E-Book, Englisch, 280 Seiten
Auer Advances in Energy Systems and Technology
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4831-9126-3
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark
Volume 2
E-Book, Englisch, 280 Seiten
ISBN: 978-1-4831-9126-3
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark
Advances in Energy Systems and Technology, Volume 2, is intended to furnish a detailed and critical review of timely topics within the general field of energy. The breadth of coverage is greater than that generally found in journal review articles. Thus, the collection of chapters contained within this serial will serve as a valuable reference work for an extended period of time. The book contains four chapters and opens with a discussion of the development of solar power satellites. This is followed by separate chapters on sea thermal power; the direct use of solar energy; and the rationale, structure, and use of models for energy technology assessment. This volume aims to continue attracting a wide audience, consisting of professional workers in the field, serious students at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level, as well as those policy analysts and energy planners who seek a more complete understanding of technical matters.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
Sea Thermal Power
COMPETITIVE ELECTRICITY AND CHEMICALS FROM THE SEA
J. Hilbert Anderson, Sea Solar Power York, Pennsylvania
David F. Mayer, Columbus Ohio
Publisher Summary
This chapter focuses on sea thermal power (STP). Sea thermal power, an indirect new mode of solar energy utilization, makes it possible to produce electricity and synthetic fuels at competitive prices. The inexorable depletion of the world’s fossil fuel reserves is continuing at an alarming rate. None of the long-awaited technologies, fission, fusion, or coal conversion, is likely to provide enough energy to fill the gap left by oil depletion. STP denotes the use of the tropical sea as a natural collection and storage system for solar energy. This natural reservoir of solar heat is used to operate a heat engine, built into a floating platform or possibly a shore site. This heat engine can be used to turn a conventional electric generator. The power, thus, produced can be sent to land via underwater cable or used for the onboard synthesis of numerous chemicals through electrolysis and other processes. STP is large enough to provide the entire world with its total energy supply. STP is affordable. It is based firmly on established engineering practice. Because of the ability of STP to produce readily transportable chemicals, it is economical not only for countries that happen to be located in favorable areas but for any country that can build or buy an STP plant. As the temperature of the seawater does not change significantly from day to night, or from season to season, the sea thermal power plant can normally operate all the time.
I INTRODUCTION
Sea thermal power (STP), an indirect new mode of solar energy utilization, will make it possible to produce electricity and synthetic fuels at competitive prices in the next four to five years. This development comes at a time when the need for energy has never been greater and the traditional supplies are dwindling rapidly. The inexorable depletion of the world’s fossil fuel reserves is continuing at an alarming rate. None of the long-awaited technologies, fission, fusion, or coal conversion, is likely to provide enough energy to fill the gap left by oil depletion.
The energy crisis suddenly surged into the focus of public awareness during the 1973 oil embargo. We can thank the oil-rich countries for calling forcibly to our attention the exhaustible nature of our fossil energy sources. We now recognize that all the goods and services we enjoy are dependent on cheap energy to convert the raw materials of the Earth into useful goods, to transport these goods to market, and to permit these items to function for our benefit. Prophets of doom are now saying that our diminishing energy resources will lead to a lower standard of living, economic chaos, and possibly even the end of civilization as we know it. From the decline of the dollar, the reduction of the standard of living during the seventies, and the growing vulnerability of the West to the political power of OPEC, one might suppose that the deterioration process is well under way. Must we really allow this to continue? The authors believe not.
Let us stop to examine the energy problem in perspective. Oil, coal, and natural gas are the decomposition products of plants that lived millions of years ago and were buried before aerobic decay processes could convert them back into the chemicals from which they originated. Fossil fuels are, in reality, stored solar energy in chemical form. Plants convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars, starches, fats, and proteins with the energy in sunlight. The key step in photosynthesis is the use of the energy in light to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen (in combination with enzymes, not as free H) then reacts via other enzyme systems with carbon dioxide to form simple organic compounds, which are then the substrates for further syntheses. The first step, that of photochemical hydrogen production, can be done today only in green plants. The second step, the combination of hydrogen with carbon dioxide to form organic chemicals, can be done easily, but with the formation of simple products such as methanol. Methanol is commercially made from carbon monoxide/dioxide mixture and hydrogen right now, but the source of the hydrogen is natural gas. If the first step could be replaced by another method of hydrogen production, well-known processes could convert the hydrogen and carbon dioxide into synthetic fuels and chemicals. Hydrogen can be efficiently produced by electrolysis if a source of low-cost electricity can be found. There is a promising source of this low-cost electricity. It can be made from the temperature difference in the tropical seas using relatively inexpensive and simple technology. Only by the development of this kind of cost-efficient power can the developed nations look forward to the continuation of their historical high standard of living, and can the developing countries anticipate joining their more fortunate brethren in prosperity. Throughout the remainder of the twentieth century the rapid decline in extraction rates of oil and natural gas will continue. Since the entire fabric of modern technology is based on large quantities of low-cost energy, this situation threatens the very survival of civilization as we know it. Large new sources of reasonably priced energy must be found in the near future if we are to avoid global chaos. Already, the balance of payments problem generated by the oil situation is playing havoc with the international monetary system. In addition, the unstable oil-rich Middle East could explode again at any time, severing the lifeline of the oil-importing countries. The consequent struggle for the last large oil reserves could plunge the world into war. The development of viable new energy technologies poses an unprecedented challenge to our technical expertise. Sea thermal power is one answer to this challenge.
An energy source must satisfy certain simple criteria to be useful as a component in the solution of our energy dilemma.
(1) It must be very large, since the demands of our society are enormous.
(2) It must be affordable; that is, it should not tax the resources of the industrial complex unduly.
(3) It must be available in the near future, since any long-range technology will mature too late to avoid disaster.
(4) It should be flexible and versatile so that it can contribute to the society in the many ways in which energy is utilized.
A new energy technology, sea thermal power, has the capability of being developed within five years and satisfying the above criteria. It can become a major contributor to the world energy supply within a decade. No exotic technology is required for the implementation of the concept, so that it can be deployed inexpensively and quickly.
Sea thermal power denotes the use of the tropical sea as a natural collection and storage system for solar energy. [The Department of Energy has designated STP as ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), which is slightly cumbersome and will not be used in this chapter.] By using the sea in this way, continuous operation on a 24-hr/day, 365-day/ year basis is possible. The need for costly man-made collection and storage facilities is avoided. This natural reservoir of solar heat is used to operate a heat engine built into a floating platform or possibly a shore site. This heat engine can be used to turn a conventional electric generator. The power thus produced can be sent to land via underwater cable or used for the onboard synthesis of numerous chemicals through...
