Thermodynamics analysis of single-flash

wellhead geothermal power plant at Jailolo

field, Halmahera
Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 2001, 040001 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5049984
Published Online: 16 August 2018

Khasani, and Fajar Sidik Abdullah

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 Thermodynamics Analysis of Single-Flash Wellhead
Geothermal Power Plant at Jailolo Field, Halmahera
Khasani1, a) and Fajar Sidik Abdullah1, b)
1
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2 Yogyakarta,
Indonesia 55281
a)
khasani@ugm.ac.id
b)
fajarsidikabdullah@gmail.com

Abstract. Thermodynamics analysis of single-flash wellhead generator system was carried out for the early stage of the
development of Jailolo geothermal field, Halmahera. The analysis was performed in the forms of energy, exergy and
efficiency calculations. The single-flash wellhead generator system was adopted due to its some advantages over
conventional plants such as 1) wellheads have short steam transmission lines and this will result in less losses and lower
costs, 2) the energy is transmitted as electricity which is more efficient than transporting steam, 3) individual
characteristics of well can be fully utilized by selecting the plant for the most optimum point on the output curve, 4) ease
of maintenance with small individual plant that can be shut for maintenance, 5) cost effective and competitive. Analysis
was conducted for Jailolo geothermal fluid with an estimated enthalpy of 1100 kJ/kg, wellhead temperature of 179oC, and
steam fraction of 20% using Cycle Tempo 5.1 software. The results of calculations showed that the optimum wellhead
pressure is 9.8 bar(g) and mass flow rate of 52.86 kg/s. The system produces 5086.76 kW for turbine power output,
4832.43 kW for generator power output, and 4368.16 kW for delivered net power. From the thermodynamics point of
view, the single flash wellhead generator has 34.1% utilization efficiency obtained from exergy analysis.

INTRODUCTION
The North Maluku area will be one of the centers of economic growth in the Eastern Indonesia with the main
program being the development of mining industry, i.e. ferro nickel and its downstream industry that will give more
added value. To support this economic growth, the need of energy supply becomes a serious issue. By the year of
2024, the electricity demand in the North Maluku area is predicted to increase about 10% [1]. However, at the same
time the economic growth and the progress of development are not supported with the adequate electricity supply as
the key factor for achieving the development targets. At this moment, the electricity supply is dominated by diesel
power plant where it strongly depends on the oil price and the availability problem.
On the other hand, the North Maluku area has high potency of geothermal resource that can be utilized for
electricity generation. One of the prospective geothermal areas in North Maluku is Jailolo geothermal field which is
located in West Halmahera. From the feasibility study, Jailolo geothermal field is estimated to have heat stored with
the fluid enthalpy of 1100 kJ/kg and the minimum temperature of 179oC [2]. It can generate electricity of about 75
MW. According to the Minister Regulation of MEMR Number 21, 2013 and Number 32, 2014 in accordance with
the Fast Track Program for Electricity Generation Stage 2, the development of Jailolo geothermal power plant is
planned to produce 4x10 MW.
Based on the collected data such as fluid enthalpy of 1100 kJ/kg, temperature of 179 oC, mass flow rate of 52.86
kg/s and steam fraction of 20% and the planned power plant capacity of 4x10 MW, the appropriate technology of
energy conversion is single-flash wellhead generator. The main reason of selecting this system is that at this moment
the demand of electricity is still low, so that from the economic point of view the field should be developed using
step by step scenario. Other advantages of such above system are as follows,

Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Thermofluids 2017 (THERMOFLUID 2017)

AIP Conf. Proc. 2001, 040001-1–040001-12; https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5049984
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1717-5/$30.00

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 x Requires shorter steam transmission line so that the losses in the system is relatively small, better
efficiency, and less investment cost.
x Ease of maintenance due to small capacity and the system can be shut down entirely for maintenance.
x Flexible to be moved from one well to another well.
x More attractive for investors because it is short term project that has high return rate.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Single-flash geothermal system is the one that is mostly utilized worldwide. This system is adopted for the
liquid-dominated geothermal system. In 2007, there were 159 units of single-flash system installed in 18 countries in
over the world with the capacity of 42% from the total capacity of geothermal energy. The system has the range
capacity from 3 MW to 90 MW with the average capacity of 25.3 MW [3]. Figure 1 shows the concept of single-
flash geothermal power plant system where the fluid from the reservoir is separated in the separator. Usually, the
single-phase liquid water flashes inside the wellbore, so the two-phase flow present at the wellhead close to the
separator.

PW : Production Well
S : Silencer
WV : Wafer Insert Valve
CS : Cyclone Separator
WP : Water Pipeline
BCV : Ball Check Valve
SP : Steam Pipeline
MR : Moisture Remover
CSV : Cycle Stop Valve
SE/C : Steam Ejector
T/G : Turbine/Generator
C : Condenser
CP : Circulating Pump
CT : Cooling Tower
CWP : Cooling Water Pump
IW : Injection Well

FIGURE 1. The concept of single-flash geothermal power plant system [3].

The separated water (brine) is injected back to the underground through reinjection well, while the steam is
transported to the turbine that will turn the generator to produce electricity.
The sample of geothermal power plant that applies single-flash wellhead generator system has been operated by
the government of Kenya in collaboration with Oserian Development Company and KenGen [4]. Initially, they
utilized conventional single-flash system. But, during the operation they found some problems, then in 2008
KenGen collaborated with Green Energy Group Co. designed the concept, developed and operated a wellhead
generator power plant with some modification based on the well characteristics in Olkaria, Kenya. The Olkaria
geothermal power plant is designed for the capacity of 5 MW. It started operating in 2012. Figure 2 illustrates the
layout of the geothermal power plant in Olkaria, Kenya that consists of production well, steam piping system,
silencer, turbine, generator, condenser, cooling tower and control container.

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 FIGURE 2. Layout of geothermal power plant in Olkaria, Kenya [4].

The processes undergone by the geothermal fluid can be viewed in a thermodynamic state diagram in which the
fluid temperature is plotted on the ordinate and the fluid specific entropy is plotted on the abscissa. A temperature-
entropy diagram for the single-flash plant is presented in Fig. 3.

FIGURE 3. Temperature-entropy state diagram for single-flash plants [3].

METHODS
The main governing equations consist of energy and exergy equations as follows,

x Energy equation,

.§ v2 · .§ v2 · . . wE
¦in ¨ 2 g
m¨ h   gZ ¸ ¦out ¨
¸  m¨ h 
2g
 gZ ¸¸  Q  W
wt
(1)
© ¹ © ¹

040001-3
where ṁ is the mass flow rate (kg/s), h is the specific enthalpy (kJ/kg), v is the velocity (m/s), Z is the height level
(m), Q̇ is the heat flow rate (W), Ẇ is the work flow rate (W), E is the energy (kJ), g is the gravitational acceleration
(m/s2) and t is time (s).

x Exergy equation,

h2  h1   T0 s2  s1   v2  v1
2 2
\ 1 \ 2  g Z 2  Z1  (2)
2
where ψ is the exergy (kJ/kg), h is the specific enthalpy (kJ/kg), T is the temperature (oC), s is the specific entropy
(kJ/kg.K), v is the velocity (m/s), Z is the height level (m), g is the gravitational acceleration (m/s2). Subscript 0
denotes the environmental condition and 1 and 2 represent two different points.

The energy and exergy equations then are applied for main geothermal power plant equipment such as
production wells, pipelines, separator, turbine, generator, condenser, cooling tower, hot well pump, Non
Condensable Gas (NCG) extraction system, etc. To calculate energy and exergy and other parameters in all
equipment, the software namely Cycle Tempo 5.1 is utilized. This is done by inputting required power plant data into
the software. Figure 4 shows the flow of calculation in the program of Cycle Tempo 5.1.

FIGURE 4. The flow of calculation in Cycle Tempo 5.1.

In the Reading In menu, Cycle Tempo 5.1 reads the developed model. The readings consist of number of
components, number of pipes, working fluid, checking that all apparatus are connected. Creation of System Matrix
allows Cycle Tempo 5.1 to calculate mass flow rate using the conservation of mass and energy balances. In this step,
Cycle Tempo 5.1 assures that the number of pipe is equal to the number of equation based on the developed system.
In the Calculating Compositions menu, the medium and gas composition are determined. If there exists the gas

040001-4
mixture in the medium, the Different in Compositions menu will select the higher molar fraction number.
Calculating p, T, h menu allows the software to evaluate the pressure, temperature and enthalpy using energy
balance in each component. The software also provides the relevant thermodynamics table that is integrated with
other calculation menus. In the Solving System Matrix, the enthalpy calculated from previous step to be inputted into
the matrix system of energy balance. After the energy balance has been solved, the error of calculated mass balance
should be checked with the previous iteration using Difference in Mass Flows menu. The checking of composition
and mass flow rate criteria is performed by Break-off Criterion Compositions/Mass Flow menu. If it is not fulfilled,
then the calculation is repeated from the Calculating Compositions menu until the criteria is satisfied.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Power Output Calculation

Based on the reservoir data of Jailolo geothermal field, i.e. the fluid enthalpy is 1100 (kJ/kg), the minimum and
maximum temperature of 200 and 260 (oC) and the reservoir type is liquid dominated, by using a tentative
production well, wellhead pressure and mass flow rate can be calculated and the results are presented in Table 1 and
respective deliverability curve is shown in Fig. 5.

TABLE 1. Calculated production test for Jailolo geothermal field.

Wellhead Pressure (bar(g)) Mass Flow (t/h) Mass Flow (kg/s)

2.4 204.336 56.76
4.3 202.572 56.27
5.7 201.204 55.89
7.6 196.848 54.68
9.8 190.296 52.86
11.5 175.14 48.65
13.4 154.224 42.84
16.2 117.216 32.56
18.4 65.664 18.24
18.6 51.876 14.41

250
Mass Flow (ton/hour)

200

150

100 Wellhead Pressure -

Mass Flow
50

0
0 5 10 15 20
Wellhead pressure (bar g)

FIGURE 5. A deliverability curve for Jailolo geothermal field.

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 From the deliverability curve as shown in Fig. 5 above as the first estimation for power output and by
considering the resource evaluation for Jailolo geothermal field, the most suitable power plant type for the field is
Single Flash Wellhead Generator that has a capacity of 2.5 – 5 MW. The design of power plant is specified as
shown in Table 2. The main components that need to be designed include separator, turbine, generator, condenser,
cooling tower, and gas extraction system.

TABLE 2. Specification of Single Flash Wellhead Generator plant components.

No. Components Types/Values

1. Separator
Inlet temperature (oC) 179
Inlet pressure (bar(g)) Restricted orifice pressure regulation

2. Turbine
Inlet temperature (oC) 179
Inlet pressure (bar(g)) Restricted orifice pressure regulation
Isentropic efficiency (%) 80

3. Generator
Efficiency (%) 95

4. Condenser
Type Direct contact
Inlet pressure (bar(g)) 0.1
Outlet temperature (oC) 43
Cooling water temperature (oC) 31

5. Cooling tower
Type Wet mechanical induced draft
Inlet air temperature (oC) 20
Outlet air temperature (oC) 36.7
Relative humidity (%) 82
Inlet pressure (bar(g)) 0.85
Outlet pressure (bar(g)) 0.8502
Outlet water temperature (oC) 31

6. Gas extraction system

Inlet pressure level I (bar(g)) 0.09
Inlet pressure level II (bar(g)) 0.35
Outlet pressure (bar(g)) 0.5
Inlet temperature level I (bar(g)) 36
Inlet temperature level II (bar(g)) 31

By using the deliverability curve as shown in Fig. 5 and parameter data in Table 2, the power output generated
and other related parameters by the geothermal fluid can be calculated for various wellhead pressure values as
presented in Table 3 including respective delivered net power output curve as shown in Fig. 6.

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 TABLE 3. Power output for various wellhead pressures.

Wellhead
Power Output Power Output Auxiliary Power Delivered Net
Pressure
Turbine (kW) Generator (kW) Consumption (kW) Power (kW)
(bar(g))
2.4 3812.77 3622.13 465.93 3156.2
4.3 4479.9 4255.9 465.53 3790.37
5.7 4782.03 4542.93 465.03 4077.9
7.6 4996.86 4747.01 464.85 4282.16
9.8 5086.76 4832.43 464.27 4368.16
11.5 4779.41 4540.44 463.12 4077.32
13.4 4243.73 4031.54 461.57 3569.97
16.2 3143.55 2986.37 458.91 2527.46
18.4 1424.75 1353.51 455.27 898.24
18.6 947.07 899.71 454.31 445.4

5000
4500
4000
Net Power (kW)

3500
3000
2500
2000 Net Power - Pressure
1500
1000
500
0
0 5 10 15 20
Wellhead Pressure (bar g)

FIGURE 6. Delivered net power output curve for Jailolo geothermal field.

From the correlation between wellhead pressure and delivered net power output as shown in Fig. 6, it can be
seen that the optimum net delivered power output is achieved for the wellhead pressure value of 9.8 bar(g)
corresponds to the turbine power output of 5086.76 kW, generator power output of 4832.43 kW and delivered net
power output of 4368.16 kW. So, the next evaluation of energy, exergy and efficiency calculation in this study are
based on this condition.

Energy, Exergy and Efficiency Calculation

In order to calculate energy, exergy and efficiency for each component, the required parameters are shown in
Table 4.

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 FIGURE 7. Schematic diagram of power plant components for Jailolo geothermal field.

TABLE 4. Parameters for energy, exergy and efficiency calculations.

Properties Values Units

Pressure 9.8 (bar(g))
Temperature 179 (oC)
Mass flow 52.86 (kg/s)
Enthalpy 1100 (kJ/kg)
Steam fraction 20 (%)

The schematic diagram of how all components are interconnected is presented in Fig. 7. Because many
components must be evaluated, in this present study it will be discussed only one sample of calculation, i.e. for
thermodynamics calculation in turbine – generator system. Figure 8 shows the schematic diagram of turbine –
generator system with the fluid properties when flowing inside the turbine.

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 FIGURE 8. Schematic diagram of turbine – generator system.

After leaving the separator, the steam enters the turbine with the enthalpy is the same as that leaves the separator.
Before entering the turbine, the steam is divided into two flow streams, i.e. the first enters the turbine and the second
flows to the ejector to suck NCG from the condenser. The mass balance is expressed in Eq. (3).

x x x
mturbine mout,separator  mmotive,ejector (3)

The steam enters the turbine and produces the work. The energy produced by the turbine can be obtained from
the expansion process of the steam and calculated from the enthalpy difference between inlet and outlet of the
turbine as written in Eq. (4).

wturbine hin,turbine  hout,turbine (4)

Isentropic efficiency is defined as the ratio between the energy produced for the actual condition to the energy
produced for the ideal condition and can be formulated as,

hin ,turbine  hout,turbine

Ki (5)
hin ,turbine  hout,turbine,isentropic

By knowing the isentropic efficiency, the actual work produced by the turbine can be calculated by the following
equation,

wactual Ki hin,turbine  hout,turbine  (6)

From the simulation results, it can be obtained that the steam enthalpy and the mass flow rate entering the turbine
are 2776.35 kJ/kg and 9.2 kg/s, respectively. In the ideal condition, for the pressure of 0.1 bar(g) and the temperature
of 45.81 oC, the steam enthalpy leaving the turbine is 2087.28 kJ/kg. By taking the isentropic efficiency of the
turbine which is 80%, the actual steam enthalpy leaving the turbine is calculated to be 2223.44 kJ/kg. This will
result in the actual work produced by the turbine as 552.91 kJ/kg where it corresponds to the power output of
5086.76 kW. Assuming that the generator efficiency is 95%, the actual power output produced by the Single Flash
Wellhead Generator is about 4832.43 kW. The similar calculations are applied for other components and the results
of calculation is presented in Fig. 9.

040001-9
 The exergy of the process in the turbine can be calculated by the following equation,

x x
E x, product W shaft (7)

The power due to turbine shaft rotation above is the actual power output produced by the turbine. The ideal
power output from the isentropic expansion process in the turbine is expressed by the equation below,

x x
W shaft K W ideal (8)

In order to analyze the exergy in the turbine, it is defined that the exergy enters the turbine comes from the steam
exergy entering the turbine while the exit exergy is the steam exergy leaving the turbine to the condenser and the
power exergy produced from shaft rotation. The presence of irreversibility is due to the friction between the steam
and the turbine blades. The exergy balance in the turbine can be written as,

x x x x
E xin W shaft  E xwaste  E xdestroyed (9)

The exergetic efficiency of the turbine can be expressed as,

§ x
·
¨ W shaft ¸
K Ex,turbine ¨¨ x x ¸¸ (10)
© E x ,in  E x ,out ¹

The results of exergy calculation is presented in Table 5. It can be noted that the available total exergy provided
by the geothermal fluid is 14897.69 kW. Of this amount, 8621.76 kW (57.8% of the total exergy) enters the system,
while about 5427.05 kW (36.4% of the total exergy) within the brine from the separator is reinjected back to the
reservoir. Exergy losses and destruction in the system is calculated to be 4383. 88 kW, so the utilization efficiency
of the system is 34.1%.
The T-s diagram showing the thermodynamic process of the geothermal fluid in each component is shown in
Fig. 10.

040001-10
 FIGURE 9. The simulated results of thermodynamic analysis in each component of power plant for Jailolo
geothermal field with the wellhead pressure of 9.8 bar(g) and the mass flow rate of 52.86 kg/s.

TABLE 5. Calculated results of exergy and efficiency of each power plant component.

Desired Exergy Exergy Waste Exergy Exergy

Process/ Exergy Input
Output Destroyed Output Efficiency
System ( kW)
(kW) (kW) (kW) (%)
Separator 14897.69 8621.76 848.88 5427.05 57.8
Turbine 7502.86 5086.76 917.23 1245.14 67.8
Condenser 1245.14 573.60 659.41 12.13 46.1
Overall system 14897.69 5086.76 4383.88 5427.05 34.1

040001-11
 FIGURE 10. T-s diagram for Single Flash Wellhead Generator power plant at Jailolo geothermal field.

CONCLUSIONS

Some important results are summarized as follows:

x From the preliminary survey on subsurface information data and considering the economic growth in Jailolo
region, the most appropriate technology adopted at the initial stage of geothermal development is Single
Flash Wellhead Generator power plant system.
x From the well production test, the optimum power output of the plant is achieved at the operating pressure
of 9.8 bar(g) corresponds to the following parameters; 1) turbine power output of 5086.76 kW, 2) generator
power output of 4832.43 kW, and 3) delivered net power of 4368.16 kW.
x The utilization efficiency of the designed Single Flash Wellhead Generator power plant system is 34.1%.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research is funded by the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Research Grant 2017,
Faculty of Engineering Universitas Gadjah Mada.

REFERENCES

1. PT PLN (Persero), RUPTL, 2015.

2. D. Kurniawan, “Thermoeconomic Analysis of Singe Flash and Binary ORC Powerplant for Jailolo,
Geothermal Field – Halmahera,” M.Sc. thesis, Bandung Institute of Technology, 2014.
3. R. DiPippo, Geothermal Power Plants: Principles, Applications, Case Studies and Environmental Impact 3rd
ed (Oxford, Elsevier.Ltd., 2012), pp. 82-111.
4. D. Saitet and C. Kwambai, “Wellhead Generating Plants: KenGen Experience,” Olkaria, Kenya, 2015.

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