DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY– DASMARIÑAS

College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology

Mechanical Engineering Program

GEOTHERMAL POWERPLANT
ACTIVITY NO. 7

Submitted By:
De Villa, Rafael C.
MEE 51

Submitted To:
Engr. Alfred Hicaro

December 2, 2019
HISTORY

History says that the first use of geothermal energy occurred more than 10,000 years ago in
North America by American Paleo-Indians. People used water from hot springs for cooking,
bathing and cleaning.

The first industrial use of geothermal energy began near Pisa, Italy in late 18th century. Steam
coming from natural vents (and from drilled holes) was used to extract boric acid from the hot
pools that are now known as the Larderello fields.

In 1904, Italian scientist Piero Ginori Conti invented the first geothermal electric power plant in
which steam was used to generate the power.

With the above experiment, the first geothermal plant in USA started in 1922 with a capacity of
250 kilowatts. It produced little output and due to technical glitch had to be shut down. However,
in 1946 first ground-source geothermal heat pump installed at Commonwealth Building in
Portland, Oregon
During the 1960’s, pacific gas and electric began operation of first large scale geothermal power
plant in San Francisco, producing 11 megawatts. Today there are more than 60 geothermal
power plants operating in USA at 18 sites across the country.

In 1973, when oil crisis began many countries began looking for renewable energy sources and
by 1980’sgeothermal heat pumps (GHP) started gaining popularity in order to reduce heating and
cooling costs.

As effect of climate change started showing results, governments of various countries joined
hands to fight against it, for which Kyoto Protocol was signed in Japan in 1997, laid out emission
targets for rich countries and required that they transfer funds and technology to developing
countries, 184 countries have ratified it.

Geothermal power today supplies less than 1% of the world’s energy in 2009 needs but it is
expected to supply 10-20% of world’s energy requirement by 2050. Geothermal power plants
today are operating in about 20 countries which are actively visited by earthquakes and
volcanoes.

PROCESS

here are several different main types of geothermal plants:

 Dry steam

 Flash steam

 Binary cycle

What these types of geothermal power plants all have in common is that they use steam turbines

to generate electricity. This approach is very similar to other thermal power plants using other
sources of energy than geothermal. Water or working fluid is heated (or used directly incase of

geothermal dry steam power plants), and then sent through a steam turbine where the thermal

energy (heat) is converted to electricity with a generator through a phenomenon called

electromagnetic induction. The next step in the cycle is cooling the fluid and sending it back to

the heat source. Water that has been seeping into the underground over time has gained heat

energy from the geothermal reservoirs. There no need for additional heating, as you would

expect with other thermal power plants. Heating boilers are not present in geothermal steam

power plants and no heating fuel is used. Production wells (red on the illustrations) are used to

lead hot water/steam from the reservoirs and into the power plant. Rock catchers are in place to

make sure that only hot fluids is sent to the turbine. Rocks can cause great damage to steam

turbines. Injection wells (blue on the illustrations) ensure that the water that is drawn up from the

production wells returns to the geothermal reservoir where it regains the thermal energy (heat)

that we have used to generate electricity. Depending on the state of the water (liquid or vapor)

and its temperature, different types of power plants are used for different geothermal reservoirs.

Most geothermal power plants extract water, in its vapor or liquid form, from the reservoirs

somewhere in the temperature-range 100-320°C (220-600°F).

Geothermal Dry Steam Power Plants

This type of geothermal power plant was named dry steam since water water that is extracted

from the underground reservoirs has to be in its gaseous form (water-vapor).

Geothermal steam of at least 150°C (300°F) is extracted from the reservoirs through the

production wells (as we would do with all geothermal power plant types), but is then sent

directly to the turbine. Geothermal reservoirs that can be exploited by geothermal dry steam

power plants are rare.

Dry steam is the oldest geothermal power plant type. The first one was constructed in Larderello,

Italy, in 1904. The Geysers, 22 geothermal power plants located in California, is the only

example of geothermal dry steam power plants in the United States.

Geothermal Flash Steam Power Plants

Geothermal flash steam power plants uses water at temperatures of at least 182°C (360°F). The

term flash steam refers the process where high-pressure hot water is flashed (vaporized) into

steam inside a flash tank by lowering the pressure. This steam is then used to drive around

turbines.
Flash steam is today’s most common power plant type. The first geothermal power plant that

used flash steam technology was the Wairakei Power station in New Zealand, which was built

already in 1958:

Geothermal Binary Cycle Power Plants

The binary cycle power plant has one major advantage over flash steam and dry steam power

plants: The water-temperature can be as low as 57°C (135°F).

By using a working fluid (binary fluid) with a much lower boiling temperature than water,

thermal energy in the reservoir water flashes the working fluid into steam, which then is used to
generate electricity with the turbine. The water coming from the geothermal reservoirs through

the production wells is never in direct contact with the working fluid. After the some of its

thermal energy is transferred to the working fluid with a heat exchanger, the water is sent back to

the reservoir through the injection wells where it regains it’s thermal energy.

These power plants have a thermal efficiency rate of only 10-13%. However, geothermal binary

cycle power plants enable us, through lowering temperature requirements, to harness geothermal

energy from reservoirs that with a dry- or a flash steam power plant wouldn’t be possible.

First successful geothermal binary cycle project took place in Russia in 1967.

Cogeneration (Combined Heat and Power)

Depending on what type of geothermal power plant, location and various other factors, the

thermal efficiency rate is not more than 10-23%. Technically, low efficiency rates do not affect

operational costs of a geothermal power plant, as it would with power plants that are reliant on

fuels to heat a working fluid.

Electricity generation does suffer from low thermal efficiency rates, but the byproducts, exhaust

heat and warm water, have many useful purposes. By not only generating power, but also taking

advantage of the thermal energy in the byproducts, overall energy efficiency increases. This is

what we call geothermal cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP). Here are some good

examples of this:

 District heating

 Greenhouses

 Timber mills
  Hot springs and bathing facilities

 Agriculture

 Snow and ice melting

 Desalination (processes that remove salt and other minerals from saline water)

 Various other industrial processes

How is geothermal energy transported? It is not a surprise that the electricity that is generated

with geothermal power plants is transported in the same way as you would with any other power

plant (or a wind or solar farm for that matter): Voltage is increased to minimize losses and the

current is sent onto the electrical grid.  Transporting heat over long distances, as you would with

CHP, requires a heavily insulated piping system, which is a significant addition to costs.

Above is a picture of Blue Lagoon geothermal spa that uses warm wastewater from Svartsengi

Power Station in the background.

COMPONENTS

Geothermal Vents

The geothermal vent is the first component of a geothermal plant. A geothermal vent is a deep

well drilled into the Earth that the power plant uses to tap into the Earth’s heat. A geothermal

plant may have two goals for its vent; most current geothermal plants draw superheated,

pressurized water upward; these are called flash steam plants. Geothermal plants may also

simply dig far enough underground, as many as three kilometers, to reach a point where the

Earth is warm enough to boil water, these are called dry steam vents.

Steam Generator

Another key component of a geothermal plant is the steam production unit, which can take

multiple forms. In a flash steam vent, superheated pressurized water is drawn from its place

underground to low-pressure tanks. The pressure of the Earth kept the water in liquid form

despite its high temperature, and by removing that pressure the hot water instantly turns to

steam, hence the term flash steam. In a dry steam plant, the plant technicians pump water to the

bottom of the vent where the Earth’s heat boils the water and turns it into steam.

Turbine

Regardless of the plant type, both flash steam and dry steam plants pump the steam from the

geothermal vent to a large turbine. The steam passes this turbine, turning it in the process. This

turbine is attached to an electric generator, and as the turbine turns the generator turns the

mechanical energy into electric energy, thus converting the heat from the Earth into usable

electricity.
Condenser

After the steam passes through the turbine, it continues to a condenser chamber. This chamber

condenses the steam back into liquid water by cooling it. The excess heat lost as the steam

turns to liquid water may be used for other applications, such as heating or greenhouse

farming. The cooled liquid water is then typically pumped back into the ground to either restart

the boiling process for dry steam or to replenish the natural heated aquifer for flash steam

plants.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Geothermal energy has many advantages, especially when compared to conventional sources of

energy:

1. Geothermal Energy Sourcing Is Good for the Environment

First and foremost, geothermal energy is extracted from the earth without burning fossil fuels,

and geothermal fields produce practically no emissions. What’s more, geothermal energy can be

very beneficial, as you can achieve savings of up to 80% over conventional energy usage.

2. Geothermal Is a Reliable Source of Renewable Energy

Geothermal energy also has many advantages when compared to other renewable sources like

solar, wind or biomass. It is an exceptionally constant source of energy, meaning that it is not

dependent on neither wind nor sun, and available all year long.
When looking at the availability factor, which shows how reliable and constant specific energy

sources are, geothermal is ranking on the top (see the figure below), way above the other groups,

which supports the argument of its independence on inconstant external circumstances when

delivering energy.

3. High Efficiency of Geothermal Systems

Geothermal heat pump systems use 25% to 50% less electricity than conventional systems for

heating or cooling, and with their flexible design they can be adjusted to different situations,

requiring less space for hardware as opposed to conventional systems.

4. Little to No Geothermal System Maintenance

Due to the fact that geothermal systems only have few movable parts which are sheltered inside a

building, the life span of geothermal heat pump systems is relatively high. Heat pump pipes even

have warranties of between 25 and 50 years, while the pump can usually last for at least 20 years.

However, there are always two sides of the coin so let’s have a look at the cons of geothermal

energy:

1. Environmental Concerns about Greenhouse Emissions

Unfortunately, no matter its reputation of being an environmentally friendly alternative energy

source, geothermal energy also causes some minor concerns in regards to the environment.
The extraction of geothermal energy from the grounds leads to a release of greenhouse gases like

hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia. However, the amount of gas released

is significantly lower than in the case of fossil fuels.

2. Possibility of Depletion of Geothermal Sources

Furthermore, despite being considered a sustainable and renewable energy, the chances are that

specific locations might cool down after time, making it impossible to harvest more geothermal

energy in future.

The only non-depletable option is sourcing geothermal energy right from magma but the

technology for doing so is still in the process of development. This option is worth the

investment mainly thanks to the fact that magma will be around for billions of years.

3. High Investment Costs for Geothermal System

Another disadvantage is the high initial cost for individual households. The need for drilling and

installing quite a complex system into one’s home makes the price climb quite high.

Nevertheless, the return on such investment is very promising, being able to earn the investment

back within 2 to 10 years.

4. Land Requirements for Geothermal System to Be Installed

In case of geothermal systems, having a piece of land next to the house is required in order to be

able to install one. That makes geothermal systems hard to be implemented for homeowners in

big cities, unless a vertical ground source heat pump is used.

REFERENCES

https://sciencing.com/parts-geothermal-power-plant-8621582.html

https://archive.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/solutions/technologies/geothermal.html

https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2014/04/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-geothermal-

energy