1.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

1.1 Introduction of Geothermal Energy:

Historically, the first application of geothermal energy were for space heating , cooking and medical purposes . The earliest record of space heating dates back to 1300 in Iceland .In the early 1800s, geothermal energy was used on what was then a large scale by the conte Franceso de Laderel to recover boric acid . The first mechanical conversion was in 1897 when the steam of the field at Larderallo, Italy, was used to heat a boiler producing steam which drove a small steam engine. The first attempt to produce electricity also took place at Larderello in 1904 with an electricity generator that powered four light bulbs . This was followed in 1912 by a condensating turbine; and by 1914, 8.5 MW of electricity was being produced . By 1944 larderello was producing 127MW. The Plant was destroyed near end of World war 2, but was fortunately rebuilt and expanded evevtually reached 360 MW in 1981. In the U.S , the first attempt at developing the geysers field was made in 1922.Steam was successfully , taped , but the pipes and turbines of the time were unable to cope with the corrosive and abrasive steam . The effort was not revived until 1956, till that time stainless steel alloys were developed that could withstand the corrosive steam , and the first electric generating unit of 11MW capacity began operation in 1960.Since then 13 generally progressively larger units have been added to the system . After ward number of units were planned which brought the total capacity to about 1500MW by the late 1980. Other electric- generating fields of note are in New Zealand , japan, mexico, the phillipines, the soviet union and Ice land . In 1979, the global electricity 1872MW and units under construction were of 1650 MW Capacity . for space and process heat , total power utilization was 1281MW. So that total power production was about 4850MW. This power consumption is likely to grow up to 100000 MW by the turn of next century.

1.2 Production from geothermal Energy:

It has been analysed that about 40 to 50 % of total heat required by the society is a heat below 200 degree temperature. 30% heat is required about 150 degrees.. 20% heat is required at about 100 degrees. Thus there is a vast scope to use geothermal energy for low temperature applications . There is an ample scope to develop geothermal power in India, but still development in geothermal field is in initial stage . There are about 340 known areas in India , each represented by hot/warm spring . About 113 spring area, discovered so far where geothermal power is available . 46 of these systems are of high temperature type , which could be generate 1838 MW for a period of 30 years . 59 of these are intermediate temperature type( 90 to 150 degree of temp), which could be considered for power generation using binary vapour cycle and other are of low temperature type below 90 degrees of temperature. Till now only one pilot plant is in operation in puga valley ,in jammu and Kashmir , having 20 MW capacity . Another plant is at parvathi valley , Himachal Pradesh is under construction . A 7.5 tonne capacity capacity cold storage pilot plant based on geothermal energy was installed at Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh . A 5 KW pilot plant is under fabrication at the National Aeronautical Laboratory , Bangalore. This plant will run on geothermal energy which will be recovered from the hot spring s at Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh . Plans are being made to under take further research and development studies in the area of geothermal energy .exploitation of this energy source for non power sectors like poultry farming ,mushroom cultivation ,space eating is possible in this country on fairly large scale. It can been seen that while geothermal energy is not the sought after soul and long range solution to our energy problems, it nevertheless represents a not insignificant factor if its resource are developed ion a careful and efficient manner. Geothermal energy is also the one of the renewable energy sources, which are defined as those resource that draw on the natural energy floors of the earth (another term THE ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES is also common in use). Renewable energy sources are so named because they recur , are seemingly inexhaustible, and are free for the taking . geothermal energy as practically no intermittency, has the highest energy density,& is

economically not far removed from the conventional technologies .geothermal energy classified as renewable because the earths interior is and will continue in the process of cooling for indefinite future .

1.3 Definition:
The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme ( heat). So, geothermal energy is heat from within the earth. We can use the steam and hot water produced inside the earth to heat buildings or generate electricity. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source because the water is replenished by rainfall and the heat is continuously produced in the earth.

1.4 Energy Inside the Earth:

Geothermal energy is generated in the earth''''s core, about 4,000 miles below the surface. Temperatures hotter than the sun''''s surface are continuously produced inside the earth by the slow decay of radioactive particles, a process that happens in all rocks. The earth has a number of different layers.The core itself has two layers: a solid iron core and an outer core made of very hot melted rock, called magma. The mantle which surrounds the core and is about 1,800 miles thick. It is made up of magma and rock. The crust is the outermost layer of the earth, the land that forms the continents and ocean floors. It can be three to five miles thick under the oceans and 15 to 35 miles thick on the continents. 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. People around the world use geothermal energy to heat their homes and to produce electricity by digging deep wells and pumping the heated underground water or steam to the surface. Or, we can make use of the stable temperatures near the surface of the earth to heat and cool buildings.

2. HOW DOES GEOTHERMAL ENERGY WORK

The heat from the earth's core continuously flows outward. It transfers (conducts) to the surrounding layer of rock, the mantle. When temperatures and pressures become high enough, some mantle rock melts, becoming magma. Then, because it is lighter (less dense) than the surrounding rock, the magma rises (convects), moving slowly up toward the earth's crust, carrying the heat from below. Sometimes the hot magma reaches all the way to the surface, where we know it as lava. But most often the magma remains below the earth's crust, heating nearby rock and water (rainwater that has seeped deep into the earth) - sometimes as hot as 370 degrees C. Some of this hot geothermal water travels back up through faults and cracks and reaches the earth's surface as hot springs or geysers, but most of it stays deep underground, trapped in cracks and porous rock. This natural collection of hot water is called a geothermal reservoir. Tapping geothermal resources requires drilling into permeable zones of super-heated water trapped in geothermal reservoirs. Once tapped, these underground reservoirs can provide geothermal plants with water or steam hot enough to generate electricity.

2.1 Nature of Geothermal Field:

It is convenient to classify earths surface into three broad groups. 1. Non- thermal areas having a temperature gradient of 10-40 temp degree per km depth. 2. Semi-thermal areas having a temperature gradient of 70 degree of temperature per km depth 3. Hyper-thermal areas where the temperature gradients are many times greater than in nonthermal areas. 2.1.1 Geothermal fields may further be classified into three types: 1. Wet fields. Where the water is pressurized And temperatures are above 100 degree of temperature. When they are led to the surface a fraction will be splashed into steam and a major part remains as the boiling water.

2. Dry fields. They produce dry saturated steam or superheated steam at pressure above atmospheric . 3. Semi-thermal fields:- These are capable of producing hot water at temperature above 100 degree of temperature.

2.2 Resources:
General kinds of geothermal resources have been identified as:1. Hydrothermal convective systems. a) Vapour- Dominated or Dry steam fields. b) Liquid - Dominated or wet steam fields. c) Hot - water fields. 2. Geo pressure resources 3. Hot dry rocks (HDR)

4. Magma resources 5. Volcanoes.

2.3 Binary cycle geothermal plant:

One of two types of geothermal power plant, the other being the steam plant. Binary cycle power plants are used with hot water that is at a lower temperature(100300F) than that which supplies steam plants. Such lower temperature resources are much more common. The hot water is passed through a heat exchanger in conjunction with a secondary (hence, "binary plant") fluid with a lower boiling point (usually a hydrocarbon such as isobutane or isopentane). The secondary fluid vaporizes, which turns the turbines, which drive the generators. The remaining secondary fluid is simply recycled through the heat exchanger. The geothermal fluid is condensed and returned to the reservoir Binary power plants - transfer the heat from geothermal hot water to another liquid. The heat causes the second liquid to turn to steam which is used to drive a generator turbine. This type of plant uses high temperature geothermal water to heat another fluid which has a lower boiling point than water. The secondary fluid, (usually isobutene or isopentane), is heated by the geothermal fluid through a heat exchanger and flashes of to a vapour. (Thus the plant type binary, meaning two, in this case referring to the two cycles). This vapour is used to drive a turbine, similar to a steam turbine and condensed back to a fluid before returning to the heat exchanger to start the cycle again. Because the geothermal fluid passes from the production well, through the heat exchanger and back down the well in a continuous circut this is a closed loop system. Therefore in this type of plant there is no escape of noxious gasses nor is there any gas scrubbing required.

2.4 Hybrid Geothermal Power Plant:

Geothermal-preheat Hybrid system in which the feed water of a conventional fossil- fueled steam plant is heated by low temperature geothermal energy. Geothermal heat replaces some or all, of the feed water heaters, depending on its temperature. A cycle operating on the principle is illustrated systematically .In it ,geothermal heat heats the feed water throughout the low temperature end prior to an open-type dearating heater .It is followed by a boiler feed pump and three closed type feed water heaters with drains cascaded backward. These

receive heat from steam bled from higher pressure a stage of turbine .No steam is bled from the lower pressure stages because geothermal brine fulfills these functions.

2.5 Vapour Dominated geothermal Power Plant or Dry steam power plant:
The first geothermal power plant was built in 1904 in Tuscany, Italy at a place where natural steam was erupting from the earth. This was the original, and the least common type of geothermal power plant, utilising the dry steam straight from the production well, from the geothermal reservoir. The high pressure dry steam passes up the production well and through a rock catcher; a series of mesh filters which catch any rocks, stones or other debris, which would damage the turbine blades. The steam then passes through power plant. Dry steam plants use steam piped directly from a geothermal reservoir to turn the generator turbines a steam turbine that drives an electrical generator, which produces electricity for the grid. The steam exits the turbine stage of the turbine and into the turbine condenser, that is under a vacuum and from the condensate is pumped through a series of scrubbing towers that remove the gases which are non-condensable. From here it is pumped on to the water cooling towers, where the condensate is cooled and any remaining incondensable gasses are recirculated to the scrubbers before being re-injected with the cooled condensate down the injection well back into the geothermal reservoir.

2.6 Liquid Dominated Geothermal Power Plant:

Flash steam plants - take high-pressure hot water from deep inside the earth and convert it to steam to drive the generator turbines. When the steam cools, it condenses to water and is injected back into the ground to be used over and over again. Most geothermal power plants are flash plants. This type of plant injects water and condensate into the geothermal reservoir through the injection well and forces water at a high temperature (360F) up through the production well. From the production well it is pumped through a series of pressure vessels which are at a lower internal pressure than the hot geothermal fluid, causing it to flash off into low, medium and high pressure steam. The steam then passes through the steam turbine condensing and being cooled as in a dry steam plant, returning to the geothermal reservoir along with the non-condensable gasses through the injection well.

2.7 Geo pressured System:

These resources occur in large, deep sedimentary basins. The reservoirs contain moderately high temperature water under very pressure. They are of special interest because substantial amounts of methane CH4 are dissolved in pressurized water and are released when the pressure is reduced. Geo pressured water is tapped in much deeper underground acquifers , at depths between about 2400 to 9000 m. This water is thought to be at the relatively low temperature of about 160 degree of temperature and is under very high pressure , from the overlying formation above , of about 1050 kg/cm^2. It has a relatively high salinity of 4 to 105 and is often referred to as brine . The geo pressured resources are quite larger :they could be used for the generation of electric power and the recovery of natural gas if suitable technology could be developed and if individual reservoir productivity and longevity prove to be adequate .

2.8 Magma resources:

These consist of partially or completely molten rock, with temperatures in excess of 650 degree temperature, which may be encountered at moderate depths, especially in recently active volcanic regions. These resources have a larger geothermal energy content , but they are restricted to a relatively few location s. Furthermore , the very high temperatures will make extraction of energy a difficult technological problem.

2.9 Hot Dry Rock Resources:

These are very hot solid rocks occurring at moderate depths but to which does not have access , either because of the absence of ground water or the low permeability of rock ( or Both).In order to utilize this resources . means must be found for The known temperature of HDR Very between 150 to 290 degree of temperature . This energy , called petro thermal energy , represents by far the largest resources of geothermal energy of any type, as it accounts for large % of geothermal resources . Much of the HDR occurs at moderate depths , but it is largely impermeable a stated above in order to extract thermal energy out of it , water will have to be pumped into it and back out to surface . It is necessary for the heat transport mechanism that a way be found to render the impermeable rock into a permeable structure with a large heat transfer surface . It is necessary for heat rock into a permeable structure with a larger heat transfer surface . A larger surface is particularly necessary because of low thermal conductivity of the rock and then fracturing by 1) high pressure water or 2) nuclear explosives . Efforts in this direction are in progress .

2.10 Material selection for Geothermal Power Plants:

Most geothermal waters contain dissolved solids . The total amount of dissolved solids is typically in the range of 300-1500ppm,(part per million), of which silica amount to 2550%. The dominant ions are sodium, chloride, and sulphate. In some areas as saline geothermal waters occurs resulting from sea water perculating , into the bedrock and mixing with fresh water

of the meteoric origin in various poritions. Where sea water does not enter geothermal systems ,variations in the thermal-fluids composition can be related to reservoior temperature and be correlated with mineral solubilities and ion-exchange equilibria with hydrothermal minerals. Geothermal water also contains some dissolved gases such as CO2 , Hydrogen sulfide, and to a lesser extent, hydrogen and ammonia. Initially , when geothermal power plants were built , the same materials were used as for conventional steam power plants and experienced was obtained through failures. The general principal is that the better the alloy in regard to high strength properties , the worse it behaves . a good ideal could be deducted from careful inspection of parts, such as casting and valves after exposure for some time to geothermal fluids. Experience showed severe cutting of valve seats and faces where leakages of wet steam took place . Many valves adequate in other industries were found to be incapable of making a tight seal or closing against the flow under pressure . Stellating of the faces was the remedy and use of stainless steel trim seemed to remedy the problem . It was found to stand up to hydrogen sulfide as long as it was not in hardened state. Stellating of the blades has also been found necessary because of the wetness of the steam . So far only limited number of manufacturers produce geothermal turbines. To summarize, materials which have been found, through experience and testing, to perform well in various geothermal environments throughout the world and which are least corrosive in nature are:1. carbon steel , to be used for dry and wet steam transmission pipes and separators. 2. Stainless steel for nozzles and diaphragms , 12-13% chrome stainless steel for rotors. 3. Austenitic stainless steel for most metal components in the condensate cooling system. a. Aluminum or stainless steel for most structures in atmospheric exposures. b. Platinum or gold rhodium platings for surfaces of electrical contacts and tin platings of all insulated copper. c. Redwood and Douglas fir for cooling tower fill, polyvinyl chloride also preferred.

3. GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMP

While temperatures above ground change a lot from day to day and season to season, 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.

3.1 Types of Geothermal Heat Pump Systems:

There are four basic types of ground loop systems. Three of thesehorizontal, vertical, and pond/lakeare closed-loop systems. The fourth type of system is the open-loop option. Which one of these is best depends on the climate, soil conditions, available land, and local installation costs at the site. All of these approaches can be used for residential and commercial building applications.

3.2 Closed-Loop Systems:

3.2.1 Horizontal: This type of installation is generally most cost-effective for residential installations, particularly for new construction where sufficient land is available. It requires trenches at least four feet deep. The most common layouts either use two pipes, one buried at six feet, and the other at four feet, or two pipes placed side- by-side at five feet in the ground in a two-foot wide trench. The Slinky method of looping pipe allows more pipe in a shorter trench, which cuts down on installation costs and makes horizontal installation possible in areas it would not be with conventional horizontal applications

3.2.2 Vertical: Large commercial buildings and schools often use vertical systems because the land area required for horizontal loops would be prohibitive. Vertical loops are also used where the soil is too shallow for trenching, and they minimize the disturbance to existing landscaping. For a vertical system, holes (approximately four inches in diameter) are drilled about 20 feet apart and 100400 feet deep. Into these holes go two pipes that are connected at the bottom with a U-bend to form a loop. The vertical loops are connected with horizontal pipe (i.e., manifold), placed in trenches, and connected to the heat pump in the building.

3.3 Advantages & Disadvantage of Geothermal Energy over other Energy forms:

3.3.1 Advantages: This energy form posses distint advantages over conventional and new energy sources: 1. Geothermal energy is a versatile the convenctional new energy sources:in its use. 2. It is the cheaper, compared to the energies obtained from other sources both zero fuels and fossil fuels. 3. Geothermal energy delivers greater amount of the net energy from its system then other alternative or conventional systems. 4. Geothermal power plants having the the highest annual load factors of 85% to 90% compared to 45% to 50% for fossil fuels plants. 5. Geothermal energy is the least polluting compared to the other conventional energy sources 6. The greatest attraction of geothermal energy is its amenability for muttipleuses from a single resource. 7. Geothermal energy is an renewable resources that has practical ly no intermittency , has the highest energy density ,and is economically not far removed from conventional technologies , Geothermal energy is classified as renewable because the earths interior is almost as inexhaustible as solar or wind energy ,so long as its as sources are actively sought and economically tapped . 3.3.2 Disadvantages: 1. Overall efficiency for power production is low , about 15% , compared to 35-40% for fossil fuel plants . 2. The withdrawal of large amounts of steam or water from a hydrothermal reserviour may results in surface subsidence.

3. The steam and hot water gushing out of the earth may contain H2S, CO2,NH3 and radon gas etc. If these gases are vented into the air , air pollution will be a real hazard . These gases are to be removed by chemical action ,before they are discharged . 4. Drilling operation is noisy.

3.4 Applications of geothermal energy:

There are 3 main applications of the steam and hot water from the wet geothermal reserviours:1. Generation of electric power. 2. Industrial process heat and 3. Space heating for various kinds of buildings. One of the greatset benefits of geothermal energy is its varied application and versatility .Though electric power generation has been demonstrated and has taken a place of pride , still there are many other important b applications. The following is indicative of the industriers that would from low grade heat between 200-250 degree of temp.The list does not include power generation , space heating, farming and balnealogy.

3.5 Application of Geothermal energy at Different Temperatures:

180- Evapouration of highly concentrated solution Refrigeration by ammonia absorption 170- Heavy water viz. Hydrogen sulphide process 160-Drying of fishmeal, drying of timber 150- Alumina via Bayers process 140-Drying farm products at high rates canning of food 130- Evaopouration in sugar refining

120- Most multi effect evapouration concentration of saline solution . 110-Drying and curing of light aggregate cement slabs 100- Drying of organic matrerials, seaweeds,grass,vegitablesetc 90- Drying of stock fish 80- Space heating 70- Refrigiration

The high grade is generally more versatile in applications including power generation. when ever low grade heat is more suited to heating purpouses and certain process industries . The non- electrical application of geothermal energy is an important part of the geothermal energy consumption . The total installed capacity of the geothermal power is only few MW compared to the non-electrical consumption . The non-electrical uses of geothermal energy is about 50% of that exploited for the better know electrical use As already mentioned that the electrical conservation efficiency is of the order of 10 to 12 %.

3.6 Low enthalphy geothermal fluids are used in the following sectors:
1)Balneology 2)Agriculture 3) Aquaculture 4)Climate control 5)Industrial applications.

3.7 Space Heating:

Geothermal energy for space heating is of great importance in some countries in Iceland, for instance where about 50% of the population enjoys such heating for its homes. The geothermal fluids for such applications usually come from geothermal reserviours at temp range from 65 to as high asw 150 degree of temp. Thermal fluids within the temperature range occur at economically acceptable depths in many part of this form of energy is possible.

3.8 Agricultural and Related Application:

Geothermal energy for heating green houses is important in a number of countries. since the temperature of the heat source will vary greatly from one location to next , as well as variations in heating requirements , the surface area of the radiator system must be carefully tailored to local conditions. Heating fluids temperatures well above 100 degree of temp are rarely practical. Small green houses may take advantages of heat in the effluent from ordinary space heating systems. The most important crops of heated green houses of this type included flowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and seedlings of many varieties. Animal husbandry , fish farming, and hatching stations also frequently take advantages of available geothermal hot water.

3.10 Process Heating:

Since geothermal energy resources exit in many countries, it is of interest to point out some common factors which affects the viability of exploration. Since the application for heating in cold climate and the generation of electric power are obvious uses and are receiving considerable attention, it may be well to concentrate on the possibilities for process heating uses in any climate.

4. GEOTHERMAL IN THE FUTURE

The opportunities for geothermal power to play a much larger role in overall energy production in the future require technical innovation, reduced startup costs, public education, and a level economic and regulatory playing field with other energy technologies. North American output could rise to 11,700 MW with existing technology and 25,390 MW with enhanced technology under development by joint government-industry programs. Most of the easily located geothermal systems, those with hot springs, fumaroles, and geysers at the surface, are already known and many have been developed. In order to locate and characterize hidden geothermal systems that do not reach the surface, new approaches to exploration are needed. The high economic risk of drilling has limited geothermal exploration in recent years. Significant growth in geothermal generating capacity during the next decade will rely on the discovery and production of several new water-dominated geo-thermal fields as well as drilling techniques for reaching them. Researchers believe that the economic risk of exploratory drilling will be reduced through the development of new core hole evaluation technologies. Core drilling provides a set of rock samples and fine temperature-gradient information. It will be necessary to develop the methodology and equipment to conduct reservoir testing and evaluation during core drilling in order to take full advantage of the lower cost of core drilling. Steam and hot water reservoirs are just a small part of the geothermal resource. The Earth's magma and hot dry rock will provide cheap, clean, and almost unlimited energy once technology can tap into them. One future promising new geothermal technology known as Hot Dry Rock (HDR) geothermal is designed to be able to tap into much deeper geothermal resources than current technologies permit, thus allowing geothermal energy to be used for low cost, renewable electricity generation anywhere in the world. The economics of geothermal power can be further improved through coproduction of goods and services from high-temperature geothermal brine. Examples of this include zinc and silica, which can be recovered from geothermal brine in conjunction with electrical generation stations. Large quantities of distilled water, which is currently costly to produce, is also a convenient byproduct of the generation of geothermal power.

CONCLUSION
Hot, dry rock (HDR) is widespread and offers new resources in areas where geyser activity is un known .Direct low-temperature heat transfer for home systems is practical as long as low maintenance is designed into the system .Geothermal energy is limited in extent as extracting the heat usually exceeds the replenishment rate. Sources of high temperature water or steam are limited and the cost of extraction, maintenance, and operation will remain high in comparison with other sources of energy. Geothermal energy likely to remain at 1% of world energy [Kruger, 1973].

REFERENCE

Energy Sources By G.D.RAI. Turcotte, D. L.; Schubert, G. (2002), "4", Geodynamics (2 ed.), Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 136137, ISBN 978-0-521-66624-4 Nemzer, J. "Geothermal heating and cooling". Fridleifsson, Ingvar B.; Bertani, Ruggero; Huenges, Ernst; Lund, John W.; Ragnarsson, Arni; Rybach, Ladislaus (2008-02-11), O. Hohmeyer and T. Trittin, ed., The possible role and contribution of geothermal energy to the mitigation of climate change, Luebeck, Germany, pp. 5980, retrieved 2009-04-06 William E. Glassley. Geothermal Energy: Renewable Energy and the Environment CRC Press, 2010. Cataldi, Raffaele (August 1993), "Review of historiographic aspects of geothermal energy in the Mediterranean and Mesoamerican areas prior to the Modern Age", GeoHeat Centre Quarterly Bulletin (Klamath Falls, Oregon: Oregon Institute of Technology) 18 (1): 1316, retrieved 2009-11-01

Lund, John W. (June 2007), "Characteristics, Development and utilization of geothermal resources", Geo-Heat Centre Quarterly Bulletin (Klamath Falls, Oregon: Oregon Institute of Technology) 28 (2): 19, retrieved 2009-04-16