OTEC

Capturing energy using temperature gradients across water depths.

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) technology converts solar energy stored in the layers of the tropical and subtropical oceans. Thermal heat engines use the temperature difference between the sun-warmed surface water and cold water in the deep ocean. The temperature difference between surface waters and deeper water can reach over 25oC in summer months, although usually this temperature difference exists only over water with depths of 1,000 m or greater. Many different OTEC archetypes have been investigated, some on floating offshore platforms and some built onshore with pipelines to transport the water to and from the ocean. Each system uses one or a combination of thermodynamic processes to turn the temperature difference into mechanical energy. Both the open-cycle and closed-cycle plants use cold water pumped from the deep ocean to condense a working fluid. An ancillary benefit is that the condensate is freshwater that can have other uses such as agriculture and potable drinking water.

Photo: Okinawa Prefecture Industrial Policy Division

Marine Energy Documents Related to OTEC

Tethys Engineering is a knowledge hub that contains documents and resources about the technical aspects of marine energy development. The table below contains all of the documents in the Tethys Engineering Knowledge Base associated with OTEC.

Total: 527

Title Author Date Type of Content Technology Collection Method Engineering
Role of R717 blends in ocean thermal energy conversion organic Rankine cycle Hu, Z., Chen, Y., Zhang, C. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Performance
Theoretical, numerical and experimental research on an innovative ocean thermal energy conversion coupled VMD desalination system Ma, Q., Liu, X., Tong, L. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Lab Data, Modeling
Effect of working fluid on the ORC cycle performance of the ocean thermal energy conversion system Zhang, K., Lv, X., Weng, Y. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Performance
Enhancing Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Performance: Optimized Thermoelectric Generator-Integrated Heat Exchangers with Longitudinal Vortex Generators Chung, Y., Wu, C. Journal Article OTEC Modeling Hydrodynamics
Theoretical analysis on temperature-lifting cycle for ocean thermal energy conversion Zhang, Z., Yuan, H., Yi, S. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Performance
Marine Energy and Technologies - Possibilities of Exploiting the Adriatic Sea in Croatia Zvonimir, G., Giorgio, G., Nastia, D. Conference Paper Current, Wave, Salinity Gradient, OTEC Modeling
Market Potential and Sustainability: A Comprehensive Analysis of Marine Renewable Energy Technologies Bayindir, R., Senyapar, H. Journal Article Current, Tidal, Wave, Salinity Gradient, OTEC
Integration of ocean thermal energy conversion and pumped thermal energy storage: system design, off-design and LCOS evaluation Ghilardi, A., Baccioli, A., Frate, G. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Hybrid Devices, Performance
Hydrodynamic Load Effect on Composite Polymer Cold-Water Pipe Joint in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Arief, D., Wirjosentono, B., Koto, J. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Hydrodynamics, Structural
Marine Biofouling: Non-Indigenous Species and Management Across Sectors Rice, J., Haecky, P., Bloecher, N. Report Current, Wave, OTEC Field Data
The future of ocean renewable energy Neill, S. Book Chapter Current, Wave, Salinity Gradient, OTEC
Numerical analyses on the feasibility of TC type nozzles in ocean thermal energy Conversion turbines Ma, Q., Huang, J., Lu, H. Journal Article OTEC Modeling Structural
What future for marine renewable energy in Portugal and Spain up to 2030? Forecasting plausible scenarios using general morphological analysis and clustering techniques Vieira, M., Macedo, A., Alvarenga, A. Journal Article Current, Wave, Salinity Gradient, OTEC Modeling
Experimentally and Numerically Analysis of Flow Behaviors in Grooved Channels for Pulsatile Flow Xu, Z., Cao, G., Bian, Y. Journal Article OTEC Lab Data, Modeling Performance
Experimental investigation on the influence of heaving and yawing on the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop of the plate evaporator Chen, Y., Zhangli, Z., Hua, D. Journal Article OTEC Performance
Reviewing the energy, environment, and economy prospects of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) systems Aresti, L., Christodoulides, P., Michailides, C. Journal Article OTEC
Internal flow effects in OTEC cold water pipe: Finite element modelling in frequency and time domain approaches Habib, M., Adiputra, R., Prabowo, A. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Hydrodynamics, Substructure
Performance enhancement of the combined power-refrigeration cycle using a liquid-gas-gas ejector for ocean thermal energy conversion Zhang, J., Zhang, Z., Zhou, S. Journal Article OTEC, Hybrid-Cycle Modeling Performance
Reliability assessment of the ocean thermal energy conversion systems through Monte Carlo simulation considering outside temperature variation Ghaedi, A., Sedaghati, R., Mahmoudian, M. Journal Article OTEC Modeling Performance
Vibrational Responses of an Ultra-Large Cold-Water Pipe for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: A Numerical Approach Tan, J., Zhang, Y., Zhang, L. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Hydrodynamics, Substructure
Report on the 4th Marine Energy Instrumentation and Data Workshop Fao, R., Ainsworth, R., Bharath, A. Report Current, Wave, Salinity Gradient, OTEC
The global techno-economic potential of floating, closed-cycle ocean thermal energy conversion Langer, J., Blok, K. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling
Design Optimization of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Considering the Off-Design Condition Fan, C., Chen, Y. Journal Article OTEC Performance
Experimental study of a miniature organic Rankine cycle unit using ocean thermal energy Hu, Z., Fan, C., Gao, W. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling, Scale Device Performance, Power Take Off
Modeling and Optimization of a PCM-Based Ocean Thermal Energy Harvester for Powering Unmanned Underwater Vehicles Ouro-Koura, H., Jung, H., Borca-Tasciuc, D-A. Conference Paper OTEC Modeling
Vortex induced vibrations of marine risers: validating turbulence models Wang, C., Vakis, A., Veldman, A. Conference Paper Current, Wave, OTEC Lab Data Hydrodynamics, Structural
Enabling the Ocean Internet of Things with Renewable Marine Energy Topper, M., Jarnoux, N., Costello, R. Conference Paper Current, Wave, Salinity Gradient, OTEC Lab Data, Modeling Control
Characterization of the Mechanical Properties of Low Stiffness Marine Power Cables through Tension, Bending, Torsion, and Fatigue Testing Ringsberg, J., Dieng, L., Li, Z. Journal Article Current, Wave, Salinity Gradient, OTEC Modeling Materials, Structural
Mission Analysis for Marine Renewable Energy To Provide Power for Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Niffenegger, J., Greene, D., Thresher, R. Report Current, Wave, OTEC
Experimental study of the absorption refrigeration using ocean thermal energy and its under-lying prospects Hu, Z., Deng, Z., Gao, W. Journal Article OTEC Lab Data Performance, Structural
4E analyses and multi-objective optimization for an innovative solar-ocean thermal energy conversion/air conditioning system Tian, Z., Zou, X., Zhang, Y. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Hybrid Devices, Performance
On technical issues for underwater charging of robotic fish schools using ocean renewable energy Jin, L., Cui, W. Journal Article Current, Wave, Salinity Gradient, OTEC Modeling Performance
Using Drifters Equipped with Acoustic Tags to Verify the Efficacy of an Array of Acoustic Receivers for Estimating Probability of Fish-Turbine Encounter Wang, D., Zheng, M., Zhang, L. Journal Article OTEC Modeling Performance, Substructure
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC): Economics Update (2023) Vega, L. Report OTEC
Assessment of the stiffened panel performance in the OTEC seawater tank design: Parametric study and sensitivity analysis Lutfi, Y., Adiputra, R., Prabowo, A. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Structural
Thermodynamic process control of ocean thermal energy conversion Fan, C., Wu, Z., Wang, J. Journal Article OTEC Modeling Hydrodynamics, Performance
Theoretical analysis on extraction-ejection combined power and refrigeration cycle for ocean thermal energy conversion Zhang, Z., Yuan, H., Mei, N. Journal Article OTEC, Hybrid-Cycle Modeling Performance, Structural
Thermodynamic Analysis of an Integrated OTEC-Based Multi-Generation Plant for Hydrogen and Freshwater Production Ramachandran, C., Arun Shal, U., Ramachandran, S. Conference Paper OTEC, Hybrid-Cycle Modeling Hybrid Devices, Performance
Heat transfer mechanism of cold-water pipe in ocean thermal energy conversion system Mao, L., Wei, C., Zeng, S. Journal Article OTEC Modeling Performance
Experimental study on dynamic stability of vertical cantilevered pipe aspirating fluid immersed in various water depths Ma, Y., You, Y., Zhang, J. Journal Article OTEC Lab Data, Modeling, Test Center Hydrodynamics, Performance, Structural
Evaluation of a novel OTEC System composed of Uehara Cycle for power and refrigeration cogeneration Xue, Y., Bian, Y., Liu, Y. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Performance
Explore the influence of intermediate extraction on thermodynamic performance and economy of Uehara cycle Zhu, K., Bian, Y., Liu, Y. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Performance
A transient model for clean electricity generation using Solar energy and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) - case study: Karkheh dam - southwest Iran Dezhdar, A., Assareh, E., Keykhah, S. Journal Article OTEC, Hybrid-Cycle Modeling Hybrid Devices, Performance
OTEC and Advanced Deep Ocean Water Use for Kumejima: An Introduction Martin, B., Okamura, S., Yasunuga, T. Conference Paper OTEC, Closed-Cycle Field Data, Full Scale Grid Integration, Performance
Performance Analysis of a 10 MW Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Plant Using Rankine Cycle in Malaysia Thirugnana, S., Jaafar, A., Rajoo, S. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Modeling Performance
Performance evaluation of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) stabilization based on risk analysis Lim, S., Lee, H., Yoon, J. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Field Data, Full Scale Performance, Substructure
A review of geographic information system (GIS) and techno economic (TE) software tools for renewable energy and methodology to develop a coupled GIS-TE software tool for marine renewable energy (MRE) O’Connell, R., Murphy, J., McAuliffe, F. Journal Article Current, Wave, Salinity Gradient, OTEC Field Data, Modeling
Thermodynamic analysis and turbine design of a 100 kW OTEC-ORC with binary non-azeotropic working fluid Ma, Q., Gao, Z., Huang, J. Journal Article OTEC, Open-Cycle Modeling Materials, Performance, Structural
Objective Functions and Performance Optimization of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Cycle with CO2-Based Binary Zeotropic Mixture Power Cycle Shi, W., Sun, Y., Pan, L. Journal Article OTEC, Closed-Cycle Materials, Performance
A Review of Offshore Renewable Energy in South America: Current Status and Future Perspectives Shadman, M., Roldan-Carvajal, M., Pierat, F. Journal Article Current, Wave, Salinity Gradient, OTEC Field Data Hybrid Devices
Displaying 101 - 150 of 527 results