UNIT-7

TIDAL POWER, OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY,

& GEOTHERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION
Ocean Energy Sources—General Aspects
Ocean energy sources may be broadly divided into the following four categories :
1.Tidal energy.
2.Wave energy.
3.Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC).

4.Energy emanated from the sun-ocean system from the mechanism of surface water
evaporation by solar heating i.e. hydrological cycle.
Tidal Power Plants
Introduction:

The periodic rise and fall of the water level of sea which are carried by the action of the sun and moon
on water of the earth is called the 'tide'.

• Tidal energy can furnish a significant portion of all such energies which are renewable in
nature. The large scale up and down movement of sea water represents an unlimited
source of energy. If some part of this vast energy can be converted into electrical energy,
it would be an important source of hydropower.

• The main feature of the tidal cycle is the difference in water surface elevations at the high
tide and at the low tide. If this differential head could be utilized in operating a hydraulic
turbine, the tidal energy could be converted into electrical energy by means of an
attached generator.
Tidal power:

When a basin exists along the shores with high tides, the power in the tide can be
hydroelectrically utilized. This can be realized by having a long dam across the basin and locating
two sets of turbines underneath the dam. As the tide comes in water flows into the basin one set of
turbines. At low tide the water flows out of the basin operating another set of turbines.
Components of Tidal Power Plants
The following are the components of a tidal power plant:
1. The power house.
2. The dam or barrage to form pool or basin.
3. Sluice ways from the basins to the sea and vice versa.

1. Power house: the turbines, electrical generator and other auxiliary equipments are the main
component of a power house
2. Dam or Barrage:The function of dam to form a barrier between the sea and basin or between
one basin and the other in case of multiple basins.
3. Sluice ways: the sluice ways are used either to fill the basin during the high tide or empty
the basin during the low tide, as per operational requirement. These are gate controlled
devices.
 It is generally convenient to have the power house as well as the sluice-ways in alignment
with the dam.
Classification and Operation of Tidal Power Plants
Tidal power plants are classified as follows:
1. Single basin arrangement
(i) Single ebb-cycle system (ii) Single tide-cycle system
(iii) Double cycle system.

2. Double basin arrangement.

Advantages and Limitations of Tidal Power Generation

Advantages:
1.Tidal power is completely independent of the precipitation (rain) and its uncertainty, besides being
inexhaustible.
2.Large area of valuable land is not required.
3. When a tidal power plant works in combination with thermal or hydro-electric system, peak
power demand can be effectively met with.
4.Tidal power generation is free from pollution.
Limitations:
1. Due to variation in tidal range the output is not uniform.

2. Since the turbines have to work on a wide range of head variation (due to variable tide range)
the plant efficiency is affected.

3. There is a fear of machinery being corroded due to corrosive sea water.

4. It is difficult to carry out construction in sea.

5. As compared to other sources of energy, the tidal power plant is costly.
6. Sedimentation and silteration of basins are the problems associated with tidal pow plants.
7. The power transmission cost is high because the tidal power plants are located away from load
centres.

—The first commercial tidal power station in the World was constructed in France in 19' across the
mouth of La Ranee Estuary. It has a high capacity of 240 MW. The avera tidal range at La Ranee is
8.4 m and the dam built across the estuary encloses an area 22 km2.

Wave Energy
Wave energy comes from the interaction between the winds and the surfaces of oceans.
The energy available varies with the size and frequency of waves. It is estimated that about 10 kW
of power is available for every metre width of the wave front.

Wave energy when active is very concentrated; therefore, wave energy conversion into
useful energy can be carried out at high power densities. A large variety of devices (e.g. hydraulic
accumulator wave machine ; high-level reservoir machine ; Dolphin-type wave-power machine ;
Dam-Atoll wave machine) have been developed for harvesting of energy but these are complicated
and fragile in face of gigantic power of ocean storms.
Advantages and Disadvantages:
Following are the advantages and disadvantages of wave energy:
Advantages:
1. It is relatively pollution free.
2. It is a free and renewable energy source.
3. After removal of power, the waves are in placed state.
4. Wave-power devices do not require large land masses.
5. Whenever there is a large wave activity, a string of devices have to be used. The system not
only produces electricity but also protects coast lines from the destructive action of large waves,
minimises erosion and help create artificial harbour.
Disadvantages:
1. Lack of dependability.
2. Relative scarcity of accessible sites of large wave activity.
3. The construction of conversion devices is relatively complicated.
4. The devices have to withstand enormous power of stormy seas.
5. There are unfavourable economic factors such as large capital investment and costs of
repair, replacement and maintenance.

Problems associated with wave energy collection :

The collection of wave energy entails the following problems:
1. The variation of frequency and amplitude makes it an unsteady source.

2. Devices, installed to collect and to transfer wave energy from far off oceans, will have to
with stand adverse weather conditions.

• Uptil now no major development programme for taming wave energy has been carried
but successfully through any country. Small devices are available, however, and are in
limited use as power supplies for buoys and navigational aids. From the engineering
development point of view, wave energy development is not nearly as far long as wind and
tidal energy.
Oscillating Water Columns (OWC)
These devices generate electricity from the wave-driven rise and fall of water in a cylindrical shaft.
The rising and falling water column drives air into and out of the top of the shaft, powering an air-
driven turbine.
The Oscillating Water Column generates electricity in a two step process. As a wave enters
the column, it forces the air in the column up the closed column past a turbine, and increases the
pressure within the column. As the wave retreats, the air is drawn back past the turbine due to the
reduced air pressure on the ocean side of turbine.
Much research is occurring internationally to develop oscillating water columns which require
less stringent siting conditions, including the OSPREY and floating columns, such as the Japanese
Mighty Whale .
Floats or Pitching Devices

These devices generate electricity from the bobbing or pitching action of a floating
object. The object can be mounted to a floating raft or to a device fixed on the ocean floor.
Floating wave energy devices generate electricity through the harmonic motion of the
floating part of the device. In these systems, the devices rise and fall according to the motion of
the wave and electricity is generated through their motion.

Wave Surge or Focusing Devices

These shoreline devices, also called "tapered channel" systems, rely on a shore-mounted
structure to channel and concentrate the waves, driving them into an elevated reservoir. These focusing
surge devices are sizable barriers that channel large waves to increase wave height for redirection into
elevated reservoirs. Wave energy power plant is a shoreline-based system called the Tapered Channel
(Tapchan). The principle here is capital intensive yet has potential due to its ruggedness and simplicity.
A tapering collector funnels incoming waves in a channel. As the wave travels down the narrowing
channel it increases in height till the water spills into an elevated reservoir. The water trapped in the
reservoir can be released back to the sea similar to conventional hydroelectric power plants to generate
electricity. The advantage of this particular system lies in its ability to buffer storage which dampens
the irregularity of the waves. However, the Tapchan system does require a low tidal range and suitable
shoreline topography -limiting its application world-wide. A demonstration prototype of this design has
been running since 1985 and plans are under consideration to build a commercial scale plant in Java.
Ocean Thermal Power Conversion
Thermal Energy Conversion is an energy technology, which uses the ocean‘s natural
temperature gradient to drive a turbine, which is connected to a generator. It is desirable that the
temperature difference between the warm surface water and the cold deep water be at least 20 C (68 F).
The Basic Process
OTEC systems rely on the basic relationship between pressure (P), temperature (T) and volume (V) of
a fluid, which can be expressed by the following equation,
Where pressure, temperature and the volume of a fluid can be closely controlled by manipulating the
other two variables hence the differential in temperature of the fluid can be used to create an increase
in pressure in another. The increase in pressure is utilized to generate mechanical work.
There are basically three types of OTEC systems developed that can utilize sea water temperature
differentials – they are:
1. Closed-cycle
2. Open-cycle
3. Hybrid-cycle
Closed-cycle OTEC System
The closed-cycle system uses a working fluid, such as ammonia, pumped around a closed loop,
which has three components: a pump, turbine and heat exchanger (evaporator and condenser).
Warm seawater passing through the evaporator converting the ammonia liquid into high-pressure
ammonia vapour. The high pressure vapour is then fed into an expander where it passes through and
rotates a turbine connected to a generator. Low-pressure ammonia vapour leaving the turbine is passed
through a condenser, where the cold seawater cools the ammonia, returning the ammonia back into a
liquid

Open-Cycle OTEC System

The open-cycle system is generally similar to the closed-cycle system and uses the same
basic components. The open-cycle system uses the warm seawater as the working fluid. The warm
seawater passing through the evaporator is converted to steam, which drives the turbine/generator.
After leaving the turbine the steam is cooled by the cold seawater to form desalinated water. The
desalinated water is pure fresh water for domestic and commercial use.

Hybrid OTEC System

The hybrid system uses parts of both open-cycle and closed-cycle systems to produce
electricity and desalinated water. In this arrangement, electricity is generated in the closed-cycle
system and the warm and cold seawater discharges are passed through the flash evaporator and
condenser of the open-cycle system to produce fresh water.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
1. OTEC uses clean, renewable, natural resources. Warm surface seawater and cold water from the
ocean depths replace fossil fuels to produce electricity.
2. Suitably designed OTEC plants will produce little or no carbon dioxide or other polluting
chemicals.
3. OTEC systems can produce fresh water as well as electricity. This is a significant advantage in
island areas where fresh water is limited.
4. There is enough solar energy received and stored in the warm tropical ocean surface layer to
provide most, if not all, of present human energy needs.
5. The use of OTEC as a source of electricity will help reduce the state's almost complete
dependence on imported fossil fuels

Disadvantages
1. OTEC-produced electricity at present would cost more than electricity generated from fossil
fuels at their current costs.

2. OTEC plants must be located where a difference of about 20º C occurs year round. Ocean depths
must be available fairly close to shore-based facilities for economic operation. Floating plant
ships could provide more flexibility.
3. No energy company will put money in this project because it only had been tested in a very
small scale.
4. Construction of OTEC plants and lying of pipes in coastal waters may cause localised damage to
reefs and near-shore marine ecosystems.

5. Construction of floating power plants is difficult.

6. Plant size is limited to about 100 MW due to large size of components.
7. Very heavy investment is required.

Geothermal Energy
Geothermal Sources
Five general categories (or kinds) of geothermal resources have been identified:
(1) Hydro thermal convective systems. These
are again sub classified as:
(a) Vapour-dominated or dry steam fields.
(b) Liquid-dominated system or wet steam fields, and
(c) (c) Hot-water fields.
(2) Geopressure resources.

(3) Petro-thermal or Hot dry rocks (HDR).

(4) Magma resources.

(5) Valcanoes.
 Dry Steam Power Plants or Vapour- dominated
•―Dry‖ steam
extracted from natural
reservoir
–
–
–
–
–

Steam is used to drive a turbo-generator

Steam is condensed and pumped back into the ground
Can achieve 1 kWh per 6.5 kg of steam
–A 55 MW plant requires 100 kg/s of steam

Single Flash Steam Power Plants

The steam once it has been separated from the water is piped to the powerhouse where it is used to
drive the steam turbine. The steam is condensed after leaving the turbine, creating a partial vacuum and
thereby maximizing the power generated by the turbine generator. The Steam is usually condensed either in
a direct contact condenser, or a heat exchanger type condenser. In a direct contact condenser the cooling
water from the cooling tower is sprayed onto and mixes with the steam. The condensed steam then forms
part of the cooling water circuit, and a substantial portion is subsequently evaporated and is dispersed into
the atmosphere through the cooling tower. Excess cooling water called blow down is often disposed of in
shallow injection wells. As an alternative to direct contact condensers shell and tube type condenser are
sometimes used, as is shown in the schematic. In this type of plant, the condensed steam does not come into
contact with the cooling water, and is disposed of in injection wells.
 Typically, flash condensing geothermal power plants vary in size from 5 MWe to over
100 MWe. Depending on the steam characteristics, gas content, pressures, and power plant design,
between 6 and 9 tonne of steam each hour is required to produce each MW of electrical power.
Small power plants (less than 10 MW) are often called well head units as they only require the
steam of one well and are located adjacent to the well on the drilling pad in order to reduce pipeline
costs. Often such well head units do not have a condenser, and are called backpressure units. They
are very cheap and simple to install, but are inefficient (typically 10-20 tonne per hour of steam for
every MW of electricity) and can have higher environmental impacts.

Binary Cycle Power Plants

In reservoirs where temperatures are typically less than 220oC (430F).but greater than 100oC
o
(212 F).binary cycle plants are often utilized.
The illustration below shows the principal elements of this type of plant. The reservoir fluid
(either steam or water or both) is passed through a heat exchanger which heats a secondary
working fluid which has a boiling point lower than 100oC (212oF). This is typically an organic
fluid such as Isopentane, which is vaporized and is used to drive the turbine. The organic fluid is
then condensed in a similar manner to the steam in the flash power plant described above, except
that a shell and tube type condenser rather than direct contact is used. The fluid in a binary plant is
recycled back to the heat exchanger and forms a closed loop. The cooled reservoir fluid is again re-
injected back into the reservoir. Binary cycle type plants are usually between 7 and 12 % efficient
depending on the temperature of the primary (geothermal) fluid.
If the geothermal resource has a temperature between 100o and 150oC, electricity can still be
generated using binary plant technology. The produced fluid heats, through a heat exchanger, a
secondary working fluid (isobutane, isopentane or ammonia), which vaporizes at a lower
temperature than water. The working fluid vapour turns the turbine and is condensed before being
reheated by the geothermal water, allowing it to be vaporized and used again in a closed-loop. The
size of binary units range from 0.1 to 40 We. Commercially, however, small sizes (up to 3 MWe),
often used modularly, reaching a total of several tens of MWe installed in a single location. The
spent geothermal fluid of all types of power plants is generally injected back into the edge of the
reservoir for disposal and to help maintain pressure. In the case of direct heat utilization, the
geothermal water produced from wells (which generally do not exceed 2 000 meters) is fed to a
heat exchanger before being re-injected into the ground by wells, or discharged at the surface.
Water heated in the heat exchanger is then circulated within insulated pipes that reach the end-
users. The network can be quite sizeable in district heating systems. For other uses (greenhouses,
fish farming, and product drying, industrial applications) the producing wells are next to the plants
serviced.
Double Flash Power Plants Similar to single flash operation Unflushed liquid flows to low
pressure tank – flashes to steam Steam drives a second-stage turbine Also uses exhaust from first
turbine Increases output 20-25% for 5% increase in plant costs.
Combined Cycle (Flash and Binary)
Combined Cycle power plants are a combination of conventional steam turbine technology
and binary cycle technology. By combining both technologies, higher overall utilisation
efficiencies can be gained, as the conventional steam turbine is more efficient at generation of
power from high temperature steam, and the binary cycle from the lower temperature separated
water. In addition, by replacing the condenser-cooling tower cooling system in a conventional
plant by a binary plant, the heat available from condensing the spent steam after it has left the
steam turbine can be utilised to produce more power.

Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy Technology

The technology to mine the heat from the hot rock found almost everywhere at some depth
beneath the surface of the earth was conceived and developed at Los Alamos between the years of
1970 and 1996. Conceptually, hot dry rock (HDR) heat mining is quite simple. As shown in the
drawing water is pumped into hot, crystalline rock via an injection well, becomes superheated as it
flows through open joints in the hot rock reservoir, and is returned through production wells. At the
surface, the useful heat is extracted by conventional processes, and the same water is recirculated to
mine more heat.
The key element in successful heat mining is the development of an engineered geothermal
reservoir in a hot body, impermeable rock. The point in a hot rock body at which an HDR reservoir
is created is determined by the selection of the location on the surface from which the injection
well is drilled and the depth within the wellbore at which the water is injected into the hot rock,
while the overall size of the reservoir is a direct function of the total amount of water pumped into
the rock during its development. Although these parameters can be engineered, the shape,
orientation, and internal structure of the reservoir, are entirely functions of the local geologic
conditions and are, at present, beyond human control. For this reason, it is important to understand
the local geology before attempting to develop an HDR reservoir.

As an HDR reservoir is being formed, rock blocks are moved very slightly by the injected water.
These small movements give rise to low frequency stress waves similar to, but much smaller than,
those caused by earthquakes. Microseismic technology has been developed to identify these signals
and locate their points of origin. The data from many such signals provide a picture of the size,
shape, and orientation of the reservoir. With this information in hand, production wells can be
drilled into the reservoir to most efficiently tap the superheated water that has been injected.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy over Other EnergyForms
Advantages of Geothermal Energy:
1. Geothermal energy is cheaper.
2. It is versatile in its use.
3. It is the least polluting as compared to other conventional energy sources.
4. It is amenable for multiple uses from a single resource.
5. Geothermal power plants have the highest annual load factors of 85 per cent to 90 per cent
compared to 45 per cent to 50 per cent for fossil fuel plants.
6. It delivers greater amount of net energy from its system as compared to other alternative or
conventional systems.
7. Geothermal energy from the earth's interior is almost as inexhaustible as solar or wind
energy, so long as its sources are actively sought and economically tapped.
Disadvantages:
1. Low overall power production efficiency (about 15% as compared to 35 to 40% for fossil
fuel plants).
2. Drilling operation is noisy.
3. Large areas are needed for exploitation of geo-thermal energy.
4. The withdrawal of large amounts of steam or water from a hydro-thermal reservoir may
result in surface subsidence or settlement.