EXPLOITATION OF OCEAN ENERGY THROUGH ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLE TECHNOLOGY

To evaluate the potential of the thermic capacity pf the sea to produce electrical power. 

The ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process uses the disparity in
temperature between the warm seawater on the ocean surface and the deep cold
seawater to operate in an Organic Rankine cycle system for producing electrical power
without consuming fuel or emitting pollution. Although using ocean thermal energy has
enormous potential and the OTEC plants have a small environment impact, the low net
efficiency of OTEC resulting from the lower temperature differences between surface
seawater and cold seawater restricts the implementation of this technology.
The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is operationally similar to a typical Rankine cycle
but uses an organic fluid as working medium instead of water. Basically, the ORC is
composed of a pump, an evaporator, a turbine and a condenser (Fig. 1). The main
objective of the Project ORCean is to demonstrate and validate the conversion of the
ocean thermal energy in electricity through and Organic Rankine Cycle generator
installed in the Caribbean and Latin-America countries.