The process or technologies for producing energy by harnessing the temperature differences (thermal gradients) between ocean surface waters and that of ocean depths. Warm surface water is pumped through an evaporator containing a working fluid in a closed Rankine-cycle system. The vaporized fluid drives a turbine/generator. Cold water from deep below the surface is used to condense the working fluid. Open-Cycle OTEC technologies use ocean water itself as the working fluid. Closed-Cycle OTEC systems circulate a working fluid in a closed loop. A working 10 kilowatt, closed-cycle prototype was developed by the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research in Hawaii with U.s. Department of Energy funding, but was not commercialized.
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