Geothermal Energy Uses and Benefits
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This document discusses geothermal energy, which utilizes the earth's internal heat. It can be used directly via district heating systems or to generate electricity. Locations suitable for geothermal energy production include areas along tectonic plate boundaries like the Ring of Fire. The United States has the greatest geothermal energy production. Geothermal energy has minimal environmental impact and releases a small fraction of the carbon emissions from fossil fuel plants.
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Geothermal Energy Uses and Benefits
- 1. Geothermal Energy Dong Kim Chemical Engineering Energy Technology and Policy
- 2. What is Geothermal Energy? Utilize temperature of the earth’s core. Direct use: District Heating System Electricity generation Heat pumps
- 3. Locations Ring of Fire Over 20 countries: Iceland, U.S., Italy, France, China, Japan, ect. The United States is the country with the greatest geothermal energy production
- 4. Direct District Heating System Use hot water from springs or reservoirs near the surface. Hot water near the earth's surface can be piped directly into buildings and industries for heat.
- 5. Electricity Generation Dry Steam Power Plant: Uses the superheated, pressurized steam (180°- 350°C)
- 6. Electricity Generation Flash Steam Power Plant: use hot water above 182°C (360°F) from geothermal reservoirs.
- 7. Electricity Generation Binary Cycle Power Plant: Insufficiently hot resource to efficiently produce steam Too many chemical impurities to allow flashing.
- 8. Heat Pumps Utilizes constant temperature of upper 10 feet of the Earth’s surface. Similar to ordinary heat pumps, but they rely on more stable source than air.
- 9. Geothermal Energy Almost no negative impact on the environment. Release about 1 to 3 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions of a fossil fuel plant.
- 10. References 1: http://www.worldbook.com/wb/images/content_spotlight/earth/insid 2:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pacific_Ring_of_Fire.png 3:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2005-08-30-district- heating-pipeline.jpg 4:http://www.geothermal.nau.edu/about/generation.shtml 5:http://www.inhabitat.com/images/steamystuff2.jpg http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/renewable/ geothermal.html 6:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power#_note- USGeo
Editor's Notes
- Geothermal energy is generated in the earth's core Temperatures hotter than the sun's surface are continuously produced inside the earth by the slow decay of radioactive particles The earth's crust is broken into pieces called plates. Magma comes close to the earth's surface near the edges of these plates. This is where volcanoes occur. The lava that erupts from volcanoes is partly magma. Deep underground, the rocks and water absorb the heat from this magma. The temperature of the rocks and water get hotter and hotter as you go deeper underground.
- California - has 33 geothermal power plants that produce almost 90 percent of the nation's geothermal electricity. Nevada - has 15 geothermal power plants. Hawaii and Utah - each have one geothermal plant
- is brought to the surface at high speeds, and passed through a steam turbine to generate electricity.
- The fluid is sprayed into a flash tank, which is held at a much lower pressure than the fluid, causing it to vaporise (or flash) rapidly to steam. The steam is then passed through a turbine coupled to a generator as for dry steam plants.
- In the binary cycle process, the geothermal fluid is passed through a heat exchanger. The secondary fluid, which has a lower boiling point than water (eg isobutane or pentane), is vaporised, and expanded through a turbine to generate electricity. The working fluid is condensed and recycled for another cycle. All of the geothermal fluid is reinjected into the ground in a closed-cycle system. Binary cycle power plants can achieve higher efficiencies than flash steam plants, and they allow the utilisation of lower temperature resources. In addition, corrosion problems are avoided. However, binary cycle plants are more expensive, and large pumps are required which consume a significant percentage of the power output of the plants.
- temperatures in the upper 10 feet of the Earth's surface hold nearly constant between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. For most areas, this means that soil temperatures are usually warmer than the air in winter and cooler than the air in summer. Geothermal heat pumps use the Earth's constant temperatures to heat and cool buildings. They transfer heat from the ground (or water) into buildings in winter and reverse the process in the summer.