Low-Enthalpy Geothermal Springs for Power Generation—An Alternative Approach - Open Access Library Journal

OALibJ > Vol.6 No.11, November 2019

Low-Enthalpy Geothermal Springs for Power Generation—An Alternative Approach ()

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DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1105866 412 Downloads 1,380 Views Citations

Author(s)

L. M. Amoo

Affiliation(s)

Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA.

ABSTRACT

The Earth is under increasing stress owing to carbon emissions. Clean energy forms constitute an area of increasing technological interest. Geothermal energy is a clean alternative energy form that can be harnessed from the Earth’s core. The use of geothermal energy resources is gaining substantial interest in many countries, as an integral part of 21^st century clean energy solutions and meeting stringent emission requirements. The objective of this research is to investigate an alternative approach to clean and renewable geothermal energy utilization through geothermal ground water pressure applied within a water turbine. The groundwater pressure from the candidate geothermal sites considered is applied to drive a water turbine for the generation of electrical energy. The geothermal candidate sites are low-temperature (i.e. <60℃) geothermal springs, where it is not beneficial to apply low temperatures in a Rankine cycle steam turbine due to the low enthalpy. Simple calculations are conducted to estimate the electrical energy output of each candidate site. This may technically be regarded as a thermodynamic problem, albeit one that does not require full thermodynamic cycle analysis. The results of the simple non-rigorous analysis indicate that the electrical energy generation potential is greater when using geothermal water pressure (2.5 MW_e) than when using low geothermal temperature (0.005 MW_e).

KEYWORDS

Low-Enthalpy Geothermal Energy, Renewable Energy, Electrical Energy Generation, Water Turbine

Share and Cite:

Amoo, L. (2019) Low-Enthalpy Geothermal Springs for Power Generation—An Alternative Approach. Open Access Library Journal, 6, 1-14. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1105866.

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