What is geothermal energy?

Geothermal energy is heat within the earth. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy

source because heat is continuously produced inside the earth. People use geothermal
heat for bathing, to heat buildings, and to generate electricity.

Working

Geothermal power plants use steam to produce electricity. The steam

comes from reservoirs of hot water found a few miles or more below the
earth's surface.

The steam rotates a turbine that activates a generator, which produces electricity. There
are three types of geothermal power plants: dry steam, flash steam, and binary cycle.

Dry Steam
Dry steam power plants draw from underground resources of steam. The steam is piped directly
from underground wells to the power plant where it is directed into a turbine/generator unit.

Flash Steam
Flash steam power plants are the most common and use geothermal reservoirs of water with
temperatures greater than 360°F (182°C). This very hot water flows up through wells in the
ground under its own pressure. As it flows upward, the pressure decreases and some of the hot
water boils into steam. The steam is then separated from the water and used to power a
turbine/generator. Any leftover water and condensed steam are injected back into the reservoir,
making this a sustainable resource.

Binary Steam
Binary cycle power plants operate on water at lower temperatures of about 225-360°F
(107-182°C). Binary cycle plants use the heat from the hot water to boil a working fluid,
usually an organic compound with a low boiling point. The working fluid is vaporized in
a heat exchanger and used to turn a turbine. The water is then injected back into the
ground to be reheated. The water and the working fluid are kept separated during the
whole process, so there are little or no air emissions.
Currently, two types of geothermal resources can be used in binary cycle power plants
to generate electricity: enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) and low-temperature or co-
produced resources.
Advantages and disadvantage
1) Its renewable sorce of energy .

2)It is environment friendly because it does not cause any pollution.

3)No wastage of generation of by-products.

4)This energy can be used directly , in olden days this energy was used
for cooking and many heating purposes.

5)Maintainence cost of this energy is very less.

6)Unlike solar energy it does not need a specific time to be used.

Disadvantage

1) Only few sites have ghe potential of this energy.

2)There is always a danger of eruption of volcano.

3) It may release some some harmful, poisonous gases that can escape
through some small holes.

4) Geothermal energy is produced only in some sites but which is far from
markets.

5) Total generation potential energy is too small..

6) installation cost of steam power plant os very high.

 Application
The list of applications due to the implementation of geothermal power are endless
and include:

1.) Heating buildings

2.) Growing plants in greenhouses

3.) Drying crops

4.) Heating water at fish farms

5.) Industrial processes

Biomas energy

Biomass is made up of living things (or things that were once living). This
can include any plant or animal material, such as sugarcane or corn crops,
wood chips, or even dung.

All these types of biomass contain energy, because they’re organic

materials. So, whether they started life as plants or animals, they’ve all
absorbed chemical energy naturally from the sun.

When they’re used as biomass, these materials are called ‘feedstocks’.

Working
Advantages and disadvantage

1) Biomass is always available. Humans and animals will always create

waste, and plants will always grow – so there’s no danger we’ll run
out of the stuff!
2) Using waste to create energy means that less of it goes into the
landfill. That’s a win for the environment

3)Bio-oils can also be used in things like plastics and medicine

DisAdvantages

1) Crops grown in order to be burnt for energy take up a lot of land.

That land could be used for other things like conservation, housing,
or growing crops for food
2) The burning process releases CO2, which contributes to the climate
crisis
3) It also releases carbon monoxide, which adds to air pollution
Application