The future of energy is in the water
The acceleration of any fluid such as air or water from a high pressure zone to a low pressure zone is a basic principle of physics.
LYDENBURG – Embracing imagination and science is what Conceptual Technologies Limited (CTL) is all about.
The Australian company introduced one of its new energy recovery concepts at Laske Nakke Lodge on Friday. This concept could end up producing power with zero carbon emissions. The development of this concept started in 2006. Since then, an access of 40 000 hours of computational fluid dynamics, modelling, building and operations of a number of units validated the capability of this unit.
Mr Steve West of CTL explained that the power generation system used the West KERS technology system that harnesses kinetic energy from the water flow. “The technology comprises of a drive turbine and a pump turbine which rotates simultaneously on the same shaft. The pump turbine generates low pressure differentials across and behind the drive turbine ensuring that the full mass of the water flow strikes the drive turbine at great force.
“The acceleration of any fluid such as air or water from a high pressure zone to a low pressure zone is a basic principle of physics. It is the action of this principle that causes wind on earth.” He explained that acceleration of fluid increases its velocity. Each time the velocity of any medium is doubled, the amount of energy is squared.
“The West KERS is a mechanical device patented around the world that exploits this principle. It is the action of this principle in CTL’s product range that makes its solutions offered by hydro and renewable energy technologies superior to use so far. The fluid flow induced and power produced by the unit is immense.”
To show how the unit works, a video was presented on one of its models called 130L. At a flow of 200 litres per second, the water velocity through the unit at the drive turbine, is 36.4 metres per second which is 131 kilometres per hour. The total energy of the 130L is 143 kilowatts.
“To generate the equivalent power, the use of conventional hydro turbines would require the construction of a 10-metre high dam wall and the use of a turbine 53 times greater cross sectional area than the 130L model shown. Such a conventional turbine would require a flow of 2 250 litres per second compared to the 130L model which is 200 litres per second.” CTL’s product range is fully scalable and can be used in power generation applications from as low as a few kilowatts to systems that can generate up to 500 megawatts.
