Geothermal Energy

Unit 4
Anindita Roy
Syllabus
• Geothermal energy: Geothermal sites, power plants, and economics. Environmental
impacts, Economic and social considerations,
• Availability, system development and limitations,
• Types of Geothermal Power Plants
Origin of Geothermal Energy
Composition of earth’s crust

Common Radioactive elements in the earth’s crust

Rock Concentration Heat generation, 10−6 cal/gyr

U, ppm Th, ppm K, % U Th K
Granite 4.7 20 3.4 3.4 4.0 0.9
Basalt 0.6 2.7 0.8 0.44 0.54 0.23
Peridotite 0.016 0.004 0.0012 0.012 0.001 0.0003

• Earth's crust is composed of various types of rock which contain some

radioactive isotopes, in particular, uranium (U-235, U-238), thorium (Th-

232) and potassium (K-40).

• Heat released by these nuclear reactions is responsible for the natural heat

that reaches the surface.

Earth: A geologically active system
• The relative motion of plates, gives rise to
several possible interactions.
• Magma comes close to the Earth’s surface
near the edges of these plates. This is where
volcanoes occur.
• Presence of local faults, joint fractures act as
channel ways for release of heat.
Plate tectonics and active geothermal regions
(1) Geothermal fields
producing electricity;

(2) mid-oceanic ridges

(3) subduction zones,

• The margins of the plates correspond to weak, densely fractured zones of the crust,
characterised by an intense seismicity, by a large number of volcanoes and, because
of the ascent of very hot materials towards the surface, by a high terrestrial heat flow.
As shown in Figure, the most important geothermal areas are located around plate
margins.
Geothermal resources around the world

Source:
U.S.
Geological
Survey

World map showing the lithospheric plate boundaries, dots = active

volcanoes
Utilization of Geothermal fluids

D Use of Geothermal Energy:

(i) Direct thermal use
(ii) Electricity generation
(iii) Geothermal heat pumps

(a) With cascading and combined

uses it is possible to enhance the
feasibility of geothermal projects

(b) The resource temperature may

limit the possible uses.
Geothermal Electricity Generation
• Lardarello , Italy currently became commercial in 1913 with a
capacity of 250 kW has 487 MW capacity
Global geothermal potential: Electricity generation

Installed capacity in 2020 worldwide = 15.6 GW

Country wise operating capacity

source: ThinkGeoEnergy, 2020

 Geothermal Potential in India
NW and NE Himalaya and Andaman Nicobar
Place Surface Estimated reservoir
Temperature 0C temperature 0C
Puga, Ladakh 123 180-260
Chhumathang, Ladakh 109 180-260
Manikaran, H. P. 110 186-200
Tapoban, H. P. 90 180 ± 20

Son – Narmada – Tapi Rift

Place Surface Estimated reservoir
Temperature temperature
Tattapani, Chhattisgarth 98 160 ± 20
North Cambay - 175 ± 25

West – Coast Margin

Place Surface Temperature Estimated reservoir
temperature
NE offshore, Mumbai -- 196 ± 63 (3 km
depth)
. Geothermal map of India Kokan Province 71 202 (3 km depth)

Potential in geothermal resources = 10,000 MWth from 340 hot springs from 11
geothermal provinces
Geothermal sites in Maharashtra
60 hot springs clustered around 18
localities in Thane, Ratnagiri,
Dhule, Jalgaon, Yeotmal and
Amravati districts.

Surface temperature ranges from 34

0C to 710C, which are low

temperature ranges.

As per GSI surveys the best site

with highest available temperature
of 71 deg C and maximum flow of
43,920 litres per hour is available at
Unhaware (Khed) followed by
Tural, with 61 0C and 20,160 liters
per hour both in Ratnagiri districts.

To commercially exploit the sites,

deep drilling ranging 1.0 to 3.0 km
depth needs to be done.
Initiatives by Government of India

• Target to achieve 1000 MW by 2022

• 30% subsidy on capital proposed for the installation of
geothermal projects by industry
• For research and innovation purposes, a 50% of subsidy
has been proposed
• Scheme is open to public and private sector to carry out
projects in India
Process of exploitation
Typical layout of geothermal electricity
generation system
Geothermal system
A geothermal system is
composed of three main
components:

(i) a heat source, i.e. high-

temperature (>600 °C)
magmatic intrusion at
relatively shallow depths,
or lower temperature (100–
400 °C) hyperthermal
regions;

(ii) a reservoir, e.g. hot

permeable rocks from
which the circulating fluids
Reservoir extract heat;

(iii) a fluid (usually water),

which is the carrier that
Source transfers the heat.
Classification of geothermal resources

• Hydro-thermal resource
• Hot dry rocks
• Geo-pressurised resource
Hydrothermal resources
• Arise when underground water has high access
to porous rocks.
• Water is trapped in underground reservoirs
(aquifers) and is heated by surrounding rock.

• Located at shallow to moderate depths (100-

4500m). Temperatures range from 90 to 350
deg C.

• Three sub-types:
▫ Vapour dominated (Dry steam fields)
▫ Liquid dominated (wet steam fields)
▫ Hot water resources
Hydro-thermal resource
• Features of
hydrothermal resource
▫ a large heat source
▫ a permeable reservoir
▫ a supply of water
▫ an overlying layer of
impervious rock
▫ a reliable recharge
mechanism
• Temperature range of
90 ˚ to 350 ˚C
• Two thirds are between
150 to 200 ˚C
Hot Dry Rock(HDR) Resources
Rock temperatures greater than 200 ˚ C at depths upto 5
km.

No water is present trapped inside the rocks.

Rocks have low permeability and need to be fractured to

have sufficient thermal energy.

Much more common and accessible than hydrothermal

resources, so their potential is high.

For heat recovery from HDR, artificial reservoirs need to be

drilled into the hot rocks.

Water needs to be injected and replenished continuously.

Reservoir heat depletes with time, causing thermal stresses

in rocks and unlocking more HDR surface to the water.

Flexibility in operation and design compared to other

geothermal systems
Hot Dry Rock resources

• Enhanced or engineered geothermal system

▫ Explosives/detonators at well bottom
 Require large amount
▫ Nuclear explosion
 Environmental and safety issues
▫ Hydraulic fracturing
 Sustainable alternative
Geo-pressure resources
• Temperatures of about 90-200
deg C and pressures of about
1000 atm found at depth of 3-6
km

• Formed through the steady

deposition of sediments that
created an overburden on the
underlying strata

• Geothermal brine saturated with

natural gas is stored under
pressure from the weight of
overlying rock.

• This type of resource can be

used for both heat, chemical
energy and mechanical energy.
Classification of geothermal resources
• Low temperature (< 90 deg C)
Direct
▫ Vapor dominated
thermal
▫ Liquid dominated use

• Moderate temperature (>90 and < 150 deg C)

▫ Exclusively liquid dominated Binary Cycle Plant
Electricity
generation
• High Temperature (> 150 deg C) Flash steam plant
▫ All liquid dominated
Vapor dominated Dry(superheated) steam plants
• Considered only when dry steam is available from
geothermal source.
• Such locations are rare and include the following:

Plant location Avg. steam Max. steam

temp, deg C temp, deg C

The Geysers, USA 250 285

Larderello, Italy 200 270

Matsukawa, Japan 220 270

Vapor dominated Dry(superheated) steam plants
Naturally pressurized steam at abut 8 bar and 250 deg C piped from
production wells to a power plant, where it is routed through a turbine
generator to produce electricity.

Removal of entrained solids in gravity separators or the removal of non-

condensable gases in degassing vessels
Release of hydrogen sulfide is generally recognized as the most important
environmental issue associated with direct steam conversion plants
 Flash steam system
• Most geothermal
resources do not produce
dry steam, a pressurized
two-phase mixture of
steam and water referred
to as wet steam.

• When the temperature of

the geothermal fluid in
this kind of resource is
greater than about
180ºC, plants can use the
flashed steam energy
conversion process.
Two stage/ dual flash system
 Binary cycle plant

• For lower-quality geothermal resource temperatures—usually below about 175ºC,—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 fluid to a volatile working fluid
(usually a hydrocarbon such as iobutane or isopentane) that vaporizes and is passed through
a turbine.
Flash steam cycle vs. Binary cycle
• Although, binary cycle plant has higher equipment costs than flash
plants because the system is more complex, they present some
distinct advantages:
▫ As the brine does not pass through the turbine, problems associated with
salt precipitation and scaling as well as corrosion and erosion can be
greatly reduced.
▫ A working fluid can be selected that has superior thermodynamic
characteristics to steam, resulting in a more efficient conversion cycle
▫ Geothermal brine is re-injected into the aquifer, binary cycle plants do
not require mitigation of gaseous emissions
▫ Larger binary plants are typically constructed as a series of smaller units
or modules, so maintenance can be completed on individual modules
without shutting down the entire plant, thereby minimizing the impact
on total plant output.
Merits of Geothermal Energy

Geothermal plants are reliable

Considered as base load plants because they are available

24/7 regardless of environmental consideration

They are dispatchable and

High capacity factor

Sustainability of Geothermal power

• Geothermal
plants can be
located in
the midst of
forest, fields
or desserts
Geothermal’s Harmful Effects
• Brine can salinate soil if the water is not injected back into the reserve after the
heat is extracted.

• Extracting large amounts of water can cause land subsidence, and this can lead
to an increase in seismic activity. To prevented this the cooled water must be
injected back into the reserve in order to keep the water pressure constant
underground.

• Power plants that do not inject the cooled water back into the ground can
release H2S, the “rotten eggs” gas. This gas can cause problems if large
quantities escape because inhaling too much is fatal.

• One well “blew its top” 10 years after it was built, and this threw hundreds of
tons of rock, mud and steam into the atmosphere.

• There is the fear of noise pollution during the drilling of wells.

http://geothermal.marin.org/geopres
entation/sld001.htm
Temperature results like this would definitely encourage the
drilling of a larger, deeper well to try to find a hydrothermal
reservoir.