GEOTHERMAL

POWER

XAVIER DOMINIC P. LABAYO

Palinpinon Geothermal Power Plant 2020-300038
Valencia, Negros Oriental
Installed Capacity: 192.5 MW ESE 206 - FAPLENV
TOPIC OUTLINE
• Geothermal Energy
• Brief History
• Visual and Environmental Impact
• Types of Geothermal Energy
1. Vapor-dominated
2. Liquid-dominated
• Geothermal Power Plant
1. Operation
2. Types
a) Dry Steam
b) Flash Steam
c) Binary Cycle
3. Geothermal Power Plants in the Philippines
• Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS)
Geothermal Energy
• Heat derived within the sub-surface of the earth. Water and/or steam
carry the geothermal energy to the Earth’s surface.
• Depending on its characteristics, geothermal energy can be used for
heating and cooling purposes or be harnessed to generate clean
electricity. However, for electricity, generation high or medium
temperature resources are needed, which are usually located close to
tectonically active regions.
Geothermal Energy
Several attributes make it a good source of energy.

• Clean

• Available 24 hours a day

• Homegrown
Brief History
Brief History
Environmental Impact
Geothermal technologies offer many environmental advantages over
conventional power generation:
• Emissions are low.
• Salts and dissolved minerals contained in geothermal fluids are
usually reinjected with excess water back into the reservoir at a depth
well below groundwater aquifers. This recycles the geothermal water
and replenishes the reservoir.
• Some geothermal plants do produce some solid materials, or sludges,
that require disposal in approved sites. Some of these solids are now
being extracted for sale (zinc, silica, and sulfur, for example), making
the resource even more valuable and environmentally friendly.
Visual Impact
Easily integrated into communities with almost no visual impact.

• Geothermal power plants use relatively small acreages

• Don't require storage, transportation, or combustion of fuels.

Types of Geothermal Energy
Vapor-dominated vs Liquid-dominated forms.
• Liquid-dominated plants or Liquid-dominated reservoirs (LDRs) are
more common with temperatures greater than 200 °C (392 °F) and
are found near young volcanoes surrounding the Pacific Ocean and in
rift zones and hot spots. .
• Lower-temperature LDRs (120–200 °C) require pumping. They are
common in extensional terrains, where heating takes place via deep
circulation along faults. The water vaporizes an organic working fluid
that drives a turbine. These binary plants originated in the Soviet
Union in the late 1960s and predominate in new US plants. Binary
plants have no emissions.
Types of Geothermal Power Plants
• There are three geothermal power plant technologies being used to
convert hydrothermal fluids to electricity: dry steam, flash steam
(single flash and double flash) and binary cycle. The type of
conversion used (selected in development) depends on the state of
the fluid (steam or water) and its temperature.
Direct Dry Steam
• Steam plants use hydrothermal fluids that are primarily steam.
The steam goes directly to a turbine, which drives a generator
that produces electricity. The steam eliminates the need to burn
fossil fuels to run the turbine. (Also eliminating the need to
transport and store fuels)
• This is the oldest type of geothermal power plant. It was first
used at Lardarello in Italy in 1904. Steam technology is used
today at The Geysers in northern California, the world's largest
single source of geothermal electricity. These plants emit only
excess steam and very minor amounts of gase
Direct Dry Steam
Single Flash and Double Flash Cycle
• Hydrothermal fluids above 360°F (182°C) can be used in flash
plants to make electricity.
• Fluid is sprayed into a tank held at a much lower pressure than
the fluid, causing some of the fluid to rapidly vaporize, or "flash."
The vapor then drives a turbine, which drives a generator.
• If any liquid remains in the tank, it can be flashed again in a
second tank (double flash) to extract even more energy
Single Flash Cycle
Single Flash Cycle with
Engr. Genard Rantael, ME
AP RENEWABLES, INC.
Binary Cycle
• Most geothermal areas contain moderate-temperature water (below
400°F). Energy is extracted from these fluids in binary-cycle power
plants.
• Hot geothermal fluid and a secondary (hence, "binary") fluid with a
much lower boiling point than water pass through a heat exchanger.
Heat from the geothermal fluid causes the secondary fluid to flash to
vapor, which then drives the turbines.
• Because this is a closed-loop system, virtually nothing is emitted to
the atmosphere. Moderate-temperature water is by far the more
common geothermal resource, and most geothermal power plants in
the future will be binary-cycle plants.
Binary Cycle
Geothermal Power
Plants in the
Philippines
Installed Capacity and Electricity Generation Trends
Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS)
• An Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) is a man-made reservoir,
created where there is hot rock but insufficient or little natural
permeability or fluid saturation. In an EGS, fluid is injected into the
subsurface under carefully controlled conditions, which cause pre-
existing fractures to re-open, creating permeability.
• Increased permeability allows fluid to circulate throughout the now-
fractured rock and to transport heat to the surface where electricity
can be generated.
• “engineered geothermal systems”
References
Geothermal energy (irena.org)
https://www.irena.org/geothermal#:~:text=Geothermal%20energy%20is%20heat%20derived,harnessed%20to%20
generate%20clean%20electricity.
Geothermal FAQs | Department of Energy
https://www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/geothermal-faqs#benefits_of_using_geothermal_energy
Geothermal Energy - Types , Working, Diagram, Advantages, Disadvantages
(learnmech.com)
https://learnmech.com/geothermal-power-plants/
Interview with Engr. Genard Rantael, ME_ TOPIC: Single Flash Cycle
(AP RENEWABLES)
www.doe.gov.ph
What is Geothermal - International Geothermal Association (geothermal-energy.org)
https://www.geothermal-energy.org/explore/what-is-geothermal/
References