134 Geothermal Power Plants: Principles, Applications, Case Studies and Environmental Impact

Fig. 7.2 Proposed model for creation and operation of a dry-steam reservoir, after [7]. Open arrows represent heat
flow; filled arrows show movement of liquid; small arrows show steam movement.

enthalpy for saturated steam [3
8]. Saturated steam exhibits a maximum enthalpy of
h 5 2804.2 kJ/kg at roughly T 5 235 C and P 5 30.6 bar [13]. The enthalpy-entropy
(or Mollier) diagram for water is shown schematically in Fig. 7.3 (to scale, but with an
arbitrary numerical entropy scale).
Since the First Law of thermodynamics dictates that steam undergoing an expan-
sion process without heat or work transfer must do so at constant enthalpy, saturated
steam at a temperature lower than 235 C experiencing an isenthalpic pressure loss
will become superheated (process 3-4), whereas one at a temperature higher than
235 C will first form a liquid-vapor mixture (process 1-2). It is reasonable to assume
that the geofluid in the deepest part of the reservoir will be hottest. It will tend to rise
because of its lower density and will undergo a pressure drop as it passes through
the restrictive passages in the formation. At each step then, a fraction of liquid will
separate out of the steam and tend to flow downward due to its higher density, leaving
the now dry steam to continue upward. This brings the steam into a yet lower pres-
sure domain and the process repeats itself [5]. In fact, in whatever direction the steam
travels, the pressure will continue to fall due to frictional effects.
This reasoning explains well how the rising steam can reach the maximum enthalpy
point but does not explain how the steam stabilizes there as a saturated vapor at 235 C.
Further pressure reduction, for instance, would mean the steam would become super-
heated. James [5] points out that during production, the steam would flow at essentially
constant temperature through the hot rock and would tend to follow an isothermal process.
He estimated that this could result in as much as 35 C superheat.