UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST RECTO, MANILA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

ME 521 1A POWER PLANT DESIGN

ASSIGNMENT #1 GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT

SUBMITTED BY: GILBERT M. STA. BRIGIDA 2007 01 14033

SUBMITTED TO: ENGR. DIOSDADO DOCTOR

JANUARY 23, 2012

I. Introduction Geothermal energy is heat from the Earths interior. Nearly all of geothermal energy refers to heat derived from the Earths molten core. Some of what is often referred to as geothermal heat derives from solar heating of the surface of the Earth, although it amounts to a very small fraction of the energy derived from the Earths core. For centuries, geothermal energy was apparent only through anomalies in the Earths crust that permit the heat from the Earths molten core to venture close to the surface. Volcanoes, geysers, fumaroles, and hot springs are the most visible surface manifestations of these anomalies. Most economical applications of geothermal energy, at least at this point in the development of the necessary technology, hinge on the availability and quality of the resource. On one hand, geothermal resources are far less pervasive than solar or wind resources, but, on the other hand, as technology continues to develop, the use of lower quality but much more common geothermal resources may increase their development substantially. Since use of geothermal energy involves interaction with a geologic system, the characteristics and quality of the resource involves some natural variability (far less than with solar or wind), but, more importantly, the utilization of the geothermal resource can be affected profoundly by the way in which the resource is tapped. In particular, drawing steam or hot water from a geothermal aquifer at a rate higher than the rate at which the aquifer is refreshed will reduce the temperature and pressure of the resource available for use locally and can precipitate geologic subsidence evident even at the surface. The consequences of resource utilization for the quality of the resource are especially important since geothermal energy is used immediately and not stored, in contrast to the case of oil and gas resources, and would undermine the availability, stability, and reliability of the commercially produced energy from the resource and diminish its value. Reinjecting geothermal fluids that remain after the water (or steam) has been utilized in a turbine helps preserve the fluid volume of the reservoir and is now a common practice for environmental reasons and to mitigate subsidence.

II. Types of Geothermal Power Plants Geothermal electric power generation generally uses higher-temperature geothermal resources (above 110 C). The appropriate technology used in power conversion depends on the nature of the resources. The following sections explore more specifically the technologies of direct steam, flash, and binary geothermal energy conversion. Direct Steam Power Plant

The direct steam power plant is the least common type of geothermal power plant which utilizes the dry steam straight from the production well, drilled into the geothermal reservoir.

Figure 1: Direct Steam Conversion

The process begins when the naturally pressurized steam is piped from production wells to a power plant, where it is routed through a turbine generator to produce electricity. The geothermal steam is supplied to the turbine directly, except for the relatively simple removal of entrained solids in gravity separators and the removal of non-condensable gases in degassing vessels. Such gases include carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and ammonia.

As the filtered steam from the gravity separators and degassing units expands in the turbine it begins to condense. It is then exhausted to a condenser, where it cools and condenses completely to its liquid state and is subsequently pumped from the plant. The condensate is then almost always reinjected into the subterranean aquifer at a location somewhat removed from the production well. Cooling in the condenser is provided by a piping loop between the condenser and the cooling towers. The hot water carrying the heat extracted from the condensing steam line from the turbine is routed to the cooling tower where the heat is rejected to the atmosphere. The coolant fluid, freshly cooled in the cooling tower, is then routed back to the condenser, forming the complete cooling loop. Single Flash Steam Power Plant

Most geothermal resources do not produce dry steam, but rather a pressurized two-phase mixture of steam and water often referred to as wet steam. When the temperature of the geothermal fluid in this kind of resource regime is greater than about 180C, plants can use the flashed steam energy conversion process.

Figure 2: Single Flash Steam Conversion

The flash conversion process begins with the geothermal fluid flows from the production well under its own pressure into the separator, where saturated steam is flashed from the liquid brine. That is, as the pressure of the fluid emerging from the resource decreases in the separator, the water boils or flashes to steam and the water and steam are separated.

The steam is diverted into the power production facility and the spent steam and remaining water are then reinjected into the aquifer. The extracted steam enters the turbine generator which then produces electricity. The steam that expands in the turbine is cooled in the condenser. From the above previous diagram, the condenser is a direct contact type which means that the steam which turns into saturated liquid mixes with the steam coming out of the turbine. The liquid is then pump into the cooling tower. Some of the liquid is being blow down to the reinjection well. Double Flash Steam Power Plant

Many geothermal power plants use multiple stages of flash vessels to improve the plant efficiency and raise power generation output. Such systems are designed to extract additional energy from geothermal resource by capturing energy from both high and lower temperature steam. In the two-stage process, the unflashed fluid leaving the initial flash vessel enters a second flash vessel that operates at a lower pressure, causing additional steam to be flashed. This lower-pressure steam is supplied to the low-pressure section of the steam turbine, recovering energy that would have been lost if a single-stage flash process had been used. The two-stage process can result in a 37% or better improvement in plant performance compared with a single-stage process. Additional stages can be included as well, resulting in successively diminishing levels of additional efficiency improvement.

Figure 3: Double Flash Steam Conversion

Binary Cycle Conversion

For lower-quality geothermal resource temperatures, usually below about 175C, flash power conversion is not efficient enough to be cost effective. In such situations, it becomes more efficient to employ a binary cycle. In the binary cycle, heat is transferred from the geothermal uid to a volatile working uid (usually a hydrocarbon such as isobutane or isopentane) that vaporizes and is passed through a turbine. Such plants are called binary since the secondary uid is used in a Rankine power production cycle, and the primary geothermal uid is used to heat the working uid. These power plants generally have higher equipment costs than ash plants because the system is more complex.

Figure 4: Binary Flash Steam Conversion

Geothermal brine from the production well passes through a heat exchanger, where it transfers heat to the secondary working uid. The cooled brine is then reinjected into the aquifer. The secondary working uid is vaporized and superheated in the heat exchanger and expanded through a turbine, which drives an electric generator. The turbine exhaust is condensed in a surface condenser, and the condensate is pressurized and returned to the heat exchanger to complete the cycle. A cooling tower and a circulating water system reject the heat of condensation to the atmosphere.

III. Components of Geothermal Power Plant Wellhead The component at the surface of a geothermal well that provides the structural and pressure-containing interface for the drilling and production equipment. The primary purpose of a wellhead is to provide the suspension point and pressure seals for the casing strings that run from the bottom of the hole sections to the surface pressure control equipment. Gravity Separator Removes entrained solids and other particles that come together with the geothermal fluid pumped from the production wells to prevent damaging the turbine blades. Scrubber Tower It is a pollution control device which removes the non-condensable gases (unwanted pollutants) such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and ammonia from the pumped geothermal fluid. Steam Turbine-Generator It is one of the main components of the geothermal power plant responsible for producing electricity. The turbine extracts the energy from the steam flowing to the system thereby rotating the turbine blades that actuates the generator to produce electricity. Condenser It is a heat exchanger which cools and condenses the steam coming out of the turbine before reinjecting it back into the well. The steam turns into saturated liquid when condenses completely. Cooling Tower It is a heat removal device which transfers process waste heat into the atmosphere. It cools the cooling medium in the condenser by exposing it into the air before routing it back to the condenser. Separator/Flash Chamber Its main function is to separate the vapor from the water of the geothermal fluid pumped from the production wells. Inside this component, the pressure of the fluid emerging from the resource decreases in the separator, then the water boils or flashes to steam and the water and steam are separated. Heat Exchanger Commonly found in binary flash steam conversion. It is a heat transfer device used to heat the working fluid (with low saturation temperature) to produce steam by the geothermal fluid extracted from the production wells.