Ocean Power Plant. History of invention and production

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Ocean Power Plant. History of invention and production

The history of technology, technology, objects around us

Directory / The history of technology, technology, objects around us

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In the United States, a project is being developed to build a power plant on the Gulf Stream. The world's first ocean power plant with a capacity of 136 megawatts will be built in the Strait of Florida, where the Gulf Stream moves 25 million cubic meters of water per second (this is twenty times the total flow of water from all the rivers of the globe).

The implementation of the project became possible only after the creation of a new hydraulic engine - a jet helicoid (spiral) hydraulic turbine, or Gorlov turbine, as it is called by the name of the inventor - a professor at Northeastern University in Boston.

Alexander Gorlov, the author of the project for the first ocean power plant, is a graduate of the Moscow Institute of Railway Engineers, after which he built bridges, participated in the development and implementation of a new tunnel construction technology, and after defending his Ph.D. thesis, he worked as a chief specialist in a large research institute. A sharp turn in his fate is connected with his acquaintance with Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Proximity to the writer, who was disgraced at that time, led to dramatic consequences: persecution by the KGB began, the young scientist was fired from the institute, he could not get a job in his specialty, and there was no question of defending his doctoral dissertation. In 1975, Gorlov was forced to go abroad.

Once in exile, he achieved significant success in scientific, pedagogical and inventive activities: Alexander Gorlov - Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor at the largest private university in the United States, director of the laboratory for water and wind energy, owner of 15 patents for inventions, including a helicoid hydroturbine, the application of which opens a new page in the development of hydropower.

"A Russian scientist expelled from his native country can provide a solution to global energy problems," writes the Financial Times newspaper.

Ocean Power Plant A.Gorlova

The original turbine created by Gorlov is called helicoid (from the Greek "helix" - "spiral" and "eidos" - "view"). This turbine does not need the high head generated by the dam and can operate efficiently at relatively low flow rates. It has three spiral blades and, under the influence of the flow of water, rotates two to three times faster than the speed of the current.

Tests of prototypes have shown that the efficiency of the Gorlov turbine is three times higher than that of all low-pressure turbines designed to operate in free water flow. Unlike multi-ton metal hydraulic turbines used in river hydroelectric power plants, the size of the Gorlov turbine made of plastic is small (diameter 50 centimeters, length 84 centimeters), its weight is only 35 kilograms. The elastic coating on the surface of the blades reduces friction on the water and prevents the adherence of algae and shellfish. The efficiency of the Gorlov turbine is three times higher than that of conventional turbines.

The design of the station is a metal platform assembled from prefabricated sections with power equipment installed in them. The equipment of one section consists of 16 turbines, rigidly connected at the ends and forming a vertical structure thirteen meters long. An electric generator in a waterproof shell is installed at its upper end. When the turbines rotate, the generator generates a current of 38 kW. For the first stage of construction of a power plant with a capacity of 30 megawatts, about 800 such units will be required.

The platform will be anchored and submerged to a depth that guarantees the free passage of vessels with the deepest draft. The fishing fleet presents certain difficulties. Indeed, during fishing, fishing nets can suffer and at the same time cause serious damage to the power plant. To exclude such a situation, the station is supposed to be marked on the surface of the ocean with buoys with light and electronic signaling.

There will be no operators at the station itself: a system of computers will provide automatic control. Periodic external inspection of the station, as well as the necessary repair work, can be carried out by divers.

The installation of the ocean power plant will be carried out by the newly created company Gulfstream Energy, and the production of hydro turbines will be organized at the plant of the Allied Signal company. Their cost is much lower than other types of modern power equipment of a similar purpose.

As for the total cost of the ocean power plant project, it is about three hundred million dollars. Financing will be provided by the state with the involvement of private investors. It is planned that the costs should pay off within five years.

An important place in the development of an ocean power plant project is occupied by the issue of using the generated electricity. Initially, it was supposed to be transmitted by cable to the mainland or Marathon Island, located at a distance of five kilometers from the station, but the board of directors of Gulfstream Energy, which includes Professor Gorlov, came to the conclusion that the best option is to use electricity on site to produce hydrogen by electrolysis of ocean water. Liquid hydrogen is an environmentally friendly fuel capable of replacing gasoline and other petroleum products in the future, the combustion of which pollutes the environment with harmful substances.

According to the project, electricity will be transmitted via cable to a moored vessel standing next to the ocean power plant, equipped with technological equipment for the production of liquefaction and temporary storage of hydrogen until it is shipped to consumers.

However, hydrogen for energy purposes can be used not only as a fuel for combustion in car and aircraft engines, but also in the so-called fuel cells - the most important component of electrochemical generators that directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy. In this case, hydrogen serves as a chemical reagent interacting in the presence of a catalyst with an oxidizing agent, in particular with oxygen. Currently, electrochemical generators are used as autonomous energy sources in spacecraft power supply systems.

According to experts, further improvement of fuel cells will make it possible to create powerful power plants based on electrochemical generators, which will seriously compete with hydroelectric power stations, thermal and nuclear power plants, since they are environmentally safer. The widespread use of such plants will cause a huge increase in the consumption of hydrogen, the demand for which can best be met by the use of floating hydrogen factories that receive electricity from ocean power plants. It is possible that hydrogen can become a symbol of the energy sector of the XNUMXst century.

The project to build a power plant on the Gulf Stream aroused great interest in a number of countries. According to South Korean experts, Gorlov's turbines can have a great effect when used at tidal power plants off the coast of the Korean Peninsula.

Japanese scientists believe that the plan to build an ocean power plant on Kuroshio is very promising, the capacity of which, for example, at the southern tip of the island of Honshu, reaches 38 million cubic meters of water per second. They believe that in the future, the widespread use of ocean power plants will allow Japan to provide electricity to the so-called sea cities in the Pacific Ocean.

A similar long-term project by Japanese scientists provides for the gradual resettlement of a significant part of the inhabitants on artificial islands. This will make it possible to improve the ecological situation, as well as to cope with the problem of overpopulation. The released area is supposed to be used for agricultural land and national parks. While the program is under development, consultations are being held with Gorlov's laboratory. The government of Taiwan has already expressed its interest in the project.

It is very likely that the future of energy will be connected with the construction of ocean power plants. After all, they are more economical than nuclear ones. And yielding in this parameter to thermal and river ones, they surpass them in environmental safety.

Author: Musskiy S.A.

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