Really Big Balloons Joe Van Ryzin Makai Ocean

Really Big Balloons Joe Van Ryzin Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc. Makai Ocean Engineering

Makai Ocean Engineering

Towed steel structure? • Steel structure pre-fabricated in modules • Assembled in deep water • Filled with special water – offsets weight of steel. Not fresh. • Tow to site and submerge. • Expensive – and forced to transport you water to the site in an inefficient structure Makai Ocean Engineering

Towing Makai Ocean Engineering

Fresh Water Problems • Anchoring is expensive • Must deliver weight (in either anchor, salt or whatever) anyway • Buoyancy within sphere, because of diameter, is a significant structural problem for fabric balloon. • Any leak – serious problem Makai Ocean Engineering

Alt: deliver special salt and fresh water • Reduce balloon costs by perhaps 90%, keep buoyancy to 0. 1% of that of fresh water (300 tons, more then enough). • Deploy concrete-weighted balloon just slightly negative – use fresh water to offset anchors. • Deliver to site: special salt. • Produce fresh water at site with RO • Pump mixed solution to bottom through long HDPE pipeline. Makai Ocean Engineering

Mini OTEC • First Hawaii deep water pipeline • HDPE • Flexible mooring and intake pipe Makai Ocean Engineering

Delivering Fresh Water 5 km long HDPE pipe assumed. 30” pipe reusable – estm $10 m Makai Ocean Engineering

Deliver Salt to Site Makai Ocean Engineering

Prelim conclusions • Fresh-water filled not a good idea • steel structure: no cost advantage and have serious deployment issues. • Need to transport water in any case: cheaper to make on site • Fabric balloons are workable structure. • Fabric balloon deployed empty, deliver salt and produce fresh water at site to fill balloon over several trips. Makai Ocean Engineering

Prelim wild guess • • Fabric balloon: $56 million Anchoring: $5 million Salt and water delivery: $42 million General deployment: $15 million • Total: $118 million? ? Makai Ocean Engineering