Geothermal Systems Week 9, October 30th, 2023

能源⼯程

Introduction
• Why is the earth hot?

• When the earth formed around

4600 million years ago, the
interior was heated rapidly as the
kinetic and gravitational energy of
accreting material was converted
into heat. would have cooled within 100 million years.
• The earth contains tiny quantities of long-lived radioactive isotopes (Th釷 232, U鈾
238, K鉀 40), which liberate heat as they decay.
accounts for about half the surface heat flow
From exponential decay laws for radioactivity, heat production was about
five times greater soon after the earth formed.

• Geothermal energy is independent of the Sun. firm, predictable power on a 24 hr

per day basis.
 • Heat flow

• In the main body of the earth,

heat is transferred through creep
processes in hot deformable
solids (convection). small
variations of temperature
• Across the outer 100 km, heat is
transported by conduction
large temperature gradient
• Heat flowing through the earth’s surface: 1021 J/year (or 31.7 TW,
equivalent to an average distribution of 62.15 mW/m2)

• Crust

• Radiogenic elements are concentrated in the upper crustal rocks.

• Continental crust: 30-50 km thick
• Oceanic crust: 5-10 km thick(composed of slightly denser rocks)
• At the base of the crust ~ 1100°C

• Temperature gradient between the

surface and the bottom of the crust
~ 31.1°C/km (or 3.1°C/100 m)
• Shell is broken into lithospheric
plates which move around the
surface in concert with the
convective motions beneath.
• Heat flow reaches a maximum at
the boundaries between plates (~
300 mW/m2).
• volcanic activity + storage of
molten rock (~1000°C) + induced
convection of hot water: strongly
augment the heat flow

• Geothermal resources:

• High-enthalpy resources: water and

steam above about 180-200°C
• Medium-enthalpy resources: about
100-180°C
• Low-enthalpy resources: < 100°C
characteristic features of geothermal areas: boiling mud pools, geysers,
volcanic vents with hot steam
http://energy.usgs.gov/OtherEnergy/Geothermal.aspx
 storage
Location area
Tmax
5 GW-h
⼤屯⼭ 40 km2
293°C
0.6 GW-h
清⽔ 6 km2
293°C
0.41 GW-h
廬⼭ 4 km2
173°C
0.25 GW-h
知本 2 km2
159°C
0.48 GW-h
⾦崙 4 km2
165°C
0.25 GW-h
⼟場 3 km2
175°C
• 宜蘭清⽔：地熱發電潛能60 MW，1976年中油鑽鑿，出⼝溫度60~95°C，發電量達3 MW (1976)，
1993年關廠。2018年重啟，⽬前 300 kW測試中。

• 知本：地熱發電潛能26 MW，1983年中油鑽鑿，出⼝溫度130°C，出⽔量400公噸，深度1460 m，
裝置容量30 kW (2018年)。

• ⾦崙：地熱發電潛能48 MW，太⼄電能與宏崙電能提出規劃，深度2000 m，總裝置容量1 MW。

• 綠島：研究型計畫，⼀⽣產井⼀回注井，採雙循環式發電系統。

• 宜蘭仁澤-⼟場：深度1500 m，井底溫度達180⾄200C，ORC初步裝置容量840 kW，⽬標發電量8

MW 。

• 臺北⼤屯⼭：四磺⼦坪（鑽井技術、法規限制、環評）

• 北投：⽬前ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle)測試中

History
• Medicinal, domestic, and leisure
applications: cooking, bathing,
washing, healing

• Larderello, Italy (1913): 250 kW power

plant → 700 MW → 1200 MW

• Wairakei field in New Zealand (1958):

175 MW power plant

• Geysers field in northern California

(1960): 11 MW power plant

• exploited by several companies

without co-operation
• no reinjection of extracted fluids
• 宜蘭清⽔ (1981): 3 MW power plant

• closed down in 1993: no reinjection leaded

to a decline in steam pressure and a
reduction in output capacity
• corrosive effects of brines damaged
pipelines, pumps, and heat exchangers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lu_s/
• ITRI (⼯研院) repaired the wells and
415312027/sizes/o/in/photostream/
estimated the capacity can reach 1.5 MW.

• Direct use

• district heating and agricultural purposes

• ground source heat pumps (GSHP)
• single dwelling
• extract heat at only 12-15°C from
depths of 100-150 m
• valuable when both cooling and heating
are required http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/
april-2012/rio-and-beyond-africa-seeks-
sustainable-solutions

• Characteristics of geothermal
resources

• an aquifer containing water that

can be accessed by drilling
• a cap rock to retain the geothermal
fluid
• a heat source

• What is an aquifer?

• porous rocks that can store water

and through which water can flow
• high porosity and high permeability
• Darcy’s Law
(k [m2] = permeability, K [m/s] =
hydraulic conductivity)
kA P KAh
Q= =
µl l
k⇥g kg
K= =
µ
 material (m/day) porosity (%) hydraulic conductivity
unconsolidated sediments
clay 黏⼟ 45-60 < 10-2
silt 40-50 10-2 - 1
sand, volcanic ash 30-40 1-500
gravel 礫⽯ 25-35 500-10,000
consolidated sedimentary rocks
mudrock 泥⾴岩 5-15 10-8 - 10-6
sandstone 砂岩 5-30 10-4 - 10
limestone ⽯灰岩 0.1-30 10-5 - 10
crystalline rocks
solidified lava 0.001-1 0.0003-3
granite 花崗岩 0.0001-1 0.003-0.03
slate 板岩 0.001-1 10-8 - 10-5
*Fractures permeability is often important in geothermal aquifers.

Heat Sources

• volcano-related heat sources and fluids

• Magmas form ‘intrusions’, coming to rest and crystallizing beneath the

surface at 1-5 km depth.
• Extinct volcanic areas can still be good geothermal sites because
magmatic intrusions take millions of years to cool to ambient conditions.
• typically 100-300°C, < 20 MPa
• depending on the main pressure controlling phase, high-enthalpy systems
are subdivided into:
• vapor dominated systems: 3-3.5 MPa at depths down to 2 km. ⇒ dry,
high-enthalpy⇒ most productive
• liquid dominated systems: 10 MPa at depths below 1 km (water may
‘flash’ into steam as it crosses the boiling point en route to the surface)
⇒ wet, develop a two-phase zone
• Heat source in sedimentary basins

• Stretching processes induce thinning the earth’s outer plate layer which
raise the heat flow mudrock
• Fourier Law
kT A T
Q̇ =
l
• kT of most rock is quite similar. For sandstones, limestones, and most
crystalline rocks, kT ~ 2.5-3.5 W/m∙°C
• However, kT of mudrocks is quite small (1-2 W/m∙°C) mudrock acts as
impermeable cap rocks and as an insulating blanket

• Geothermal waters

• often contains dissolved carbonates, sulphates or chlorides ‘brines’

• dissolved silica may clog pipelines
• dissolved gases

Heat Mining

• heat is being removed faster than it is replaced non-renewable on the scale

of human lifetimes

• declining temperatures in some producing steam fields

• The spacing of wells must be

designed to maintain high
pressures.

• Reinjection becomes common

practice nowadays. need to
avoid the advance of ‘cold
front’ toward production well

• Hot dry rock technique

Dry Steam Power Plant
• ideal for vapor-dominated resources

• reservoir produces superheated

steam at 180-225°C and 4-8 MPa

• ‘back-pressure’ unit: low-pressure

exhaust steam is vented directly to
the atmosphere very inefficient

• ‘condensing’ plant: condensing the

exhaust steam to liquid

• efficiency is strongly affected by the

presence of non-condensable gases
gas ejector

Flash Steam Power Plant

• Geothermal fluid reaching the
surface maybe steam (water
‘flashed’ during ascent) or hot
water at high pressure

• A separator can be installed to

protect the turbine.

• Because scale deposits may

rapidly build up as minerals
dissolved in fluid come out of
solution, well is often kept under
pressure to avoid flashing.

• Lower pressures and temperatures:

155-165°C and 0.5-0.6 MPa
Binary Cycle Power Plant
• Use a secondary working fluid with a
lower boiling point (pentane or
butane) Organic Rankine Cycle
(ORC) plant

• Advantages

• lower-temperature resources can

be developed
• surface loop is closed so no
emissions to the environment

• Disadvantages

• pressurized brines and the

secondary fluid can consume
30% of overall power output

• EGS (Enhanced or Engineered Geothermal

System): high sub-surface temperature, with
insufficient fluid volumes or low rock permeability

• Hot Dry Rock (HDR): impermeable rock

• require an artificial heat exchanger zone large

heat transfer surfaces needed
• enhancing the natural fracture system in
crystalline rocks hydro-fracturing consists of
pumping water down the borehole at increasing
pressure until fractures in the rock are opened.
• Water is circulated through the enhanced zone
so that heat can be extracted to generate
steam.
• Injection conditions in each hole should be
controlled to ensure water flows through the
system with minimal resistance.
• Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS): any
system in which reinjection is necessary to
maintain production at commercially useful level.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6r_3AgI49Y

• AGS (Advanced Geothermal System)

• Complex Energy Extraction

Geothermal (CEEG)

• The well is sealed with water

(served as thermal reservoir).
• The well is heated by geothermal
energy via conduction.
• Water is circulated through another
pipeline to extract thermal energy.
• Pros:
• No pollution nor corrosion.
• No seismicity induced.
• Cons:
• Heat exchange can be
ineffective inside the well.
• Heat is lost through axial
conduction.
• Restricted by area of heat
exchange (interior of the well).
• Closed-loop geothermal system

• requires substantially longer well bores to

increase the surface area for heat transfer
(high drilling costs)

• Eavor loop

• A demonstration facility was built in 2019 in

Alberta, Canada.

• A 8.2-MW commercial plant is constructed

near Geretsried, Germany.

• GreenLoop (GreenFire Energy)

• Downbore Heat Exchanger (DBHX)

Ground Source Heat Pumps

• At depth greater than 15-20 m, temperature

becomes independent of daily and seasonal solar
input. controlled by geothermal heat flow and
local groundwater flow

• If reversible heat pumps are used, same system

can provide cooling in summer.

• A well 100-150 m deep is able to offer few kW

borehole is cheap enough to be ideally suited to
domestic scale
 臺灣地溫梯度分布圖
http://sg-web.fishweb.com.tw/
zh-tw/Articles/C/
2/1/10/2/37.htm

台北市地溫分布圖
http://gis.tpgos.taipei.gov.tw/
tp98_6_demo/
• Locating and developing resources is
an important part of deploying
geothermal energy.

• We need maps to identify geothermal

resources, possible locations for
implementation of various geothermal
technologies, and potential
geothermal power generation sites.
Environmental Implications

• During drilling and testing

• noise: drilling, steam escaping

• disposal of drilling fluids

• During operation

• ground subsidence
• induced seismicity
• gaseous pollution: CO2, H2S,
SO2, H2, CH4, N2
examples of ground subsidence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidence

Reference

• Godfrey Boyle, 2012, Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future, 3rd ed.,
Oxford University Press. (2nd ed. available in library: TJ808 R42 2004)

• Geothermal Laboratory at Southern Methodist University, http://smu.edu/geothermal/

• http://www.geothermal.marin.org/GEOpresentation/

• USGS Energy Resources Program, http://energy.usgs.gov/OtherEnergy/

Geothermal.aspx

• http://www.mech.uq.edu.au/qgece/agegwiki/pmwiki.php?
n=Tutorial.PowerPlantTutorial

• http://www.google.org/egs/