FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & SURVEY

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

B (ENG). CIVIL ENGINEERING
KAMPALA CAMPUS

ELE 3104: RENEWABLE ENERGY

GEOTHERMAL ASSIGNMENT

GROUP 13
S/N NAME OF STUDENT REGISTRATION SIGNATURE
NUMBER
1. AKANKWASA RONALD 19/2/328/W/390
2. ASIIMWE HERBERT 19/2/328/W/970
3. ANKWASA PHILEMON 19/2/328/W/737
4. BATARINYEBWA JOEL 19/2/328/W/965
5. NATURINDA GILBERT 19/2/328/W/501
6. OMULE GERALD 19/2/328/W/1233
7. KAKURU DAUDI 19/2/328/W/1241
8. ASIIMWE OWEMBABAZI 19/2/328/W/582
9. WAMALA ARAFAT 19/2/328/W/597

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QUESTION 1
GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS
Geothermal power plants use hydrothermal resources that have both water (hydro) and heat
(thermal). Geothermal power plants require high-temperature of at least 300°F (DiPippo, 2012)
of hydrothermal resources that come from either dry steam wells or from hot water wells.
Utilization of these resources involves drilling wells into the earth and then piping steam or hot
water to the surface. The hot water or steam powers a turbine that generates electricity. Some
geothermal wells are as much as two miles deep.
THREE MAIN TYPES OF GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS
Dry Steam Power Plants
Dry-steam plants were the first type of geothermal power plant to achieve commercial status
(DiPippo, 2012). This uses steam directly from a geothermal reservoir to turn generator turbines.
Dry steam plants use steam directly from underground wells to rotate a turbine which activates a
generator to produce electricity. After generation, the steam condenses to water which is returned
to the wells through pipes and the cycle continues.

Dry Steam Power Plant (Source DiPippo, 2012)

C Condenser, CP Condensate pump, CSV Control & stop valves, CT Cooling tower, CWP Cooling water pump
IW Injection well, MR Moisture remover, PR Particulate remover, PW Production well,
SE/C Steam ejector/condenser, SP Steam piping, T/G Turbine/generator, WV Wellhead valve

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Flash Steam Plants
Take high-pressure hot water from deep inside the earth and convert it to steam to drive
generator turbines. When the steam cools, it condenses to water and is injected back into the
ground to be used again. Most geothermal power plants use this kind of technology. Flash plants
can either be single or double in the process of separating brine from the geothermal fluid.

Flash Steam Power Plant (Source: D.Y.Goswami, 2016)

Binary Power Plants

This kind of technology transfers the heat from the geothermal hot water (primary fluid) to a low
boiling point working fluid. The heat causes the working fluid to turn into steam which is used to
drive a turbo-generator.

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 Binary Power Plant (Source: DiPippo, 2012)

C Condenser, CP Condensate pump, CSV Control & stop valves, CT Cooling tower, CWP Cooling water pump
E Evaporator, FF Final filter, IP Injection pump, IW Injection well, M Make-up water, P Pump, PH Preheater
PW Production well, SR Sand remover, T/G Turbine/generator

Advantages of Dry Steam Plants

 Dry-steam plants tend to be simpler and less expensive than the flash-steam plants in that
there is no geothermal brine to contend with. Brine is a solution of Sodium Chloride.
 Dry-steam geothermal plants have very low potential impact on the environment. The geo-
fluid consists of only steam (no liquid) so there is no mineral-laden brine to dispose off.
Advantages of Flash Steam Plants
 Very low emissions of non-combustible compared to dry steam plants
 Sustainable in the long run

Advantages of Binary Power Plants

 Binary Power Plants operate on the principle of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) which leads
to decrease in plant size and investment cost. ORC is a thermodynamic principle in which the
low temperature of the geothermal resource (primary fluid) is extracted by the means of a
heat exchanger and transferred to a low boiling organic working fluid (secondary fluid)
which then vaporizes to run the turbo-generator.

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 Generate electricity from low and medium geothermal fluids compared to dry and flash
steam plants.
 Geothermal water and working fluid are kept separated throughout the whole process, so
there are little or no air emissions and additionally it is able to isolate scaling, gas and erosion
problems at early point in the power conversion cycle in a heat exchanger.

Disadvantages of Dry Steam Plants

 Plants using direct geothermal steam have to remove the Non Combustible Gases like
Carbon-dioxide and Hydrogen Sulphide, the process of removing such gases from the
condenser is an inherent loss of efficiency and a significant capital cost which is not in binary
power plants.
 The temperature of the steam needed is very high compared to the temperature requirement
for flash steam and binary power plants.
Disadvantages of Flash Steam Plants
 Separation of brine from the geothermal fluid before increases the capital costs compared to
dry steam plants.
 Power output is less compared to binary power plants
Disadvantages of Binary Power Plants
 With regard to Binary Power Plants, a heat exchanger is used to transfer heat from the
geothermal fluid to the working fluid; this results into inherent loss of efficiency in the
process. This kind of loss is not associated with the steam power plants.
 Binary Plants are quite complex and maintenance intensive compared to steam plants. They
bear more cost per unit power than flash plants

C). Geothermal Power Plants have near zero Green House Gases compared to conventional fossil
plants. Geothermal Steam contains non-combustible gases like hydrogen sulphide, carbondioxide
and methane in small amounts. There is controlled venting during production which allows for
treatment or abatement of the smaller amounts of GHG before releasing them into the
atmosphere.
Furthermore, carbon-dioxide is the major greenhouse gas emitted in the process and its less
impactful compared to methane whose emissions are very low during geothermal operations.

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References

DiPippo, R., (2012), Geothermal Power Plants: Principles, Applications and Case Studies, 3rd
Edition: Elsevier Advanced Technology, Oxford, U.K.

D.Y.Goswami & F.Kreith; (2016), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Handbook, 2nd
Edition: CRC Press 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW.

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