Geothermal energy from hot dry rock: A renew able energy technology moving towards practical implementation

doi:10.1016/0960-1481(96)88502-8

Renewable Energy

Volume 9, Issues 1–4, September–December 1996, Pages 1246-1249

https://doi.org/10.1016/0960-1481(96)88502-8 Get rights and content

Abstract

The technology to extract useful amounts of energy from the large, ubiquitous, hot dry rock (HDR) resource has been under development for more than twenty years. Initial work during the 1970's and 1980's showed that it is possible to access and extract HDR energy using techniques originally conceived and tested by the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The process entails drilling a well deep enough to reach hot rock, injecting water at high enough pressure to open natural joints in the rock, and returning the water, heated by the rock, to the surface through one or more additional wellbores. After extraction of its thermal energy, the water is recirculated through the hot rock to mine more heat. In this closed-loop process, nothing is released to the environment except heat, and no long-term wastes accumulate.

The practical potential of HDR technology was demonstrated in a series of flow tests conducted from 1992 to 1995 at the HDR pilot facility at Fenton Hill, NM. These tests showed that energy can be extracted from HDR in significant amounts over extended time periods. Extensive analyses and reservoir characterization studies carried out as part of the testing program provided a large amount of information about the dynamics of the heat extraction process and confirmed that HDR energy production facilities can be operated with minimal environmental effects. Operating strategies evaluated during the test period included the production of energy at steady-state levels for extended periods and on a variable-output schedule particularly suited to load-following electricity generation.

References (6)

D.W. Brown
Experimental Verification of the Load-Following Potential of a Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Reservoir
L.M. Edwards et al.

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (19)

The above-ground strategies to approach the goal of geothermal power generation in China: State of art and future researches
2021, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Citation Excerpt :
In the view of the Carnot cycle, geothermal fluids with a temperature higher than 150。 C can drive geothermal power generation systems with a power generation efficiency of more than 10% [45]. Moreover, although the breakthrough has not appeared in EGS till now, there are still lots of progress in technologies of deep drilling, rock fracking and heat transferring.
Geothermal power generation (GPG) is a technology that need to be promptly developed due to the high capacity factor and the low environmental impacts. In the year of 2020, as the pivotal juncture of China's 13th Five-Year Plan, it is necessary to summarize the GPG history of China in the past 60 years and comprehend its technological status to secure a promising future of the GPG in China. In this regard, this paper aims to reveal the challenges, opportunities and outlooks of GPG technologies in China from the perspective of the above-ground strategies. The possibility of realizing the planned GPG goal in 2020 in China was firstly discussed. In addition, a technical analysis was done to obtain the main technical obstacles, including the poor energy endowment of the geothermal resources and the immature technology of GPG systems. It is evident that the poor matching between the geothermal fluid and the adopted thermal power cycle hinders the development of GPG, especially for the technologies using the organic Rankine cycle(ORC). Nevertheless, there are many opportunities for improving the level of GPG in China, which may be based on transforming abandoned oil wells into geothermal wells, exploiting dry hot rocks, or developing multi-energy complementary systems. Except for the above, by interpreting the experimental research and the energic, economic and environmental optimization of ORC-GPG systems worldwide, crucial recommendations are provided for the promotion of the GPG technologies in China. These include the performance decoupling based on thermodynamic process, multi-objective optimization based on Pareto's non-inferior solution, comprehensive utilization based on cascading principle, environmental impact assessment based on life cycle assessment, as well as experimental studies on Flash-ORC.
Model analysis and experimental study on scaling and corrosion tendencies of aerated geothermal water
2020, Geothermics
Citation Excerpt :
As one form of renewable energies, geothermal energy has been paid considerable attention to for power generation in recent years (Duchane, 1996; Wan et al., 2005).
The scaling and corrosion tendencies of the simulated geothermal water were predicted with Langelier and Larson index models and verified by static immersion test, image observation, respectively. The corrosion tendencies of the different kinds of aerated geothermal water were also investigated with a corrosion electrochemical method. The results showed that the Langelier index model could better predict the scaling tendency of the aerated geothermal water than the Larson index model, especially for the seriously scaling geothermal water. The corrosion current density was mainly determined by the total mineralization, which could be employed to predict the corrosion tendency of different kinds of aerated geothermal water from the experimental point of view. Simultaneously, the chloride ion concentration in aerated geothermal water had a significant effect on the corrosion tendency. The solution resistance could quantitatively reflect the magnitude of the total mineralization of aerated geothermal water, and increased with the decrease of the total mineralization. The charge transfer resistance was mainly determined by the total mineralization of aerated geothermal water at the total mineralization when this was more than about 3000 mg/L, and mainly determined by the concentration of chloride ions at the total mineralization of less than about 3000 mg/L.
Performance Analysis on a Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Resource Power Generation System Based on Kalina Cycle
2015, Energy Procedia
Based on the conventional Kalina cycle, a hot dry rock geothermal resource power generation system is recommended in this paper. To predict the system performance, the corresponding thermal calculation model is established. A high pressure condenser and a low pressure condenser are used to condense the working fluid(Ammonia-water mixture) and the basic fluid in the recommended system, respectively, and a regenerator is adopted to recover part of exhaust heat of the turbine, at the same time to provide energy for the separation of ammonia-water mixture. The parameter performance analyses are carried out on the system. Results show that both the thermal efficiency and dynamic power recovery increase with elevation of heat source temperature, the dynamic recovery efficiency varies in the range of 8.5-18 percent, in the heat source temperature range of 150-220°C, and the geothermal recovery efficiency varies in the range of 86 to 88 percent. A relative low basic solution concentration and a high working fluid concentration is helpful to improve the system efficiency under the satisfied separation condition. The minor variation of the system efficiency with variation of circulating ratio indicates that the vary of circulating ratio due to the environmental elements will not cause greet effect on system performance.
Modeling the CO<inf>2</inf>-based enhanced geothermal system (EGS) paired with integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) for symbiotic integration of carbon dioxide sequestration with geothermal heat utilization
2015, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Citation Excerpt :
Electricity generation from geothermal energy in the United States in 2011 was 60 × 1015 J (US Energy Information, 2011). This clearly shows that geothermal energy is yet to be utilized to its full potential in the United States (Duchane, 1996). Modeling studies show that the amount of recoverable geothermal energy for a stimulated rock volume of 0.1 km3 is 40% for a range of well geometries, fracture spacing and permeabilities (Sanyal and Butler, 2005).
The global warming potential of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emphasizes more the sequestration of CO₂ otherwise emitted from coal-fired power plants in the future. This study is focused on pairing a coal-fired integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant with enhanced geothermal system (EGS) for simultaneous sequestration of CO₂ and extraction of geothermal heat energy for subsequent electricity generation by an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). By assuming the reservoir characteristics for two different geothermal source temperatures 200 °C and 300 °C, heat transfer calculations show that larger reservoir volume (>1 km³) is necessary for the sustained extraction of geothermal heat energy over a period of 25 years. The temperature and pressure profiles of CO₂ in the injection well and the production well, the corresponding power output from the ORC for five different working fluids, are simulated by ASPEN Plus Version 7.3. The reservoir conditions and the type of working fluid selected determine the power output in the ORC. The temperature and the pressure of the CO₂ at the outlet of the production well are greater than that at the injection well due to the heating of CO₂ in the reservoir during the extraction of geothermal heat energy. Therefore, a combination of a high pressure turbine and an organic Rankine cycle is beneficial for the conversion of geothermal energy from CO₂ into electricity before its recirculation into the injection well. Among the secondary working fluids used in the modeling of the ORC, the time-averaged net EGS power is highest for isobutane and lowest for isopentane over a period of 25 years. When isobutane is used as a secondary working fluid, the time-averaged power output over a period of 25 years for two geothermal reservoirs at an initial geothermal source temperature of 300 °C and 200 °C are 46 MW_e and 21 MW_e, respectively. When neopentane is used as a secondary working fluid, the time-averaged power output for a period of 25 years is 37 MW_e for an initial geothermal source temperature of 300 °C and 17 MW_e for an initial geothermal source temperature of 200 °C. Pairing IGCC with EGS can considerably recover some of the energy lost during the sequestration of CO₂ (50 MW_e) from a 629 MW_e IGCC plant.
Establishment and application of technology for hot dry rock geothermal reservoir comprehensive evaluation
2023, Geological Survey of China
Effect of stimulation in hot dry rock reservoirs from carbon dioxide blasting-induced cracking
2022, Bulletin of Geological Science and Technology

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Geothermal energy from hot dry rock: A renew able energy technology moving towards practical implementation

Abstract

Experimental Verification of the Load-Following Potential of a Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Reservoir