Chapter 18

Geothermal Energy

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A. Introduction
 The E originates from interior of earth
 Resource and installed capacity for power plant
 Geothermal energy (GE) is produced from heat originating in
the earth’s interior. Although the amount of TE is very large,
useful GE is limited to certain sites.
 These resources are not infinite and can be depleted at a
particular site under intensive exploitation. Nevertheless, GE
is a resource that can be further developed in favorable
locations.
 Currently 5% of the electricity generated in US from RE
sources comes from GE. This is about half the contribution
from wind and solar. Installed capacity for wind is almost 10
times the installed capacity for GE.

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 Electricity was first produced from naturally occurring steam in
Italy in 1904. Today, many geothermal power plants are
operating worldwide.
 Table 18.1 lists the substantial geothermal generating
capacity for both 1990 and 2010 for those nations with
substantial geothermal facilities. The world’s total installed
capacity today is more than 10,000 MWe.
 The Geysers in northern California, the largest such facility in
the world, has a total installed capacity of 1,000 MWe, this is
about 7% of California’s electricity needs. The big island of
Hawaii provides 25% of its electricity from geothermal
resources.
 The Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya, and Mexico have enjoyed
rapid growth in generating capacity in the past decade. El
Salvador generates the majority of its electricity with steam
from geothermal resources.

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Steam rising from the Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station in Iceland. Research continued
from 1965 to 1986. In 1987, the construction of the plant began, and the cornerstone was laid
in 1990. The station produces 120 MW of electrical power, and delivers around 1,800 liters of
hot water per second, servicing the hot water needs of the Greater Reykjavík Area.

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Geothermal power station in the Philippines

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 Nonelectric applications of GE.
 Hot water from underground sources provides direct heating
for the majority of homes in Reykjavik, Iceland.
 Budapest, Hungary, has been partly heated by geothermal
steam since the times of the Roman Empire. Heated
greenhouses provide vegetables and flows the year around.
 Space or district heating via GE in US is found only on a small
scale. The main development have been for residences and
businesses in few cities in Oregon, Idaho, and San
Bernardino.

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B. Origin and Nature of GE
 Origin and distribution
 Origin
 GE has its origin in the molten core of the earth, where
4000oC-nature’s own boiler.
 This TE is produced mainly by the decay of radioactive
materials within the interior. The interior of the earth is though
to consist of a central molten core surrounded by a region of
semi-fluid material called the mantle (Fig. 18.1).
 This is covered by the crust, which has a thickness of 30-90
km. The in the crust increases proportionally with depth at a
rate of 30oC/km. The at the base of the crust levels off at
1000oC and then increases slowly into the earth’s core.

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Fig. 18.1 Cross section of the earth, showing the layered structure.

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  There are regions in which hot molten rock of the mantle
(called magma) under the surface of earth pushed up through
faults and cracks to near the earth’s surface, creating “hot
spots” within 2-3 km of the surface.
 Distribution of GE
 Evidence of such activity can be observed in volcanic
eruptions, geysers, and bubbling mudholes. The zone of likely
geothermal sites corresponds roughly to the region of
earthquakes and volcanic activity (Fig. 18.2).
 These regions are the junctions of tectonic plates that make
up the earth’s crust (Fig. 18.3). These plates are in a state of
constant relative motion. Where they collide or grind, there
are very strong forces that can build mountains or cause
earthquakes or tidal waves. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake
that hit Japan in March 2011 was located at such junction.
 Most of the world’s geothermal sites today are located near
the edges of the Pacific plate, the so-called “ring of fire.”
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Fig. 18.2 Regions of potential geothermal sites, the “ring of fire.” These regions correspond
roughly to the zones of earthquakes and volcanic activity.

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Fig. 18.3 Tectonic plate boundaries. The earth’s crust is made up of 6 major plates and a
number of smaller ones. These plates are in a state of constant relative motion (at rates of
several centimeters per year). Near the junctions of the plates, heat travels most rapidly from
the interior.

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 From these hot spots, GE is most easily extracted,
technologically and economically.
 In the most common types of geothermal reservoirs, called
hydrothermal systems, the TE of the magma is stored in water
or steam that fills the pores and fractures in the rock. These
reservoirs can be classified into wet steam (or hot water) and
dry steam systems.
 Other types of GE resources have as much if not more
potential, but they have to wait new extraction technologies
before they can be developed.

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C. Hydrothermal Systems
 Reservoir contains hot liquid
 Wet steam systems
 The wet steam systems are 10 to 20 times more abundant,
the dry steam systems have been used more often in the
generation of electricity because of their convenience.
 When water is trapped in an underground reservoir and is
heated by the rocks, it is under high pressures and high T
(upto 370oC) without boiling.
 If this hot water is released to the surface, it will flash into
steam as the external pressure falls below that necessary to
keep it a liquid.
 In some geothermal reservoirs, hot water leaks to the surface,
forming hot springs or geysers.

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 Geothermal wells tap the wet steam fields (Fig. 18.4). As hot
water rises in the well, it flashes into a mixture of steam and
hot water.
 The steam is separated from the water and used to run
turbines to generate electricity. The hot water can be used for
direct heating or for a desalination plant.
 It might be good to consider the principles behind a periodic
geyser such as Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.
Suppose water is stored in an underground reservoir with a
small vent to the surface (Fig. 18.5).
 The p on the water at the bottom of the reservoir is greater
than patm because of the overlying column of water in the
reservoir’s neck, so the in the base can rise above 100oC
without boiling occurring as the water is heated by the
surrounding rocks.
 As the water continues to increase in , the boiling point at
that pressure is reached.

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Fig. 18.4 Model of a high-T hot water geothermal system. The water within the porous rock
is heated by conduction from the magma. The hot water escapes through fissures to the
surface, boiling near the top. A well to tap the steam within the fissure is also shown.

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 Fig. 18.5 Model of a geyser. Water at the
bottom of the container is under great p
and will not boil until T>100oC are reached.
When boiling begins, the pressure is
released, causing the water to boil very
rapidly. The steam-driven water rushes up
the neck and is sprayed into the air in the
form of steam.

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  The beginning of boiling releases the p in the base rapidly,
increasing the boiling rate and causing the water to gush out
of the ground－yielding a geyser.
 Cooler water from the surface replaces the hot water. The
time between eruptions will be equal to the time it takes the
water in the reservoir to be heated up to reach the boiling at
that p.
 Dry steam systems: The Geysers power plant
 It occur when the p is not much above patm and the is high,
water boils underground and generate steam at 165oC
and at p 6.8 atm, which can be used directly to drive a
turbine.
 The dry steam fields of the Geysers, California were
discovered in 1847 and the large-scale of power plant was
operated since 1960.

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 The generating capacity reached 2,000 MWe in the 1980s,
but in 2010 it was down to less than 1,000 MWe. The Geysers
remains the largest complex of geothermal generating
facilities in the world.
 During operation, the dry steam used for the turbines is at
165oC and a p 7.82patm. Well depths are 250-1500 m.
 The hot steam is extracted from the production well and then
the steam leaving the turbine goes to a condenser and then to
a cooling tower. The evaporated water from the cooling tower
is seen as steam in Fig. 18.6.
 Some of the water leaving the cooling tower is returned to the
condenser to cool the incoming steam, while the rest of the
water is reinjected into the ground (injection well).

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Figure source: http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/230403/geothermal-
energy/302400/Electric-power-generation

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Fig. 18.6 The Geysers Geothermal Power Plant in northern California. Most of the steam seen
here comes from the condensers of the individual units.

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A power plant at The Geysers

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D. Geothermal Exploration and
Resources
 Geothermal resources
 Thermal characteristics of GE
 3 types: hydrothermal reservoir, geopressurized reservoir, hot
dry rock.
 The US Geological Survey defines the resource as the entire
heat content of the earth’s crust above 15oC to a depth of 10
km. In US, more than 2x1022 Btu of TE exists. This is
equivalent to 900x1012 tons of coal.
 GE is quite low-grade because of the steam or hot water
used is low (150-250 C at 6.8patm), where the steam in a
o

conventional fossil fuel plant is high (550oC at 68 patm).

 The earth acts like a large HE for the generation of electricity
as it provides hot water at =150-250oC. However, these
relatively low mean low efficiencies.

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 Using the equation of Carnot efficiency (from the
thermodynamics): the maximum efficiency max of a heat
engine operating between a hot temperature TH and a cold
temperature TC is
TC
max = (1  )  100%
TH
 The ideal max=36% (at H =200oC=473K, C =27oC=300K).
Take real as one half, 18% is achieved, compared to 35-
40% efficiency of a fossil-fuel plant or the 50-55%
efficiency of a gas turbine combined-cycle plant.
 Geothermal hot spots are sparsely distributed and some
distance from the markets needing E. The min. of steam
required for the economic production of electricity is about
110oC.
 Thus, many reservoirs of hot water can be used only for
space heating. Because TE cannot be efficiently
transported very far.

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 Exploration
 Some of the more obvious evidences of GE resources are the
surface heat displays due to leakage from deeper reservoirs,
such as geysers, hot springs, and steam vents.
 These displays are analogous to oil seeps, and the same care
must be taken in evaluating the evidence.
 The present method for providing the commercial viability of a
geothermal resource is to drill deep holes and perform long-
term flow tests. The local geologic environment must also be
studied, including the types and properties of rock formations.
 Other exploratory techniques use
 Aerial and surface observations to look for faults and volcanic
activity.
 Seismic methods to look for underground reservoirs.
 Geochemical methods, such as analyzing water from springs.
 Electrical measurements to indicate the p of deep water with
high T and salt content.

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 Geo-pressurized reservoirs
 They consist of hot, liquid brines that lie in large, deep area
(3,000-6,000 m) and are usually under high p (680patm).
 The E contained in these zones is not only thermal but also
mechanical (hydraulic) and chemical (dissolved methane gas).
 In US, these reservoirs are thought to lie primarily along the
Gulf Coast. The E potentially recoverable from these
reservoirs is immense, but the technology to exploit it is still
being developed. Experimental
E wells are already in place in
Texas and Louisiana.
 Hot dry rocks
 They are located underground, but lack the aquifers or
fractures to convey fluid to the surface, as in hydrothermal
reservoirs.
 They can be exploited by circulating water through the cracks
to extract the heat E.

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  Artificial reservoirs can be made by hydraulically fracturing
these rocks and then circulating water through the cracks.
 They are much more common than hydrothermal reservoirs
and more accessible, so their potential is quite high.
 Operation of power plant
 Electricity is extracted from hot dry rock by using a secondary
or binary fluid cycle (Fig. 18.7).
 The hot water is passed through a heat exchanger to transfer
heat to a liquid with a low boiling point (e.g. CFC refrigerant,
isobutane), whose vapors then are used to drive the turbine.
 The original geothermal water is then reinjected into the
ground.
 In this technique, high-p steam from a conventional
hydrothermal reservoir is not needed to drive the turbine.
Low- steam can be used instead. A binary plant in Nevada
makes electricity economically from 103oC geothermal fluid.

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 (or heat exchanger)
Fig. 18.7 Vapor-turbine cycle. Water is circulated
through a hot dry rock system. The heated water
is pumped through a heat exchanger, boiling the
working fluid, which is isobutane. The cooled
water is reinjected into the ground. The vapor
expands through a turbine and then is condensed
back to a liquid in the water-cooled condenser.

(production well)

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 The estimated recoverable E form all these types of resources
in US and the estimated resource base are listed in Table
18.2.
 The potential for E from hot dry rocks could be much larger
than this if technology improves and costs decline.
 Historically, with any relatively new resource, projections of its
potential tend to be high. For example, estimated GE
contributions for the generation of electricity for 1985 in US
were
 Department of Interior (1972): 19,000 MWe.
 US Geological Survey (USGS) report (1972): 132,000 MWe.
Actual capacity in 1985 was about 1,300 MWe.
 A 2008 USGS report estimated that electric power potential from
identified resources to be 9,000 MWe.

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E. Low-Temperature Geothermal
Resources
 Application other than power generation
 From space heating, greenhouse to fish farming
 GE reservoirs of low to moderate T (20-150oC) can be used to
provide direct heat for residential and industrial uses.
 To be used, the hot water is brought to the surface where a
heat-exchanger systems transfer the TE to another fluid. The
cooled geothermal fluid is then pumped through an injection
well back into the ground.
 In US, more than 9,000 thermal wells and springs are now in
use. These applications are saving the E equivalent of almost
2 million barrels of oil per year.
 Geothermal heat pump can greatly reduce the electricity or
natural gas consumption for home heating/cooling and hot
water.
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F. Environmental Impacts
 Expanded use bring environmental concerns
 The expanded use of GE has some environmental
concerns:
 People protests that such plants are dangerous, dirty, noisy,
and unsightly.
 Emissions of noxious gases: H2S (smells like rotten eggs),
CO2 (it emits in geothermal process, although significantly
less than from any other fossil-fuel plants with the same
output)
 The steam from dry steam fields contains minerals that can
contaminate the groundwater and poison fish and other
aquatic life after it condenses (Fig. 18.8).

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Fig. 18.8 Pipes carrying steam to a generator at the geysers.

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 In wet steam fields, the mineral and salt content of the hot
water (brines) can be as high as 20-30% dissolved solids.
Damage from corrosion can occur to the turbine blades, and
the piping can become clogged.
 There are additional problems with liquid waste disposal.
Procedures have been developed in which the hot water
would be evaporated after use so that the minerals could be
extracted.
 The removal of steam from the reservoirs can cause
subsidence of the land above. One of Mexico’s steam plants
reported a subsidence of 13 cm.
 This problem might be remedied by reinjecting the waste
water from the fields into the area via injection wells. In hot
dry rock processes, the fluid from the hot reservoir is
reinjected into the ground, making this process
environmentally attractive.

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G. GE in Taiwan
 North part of Taiwan
 Tatun Mountain in northern Taiwan with volcano
beneath it, it is estimated 100~500 MW of potential
geothermal power.
 Abundant wet streams was discovered, and most of them
contain acidity. Thus well and tube is easy to be corroded and
impossible for power generation.

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  Qingshui and Tuchang are located in northeast part of Taiwan
and contain abundant wet steam. The wet steam is weak
alkaline and suitable for electricity generation.
 In 1981, a 3 MW geothermal power plant was built for demo
site, with max. electricity output was 2 MW. After operated 8
years, the well wall was clogged with calcium carbonate, and
the power drop to 0.5 MW, then shut down in 1995.
 A demo geothermal power plant of 50 kW in Qingshui was
reopened in 2013.

大同鄉清水地熱區廢棄的地熱發電試驗廠

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