The ocean thermal energy conversion project uses the surface water near tropical islands with a temperature of 20°c as the hot temperature reservoir, and the water at some depth, with a temperature of 5.0°c, as the cold temperature reservoir for a heat engine. what is the maximum possible efficiency of an engine running between those two temperatures?

Explanation:

Heat engine is device operating in a continuous cycle between two reservoirs such that it transfers heat from a high temperature reservoir to a low temperature reservoir giving some work output in synchronization to Kelvin-Plank statement of the second law of thermodynamics.

Given that:

For maximum efficiency:

were:

are the temperatures of higher temperature reservoir and lower temperature reservoir respectively.

mistakes are ok

float.

archimedes' principle

denser than water sinks in water.

denser than mercury would sink in it