coastal location, attracted the Society to this new site . [Editor's note : Readers will find inter-esting an extensive interview with James Schlesinger, former head of DOE, in the March issue of Calypso Log, the quarterly publication of The Cousteau Society In-corporated, 777 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10017.1 BIBLIOGRAPHY ON OCEAN ENERGY IN PREPARATION A bibliography on ocean energy is being prepared by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a specific goal of the ASCE's year-old Task Committee on Ocean En-ergy. It is currently in the final stages of publication, and has been broken down into four major areas: wave energy, tidal energy, salinity gradients, and ocean tem-perature gradients/OTEC. Further information may be obtained from the Committee's chairman, Dr. Y. C. Kim, Department of Civil Engineering, Cali-fornia State University, los Angeles, Cali-fornia 90032, (213) 224-2520. Solar OCEAN ENERGY Liaison Chicago 60605 January 1980 WAVE ENERGY SOLAR OCEAN ENERGY TODAY POWERS 1,000 HOMES IN JAPAN Right now, as you read this, ocean en-ergy is supplying electricity to about 1,000 homes in Japan . A generator aboard the Japanese dem-onstration plant Kaimei off the northern coast of Japan in Tsurouka is powered by wave action (see the June 1979 issue of OE) . This is the first practical use of wave energy anywhere in the world. The output of the 80-meter-long test plant is in the thousand-kilowatt range. Electricity is transferred to the distribu-tion grid of the Tohoku Electric Power Company. The United States, Britain, and other countries also participated in the project. PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE • Qualification of Aluminum for OTEC Heat Exchangers, by F. L. La Que of Ar-gonne National laboratory, Argonne, Illi-nois, 32 pages, is available as AN L/OTEC-BCM - 003 for $6 paper copy and $3.50 microfiche from National Technical I nfor-mation Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161. • Study of the Corrosive Effect on Alum-inum and CP Titanium of Mixtures of Am-monia and Seawater That May Be Encoun-tered in 0 TEC Heat Exchangers: Final Report, by C. F. Schrieber, W. D. Grimes, and W. F. Mcilhenny of Dow Chemical USA, Freeport, Texas, 121 pages, is avail-able as AN L/OTEC- BCM - 004 for $9 pa-per copy and $3.50 microfiche from Na-tional Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161 . • Review of Water Intake Screening Op-tions for Coastal Water Users With Recom-mendations for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Plants, by D. L. Thomas of Ichthyological Associates Inc., Absecon, New Jersey, 43 pages, is available as AN L/ OTEC- BCM - 005 for $6 paper copy and $3.50 microfiche from National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161. • Corrosion and Biofouling on the Non-Heat- Exchanger Surfaces of an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Power Plant: A Survey, by V. J . Castelli of the David Taylor Naval Ship Research and Develop-ment Center, Bethesda, Maryland, 106 pages, is available as DTNSRDC-79/054 for $9 paper copy and $3 .50 microfiche from National Technical Information Ser-vice, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161. PATENT ISSUED FOR WAVE POWER GENERATION Patent Number 4,172,689, with SIX claims, was issued in late 1979 to Ivar Thorsheim of Norway for "a device de-riving power from the energy of moving water waves". Page 3 Personnel of Southwestern Engineering Company, a subcontractor to TRW for OTEC-1, threading the titanium tubing for the condensor. TIDAL POWER BAY OF FUNDY TIDAL PROJECT FINALLY UNDER WAY After many years of contemplation (see the June 1979 issue of OE), the harnessing of one of the world's greatest tidal-energy resources has been initially funded and is scheduled to begin operation in 1983 . The Tidal Power Corporation of Nova Scotia has awarded a $15 million (Canadian dollars) contract to Dominion Bridge-Sul-zer I ncorporated of Montreal to build a hydroelectric turbine as part of a power-demonstration project in the Bayof Fundy. The 23-foot-diameter turbine will gen-erate 20,000 kilowatts of electricity at the mouth of the Annapolis River in west-ern Nova Scotia. Tides in the Annapol is basin rise and fall about 15 feet. The Canadian Government will.contrib-ute $25 million to the project. The total cost is estimated at between $43 million and $47 million. Full-scale harnessing of the tides in the Page 4 Bay of Fundy would yield about four mil-lion kilowatts of electricity-double the amount of power generated by oil- and coal-fired power plants in the province. George Baker, executive vice-president of Tidal Power, says that New Brunswick and New England could receive any surplus electricity. • LOCKHEED OPENS OFFSHORE OFFICE IN HOUSTON Lockheed Missiles and Space Company has opened a branch office in Houston for its Offshore Systems and Services organi-zation . The Houston office will enable Lockheed personnel to work closely with the petroleum industry and related off-shore construction firms. In addition to its long-term history of OTEC work, Lock-heed is also involved in deep-ocean mining, oil-spill cleanup, and submersibles, among other oceanographic projects. TAIWAN REPORTED AS IDEAL OTEC SITE A report has recently been received by OE from Professor T. Y. Chou of the Insti-tute of Oceanography of the National Tai-wan University in Taipei, Taiwan, regarding the ocean-thermal resources of that nation. The eastern coast of Taiwan-the fastest growing industrial nation in the world based on its GNP in recent years-is described as "most suitable" as an OTEC site in the report, entitled" Characteristics of the Ku-roshio Current and Their Variations in the Surrounding Seas of Taiwan". Tempera-tures of the surface reach 28 0 C in summer and 25 0 C in winter, with temperatures at depths of 800 to 900 meters ranging from 4 0 C to 5 0 C. These delta-Ts are compara-ble to those of areas currently under study for OTEC demonstration plants, including Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the United States Gulf Coast. Solar OCEAN ENERGY Liaison Chicago 60605 January 1980 • 

Volume 4, Number 1 (January 1980)

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Volume 4, Number 1 (January 1980)

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