Lecture Notes

on Geothermal
Energy
By: ayman alkezza
 Discussion Topics Under „Geothermal
Energy‟
1) Geothermal systems for electricity generation:
• Dry steam power plant
• Binary cycle (ORC) power plant
• Single-flash power plant
• Double-flash power plant

2) Geothermal heat pumps (GHP) for thermal energy

applications
(space heating and domestic hot water):
• Ground coupled (closed-loop) GHP
• Ground coupled (open-loop) GHP
• Vertical, horizontal, and hybrid GHP
)3Heat mining economicsProaf.nYehdia 3

Kthraali,dYaeleUonfivfesrsity
Geysers = steam
jets

4
5
Desirable Characteristics of Sustainable
Energy Supply Systems

• Renewable: non-depletable.

• Accessible and well distributed: available close to demand.

• Emissions free: no NOx, SOx, CO2, particulate matter (PM), etc.

• Dispatchable: for base load, peak demand shaving, and distributed

needs.

• Robust:
- Scalable: from < 1 MW to 1000 MW ( thermal or electric)
- Flexible: generation of electricity, heat, and cogeneration.

• Reliable and safe to operate.

• Cost competitive with conventional fossil fuels. 6

On a relative scale,
geothermal would be
the cleanest
technology.

7
 Advantages of the Geothermal
Energy Systems
• Use of fossil fuel is limited to that
needed to generate electricity to run the
heat pumps

• CO2 emissions are minimized

• Systems require less maintenance

compared to fossil-fired power
generation plants on the same capacity
8
 Hydr
o

Natura
l
Gas Coa
l
Nuclear

9
 Renewable Energy
Sources
• There are two fundamental sources of renewable energy:

1. The sun --“looking outward”  Examples: solar

and wind
2. The earth --“looking inward”  Examples: OTEC,
tidal, wave
geothermal

• Currently, we are „looking outward‟ for clean energy

technologies  e.g. solar PV, solar thermal / CSP, wind

• „Looking inward‟ for geothermal energy requires

technology advancements and understanding of 10

subsurface environments.
„Looking Inward‟ for Geothermal
Energy
k
m

The average
temperature
gradient is ≈
30oC/km

4000
oC

• The temperature in the interior of the

earth in its core is around 4000oC
• Heat is generated by the radioactive
decay of isotopes of heavy nuclei.
Granite would be a good example as it
contains radioactive isotopes.

Prof. Yehia Khalil, Yale 11

Major heat-producing
University
isotopes
 Three Methods for Geothermal Energy
Capture (Heat Mining)

1)Hydrothermal

2)Deep geothermal systems  hot dry rocks

(HDR)

3)Geothermal heat pumps (GHP)

12
 1

Flash
Tank at
Lower
Pressure
.

Production
Well

Injection
Well
13
2

Hot Dry 14
Rocks
3

15
16
 • The geothermal heat pump
(GHP) is used for extracting heat
from warm shallow groundwater.

• In the winter, heat is removed from

the earth and delivered to the
surface via the heat pump.

• The GHP can deliver  three times

more energy* (in the form of heat)
than the energy consumed (in the
form of electricity) in pumping the
Circulating a heat transfer fluid (HTF) water.
like glycol
17
*Coefficient of performance (COP) = output energy / input
energy
18
19
Suction Discharg
Wells e
Wells

20
Key Factors:

• Resource quality
• Reservoir properties
(diameter, depth, stability,
etc)
• Energy conversion for end
use
• Economics

21
Combines both vertical and horizontal
coils.

22
Geothermal Heat Transfer Fluid(HTF)
• The most commonly used fluid is a
20% solution of Propylene Glycol
–Circulating pumps must be designed to
accommodate increasing viscosity at low
temp.

• %70Ethanol solution provides the same

freeze protection without increasing
viscosity at low temperature
More expensive to buy and to install than 23
glycol.
Advantages of GHP Systems

1) Energy cost saving

2) Environmental friendly

3) Low maintenance

4) Quit system

5) Sustainable energy
resource
24
 Moving heat between cold & hot conditions: which of the
following six cases are not Feasible? Which case represents a
heat pump?

• Heat plus work is conserved (from the

First Law)  conservation of energy.
• Heat can‟t be converted to work with
T hot T cold 100% efficiency (from the Second Law).

T is the driving force for

Q

Electric heaters take electricity (coming from mechanical work) to put heat in a colder
place.

Example: internal combustion engine

(ICE.)

25
Heat Pumps

26
Air conditioning
Electricity from the
grid

27
 Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
Combined heat and power
are often produced together
to maximize the use of
otherwise wasted heat.

Topping cycles produce

electricity from high –
Temperature heat, and use the
waste heat for other process
needs.

Bottoming cycles use

medium- Temperature heat
to generate electricity.
28

Need to combine “ToppiPnrogf.”YeahinadKh“aB il, YattleoUmnivienrsgit”y cycles to achieve the

l o
highest possible efficiency.
An aquifer is a layer of porous rock trapped
between layers of impermeable
rocks.

29
Critical Elements for Heat Mining

30
The Three “Laws” Geothermal
Economics

31
Basic Economics of Geothermal Heat
Mining

P ,

Transmission
&
Distribution

 P / I

P 32
 Hot Dry Rocks
(HDR)

Key Insight:

As the temperature gradient

inc reases km) increases, COE
(oC/ 33
(cen decreases.
ts/kWh)
 Unique Geothermal Heat Mining
Tradeoffs

Impac
t

Reduce drilling
cost
Impac
t

34
 Summary of Geothermal Heat
Mining (hot dry rock)
•Relative to conventional fossil
energy, hot dry rock „HDR‟ is a low-
grade heat source requiring higher
mass flow rates.

•Typical fluid production temperatures of

200oC to 300 oC are needed to
maintain reasonable electric
conversion efficiencies of 10 to 20
Prof. Yehia Khalil, Yale
University
35

.%
Current Limitations of Drilling
Technology
• Well cost scales exponentially with depth.

• Maximum depth capability to 42,000 ft ( 12 km.)

• Borehole stability

• Lost circulation mud is still a big problem in

some formations.

• Drill bits have been improved to increase penetration

rates
but the entire system is still prone to bits wear and
crushing as the primary failure 36
mechanisms.
 Twin Borehole System for
Heat Extraction from an
@ Aquifer An aquifer is a layer of
T0 porous rock trapped
Bores between layers of
separation impermeable rocks.
distance (L)
Cold water is injected at
the inlet borehole x = 0
and hot water is
extracted at the outlet
borehole x = L
Assume that the aquifer is
@ initially at temperature T1
T1 and the cold water at inlet
One dimensional flow is at temperature To.
model
The heat available per unit volume from the rock = r .cr .(T1 To )

Power output of the system = P  w.cw.Q.(T1 To )

37
Where Q is the volumetric flow rate
 Twin Borehole System for
Heat Extraction from an
Aquifer Darcy‟s law for fluid flow
through a porous
media
Bores
separation
distance (L)
In order to obtain a given volume flow
rate Q, it is necessary to apply a
pressure drop P between the
boreholes.
P 
Q.L
k.A .....
)1(
By Darcy‟s law, the volume flow rate Q through a slab of porous rock of cross-
sectional area A and length L, is given By:
P
Q  k . A. .....
L
)2(
Where k is the permeability. Rearranging equation (2), the pressure drop
required for a
given volume flow rate Q is given by: Q.L .....
P 
k, Al )3(
38
 Exampl
e
A sandstone aquifer at T1 = 70oC is 20 m thick and 100 m wide. The density,
specific heat, porosity and permeability are 2.3E3 kg/m3, 1000 J/kg-oC,
0.02, 2E-9 s-m3/kg, respectively. Estimate the volume flow rate (Q) needed
to generate a power output P of 1 MW and the pressure drop required for a
borehole separation at L = 1 km in length. Assume the water at inlet is at To =
10oC, water density w = 103 kg/m3 and Cw = 4000 J/kg-oC

Solution

P 106watts 3
Q   4x10 m3
/s
 w.c w.(T r  Tw ) (4(.) 10 x10 ).(70 10)
3 3

Q.L (4x103 m3 / s)x(103 m)

P   9
 10 6
N / m 2
 1MPa  10 bar
k . A (2x102 m  s / kg).(2x10 m )
3 3

Note that the Newton (N) is a force = mass (kg) x acceleration

(m/s2) 39
 Geothermal
District
Heating System

H
X
Hot
Water
Cold
Wate
r

Sandstone aquifer
containing hot brine
@70oC
40
41
 Schematic Cross-Section Showing the Three Essential
Characteristics of a Geothermal Site: an aquifer, an impermeable
cap rock to seal the aquifer (e.g., clay or shales) and a heat source
(e.g., granite)

(Steam
jet)

42
 Four Main Types of Geothermal Electrical Energy
Production Simplified Flow
Diagrams (a-d)
Superheated steam at 4-8 MPa

Thermal 225-180oC

efficiency
and

around
20%

Unflashed liquid
remaining after
A secondary the initial high-
working pressure flashing
fluid with a flows to a low-
lower BP pressure tank
than water where another
(e.g., pressure drop
pentane or provides
butane) additional steam.
which is This steam is
vaporized mixed with the
and used to exhaust from the
drive the high-pressure
turbine. It is turbine to drive a
commonly second turbine.
known as an This process rises
Organic the efficiency to
Rankine %25 ~for only
Cycle 5% increase in
(ORC) plant plant cost. 43
44
 Lost Drilling Circulation Mud
Increases Costs
• Need to detect and mitigate the problem of drilling mud being
lost/leaked
into the rock formations during drilling.

• This loss can add 20 to 30% to the total cost of a well drilling
because it requires more drilling time (at a typical cost of $10,000–
$20,000/day), uses more drilling mud, and risks severe failure
mechanisms, such as borehole instability or stuck drill strings.

• Risk mitigation:

• Early detection of lost circulation mud is crucial in minimizing problems.

Risk mitigation includes development of a rolling float meter for mud
outflow and an advanced, acoustic Doppler flowmeter for mud inflow to
detect and quantify lost circulation.

• Work is also being done to integrate the rolling float meter into an expert 45
system that
 Slimhole Drilling Lowers Costs

• Use of smaller-than-standard-diameter drilling bits and pipe, referred to as

slimhole drilling, has been demonstrated to reduce oil and gas exploration
costs by 25 to .75%

• Need to investigate whether slimhole drilling can provide sufficient data to

characterize a geothermal reservoir and how slimhole-drilling costs
compare with conventional-sized holes.

Diagnostics-While-Drilling (DWD)

• Diagnostics-While-Drilling (DWD) is a concept that uses a closed

information loop carrying data up and control signals down between
the drilling platform at the surface and tools at the bottom of the hole.

• Although faster drilling and problem mitigation are clearly important for
reduced cost, truly cost-effective drilling also requires that all functions of the
overall process operate optimally. 46
Drilling
Advisory
Software

The graph shows the “upward

and downward” high-speed
information flow to diagnose
the drilling conditions in real
time.

47
48
References

57
Variation of Temperature with Depth Across
Three Zones of Differing Thermal
Conductivity (KT)

Values of KT for most rock types are quite similar, in

the range 1.5 – 3.5 W/m/oC

59
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