Geothermal Energy

Introduction
In 2014, the Philippines ranked second only to the United States in
geothermal energy production. According to the 2015 U.S. and Global Geothermal
Power Production Report, the Philippines is one of the three countries that may
eventually be on a par with the United States in installed geothermal energy
capacity within the next ten years.
Sitting on the so-called Ring of Fire in the Pacific, the Philippines is home to
14% of global geothermal reserves. This valuable resource translates to 27% of the
countrys energy generation. The total potential for geothermal energy in electric
power, according to Pastor et al., is at 4000MWe.

Definition and Process

Energy derived from the heat of the earth is called geothermal energy. The
earths interior contains molten rock, called magma, which heats solid rock above it
and consequently, subterranean and surface water. Hydrothermal sources such as
these primarily are tapped for geothermal energy.
This energy is harnessed by the use of the heat by itselfas in the manner
ancient and contemporary cultures utilize it for heating, bathing, and cookingor by
using steam which results from the heating of water reservoirs within the earth to
drive generators.

The second application is far less straightforward than the first. Electricity
generation via geothermal energy occurs in three ways: Dry Steam, Flash Steam, or
Binary Cycle.
Dry Steam is the oldest method of electricity generation using geothermal
energy. In this process, the earth is drilled to gain access to subterranean
hydrothermal sources. Steam from this naturally heated water passes upwards from
the reservoir through the production well into a turbine which drives a generator.
Electricity is produced by the generator. Water from the condenser is then returned
into the reservoir through the injection well so that the heat of the earth may
vaporize the water again. This keeps the process sustainable.
No special heating mechanisms or holding tanks are necessary in dry steam
power plants, as steam in this process is naturally vaporized by the heat of the
earth without intervention. This fact, however, makes dry steam sources incumbent
on specific geologic circumstances; thus, rare.
The second method, Flash Steam, uses hydrothermal sources where the
water is heated above 182. Once pumped through the production well into a
compartment called the flash tank, the decrease in pressureas the pressure in the
underground reservoir is much higher than the tankcauses the water to vaporize
into steam; hence the term, flash. As in the previous process, the turbine is driven
by the steam. The generator which connects to the turbine then produces
electricity. Water, upon its condensation, is then reinjected into the reservoir to kick
start the process again.
Currently, this is the most used method of harnessing geothermal energy for
electricity production.

Binary Cycle power plants use hydrothermal sources with temperatures below
149.

Instead of using the water itself to drive the turbine as in the previous

methods, the hot water is pumped into two closed-loops within a heat exchanger to
heat up a liquid of lesser boiling temperature. Isobutane, isopentane, and
hydrocarbon mixtures are often used as the working liquid subjected to heating by
the hydrothermal source. The working liquid is vaporized instead of the water itself.
The vapors act in a similar manner by turning the turbine to cause the generator to
make electricity. The water used is reinjected in the same manner as in the previous
two methods while the working liquid is condensed for reuse.
The use of Binary Cycle plants are particularly useful as they allow
hydrothermal reservoirs of lower temperaturesthus, otherwise unusable for power
generationto be harnessed.

Sources:

Bibliography
Bledsoe, C., Bretado, M., Perez, J., & Sagnak, A. (2007, April 19). Geothermal Energy
An Alternative Energy Business Model. Retrieved November 16, 2015, from
https://www.utpb.edu/docs/default-source/utpbdocs/sob/geothermalenergy.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Butterfield, L., Gilette, B., & Shin, R. (2014). Geothermal Energy. Retrieved October
26, 2015, from U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Education and Workforce
Development:
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/06/f16/geothermal_energy.pdf
Goldstein, B., Hiriart, G., Bertani, R., Bromley, C., Gutirrez-Negrn, L., Huenges, E.,
et al. (2011). Geothermal Energy. In IPCC Special Report on Renewable
Energy Sources and Climate. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
International Geothermal Association. (2015, 09 15). Philippines - Electricity
Generation. Retrieved 10 26, 2015, from http://www.geothermalenergy.org/electricity_generation/philippines.html
Matek, B. (2015). 2015 Annual U.S. & Global Geothermal Power Production Report.
Retrieved 10 26, 2015, from Geothermal Energy Association: http://geoenergy.org/reports/2015/2015%20Annual%20US%20%20Global
%20Geothermal%20Power%20Production%20Report%20Draft%20final.pdf
National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2014, July 25). NREL: Learning Geothermal Electricity Production Basics. Retrieved October 26, 2015, from
NREL: http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_geo_elec_production.html
Pastor, M. S., Fronda, A. D., Lazaro, V. S., & Velasquez, N. B. (2010, April 29).
Resource Assessment of Philippine Geothermal Areas. Retrieved 10 26, 2015,
from Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2010: http://www.geothermalenergy.org/pdf/IGAstandard/WGC/2010/1616.pdf
Redko, A., Kulikova, N., Pavloskyi, S., Bugai, V., & Redko, K. (2014, February 26).
Using the Mixtures of Saturated Hydrocarbons with Fluorinated Esters in the
Supercritical. Retrieved October 26, 2015, from Proceedings, Thirty-Ninth
Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering:
https://pangea.stanford.edu/ERE/pdf/IGAstandard/SGW/2014/Redko.pdf