Thermal Energy Conversion Essay -- physics energy power renewable powe

The supplicate for an efficient renewable power source is a driving effectiveness in ongoing research. Thermal energy conversion is one such potential source that is under constant investigation and has endless avenues of possibility. The two requirements of energy production are efficiency and renewability. Many possibilities exist for energy production including Fossil Fuels (natural gas, oil, coal, oilshale), nuclear, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wastes, & hydroelectric. Efficiency of the use of these resource are directly related to the billet and the demand in that location. For example Hawaii is a prime candidate for the use of the oceans mechanical wave action, the thermal gradient of the ocean, wind, and biomass from the high levels of plant growth. The demand for another energy source comes from Hawaiis dependence on oil that has to be transported there.Ocean Thermal Energy ConversionOcean Thermal Energy Conversion(OTEC) is the employment of the energy stored i n the worlds oceans by the thermal gradient created. The thermal gradient is the difference of the surface temperature of the ocean that is heated via solar energy and the water at depths of significantly colder temperatures. This thermal gradient is the energy source that is converted to usable energy by OTEC plants. The idea for using the oceans thermal energy is credited to several(prenominal) visionaries including Jacques DArsonval, a French Engineer, in 1881. The temperature difference needed for an OTEC plant is about 36 deg F (20 deg C). Temperature differences of this amount are readily available in many an(prenominal) locations in the world. The areas depicted in red on the above map produce the best areas for OTEC sites due to the stablility of warm weather throughout t... ...ntially be work for one of the municipalities that stand beside the pipeline?Arctic North Slope Borough - 179.2 mi.Fairbanks North Star Borough - 89.1 mi.City of Delta Junction - 5.5 mi.City of Val dez - 20.8 mi.Could the pipeline at least service to power one of the ten pump stations located along its winding path?It is not likely that the heat exchange in any of the two above systems would produce a sufficient enough amount of energy to produce electricity. The temperature of the oil as it is extracted is approximately 160 F and the menstruum temperature approximately 140 F. These temperatures need to be maintained for the oil to remain in a viscous enough state to be transport with several(prenominal) amount of efficiency. This inquiry into the potential use of excess heat being produced as a by-product does however open the door to other possibilities.