There has long been an interest in using the vast quantities of thermal energy i

Question

There has long been an interest in using the vast quantities of thermal energy in the oceans to run heat engines. A heat engine needs a temperature difference, a hot side and a cold side. Conveniently, the ocean surface waters are warmer than the deep ocean waters. Suppose you build a floating power plant in the tropics where the surface water temperature is 35 C. This would be the hot reservoir of the engine. For the cold reservoir, water would be pumped up from the ocean bottom where it is always 4 C. What is the maximum possible efficiency of such a power plant?

Explanation / Answer

temeperature of cold reservoir Tc=4 oC =277 K

temeperature of hot reservoir Th=35 oC =308 K

efficiency e=1-Tc/Th

e=1-277/308

e=0.10065

or

e=10.065%

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