Abstract
Despite its considerable potential, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) has yet to be developed in Indonesia. As one of the most widely developed cycles, the Rankine cycle serves as the foundation for the analysis of OTEC systems. This paper presents a dual approach to determining the performance of OTEC systems. The two approaches are based on thermodynamic-based numerical methods and chemical process-based simulation approaches, the latter of which employs ASPEN Plus software. A comparison of OTEC system performance is conducted using two identical systems with two distinct working fluids, namely ammonia and R134a. The results of the method analysis indicate that the numerical methods employed yield a net power output discrepancy of less than 1% when compared to the simulation methods and benchmark data. In comparing the two systems with different working fluids, the system utilizing ammonia as the working fluid exhibits a slightly higher cycle efficiency, though not to a statistically significant degree, at approximately 0.2%.