Prospects of Ammonia Based Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Systems
Author: Zahid Ayub, PhD, P.E. and Samuel Sami PhD, P.E.
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This paper explores the potential use of ammonia in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). Different types of advanced heat transfer equipment are discussed for use as vaporizer, condenser and regenerator. Pros and cons of each option are briefly discussed. An overall comparison between ammonia and R-134a based system is presented using a low temperature Rankine cycle.
A comparative analysis of various components of the cycle using ammonia and R-134a under the same input conditions at the evaporator and condenser showed that ammonia has better heat recovery efficiency compared to R-134a. Furthermore, the ammonia cycle has significantly less mass flow rate compared to R-134a, which results in much smaller system compared to that of R-134a.