Direct use geothermal energy utilization for ethanol production and commercial mushroom growing at Brady's Hot Springs, Nevada. Volume 1. Technical feasibility

A groundwater heat pump (GWHP) is one type of ground source heat pump (GSHP) and is a major form of earth energy utilization, which can realize the direct use of groundwater energy or the reuse of stored underground energy. The energy conservation effect of GWHP plays an important role in the national energy strategy, but the groundwater environment has been affected and even damaged to some extent because of over-exploitation and unreasonable utilization. This paper reviews the development and challenges of GWHP in China and surveys the situation of groundwater utilization, which shows that lack of cognitive ability, scientific constraints and reasonable utilization may bring catastrophic damage to the groundwater. A coming work should aim to more researching basic problems, such as thermal interaction, energy transport in the well field, groundwater contamination, etc. In fact, the characteristics of unsteady and transient heat transfer in the complex underground environment, and their control strategies have been being also the most pressing problem. Their explorations and studies will strengthen the theoretical and practical understanding, and guide an orderly, healthy and sustainable development of GWHP.

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Geothermal Energy - Utilization and Resource Characterization

Geothermal Heat Pump and Heat Engine Systems ◽

10.1002/9781118961957.part1 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 21-21

Keyword(s):

Geothermal Energy ◽

Energy Utilization

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Laboratory leaching tests to investigate mobilisation of metals within engineered geothermal reservoirs

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/20199808018 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 98 ◽

pp. 08018

Author(s):

Christopher Rochelle ◽

Andrew Kilpatrick ◽

Máté Osvald ◽

János Szanyi ◽

Tamás Medgyes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Geothermal Energy ◽

Laboratory Experiments ◽

Energy Utilization ◽

Leaching Tests ◽

Metal Release ◽

Geothermal Systems ◽

Organic Additives ◽

Sulphide Minerals ◽

Critical Elements ◽

Extraction Of Metals

Combining geothermal energy utilization with the extraction of metals in a single interlinked process offers a way to improve the economics of engineered geothermal systems. Here we describe laboratory experiments used to assess the effectiveness of a range of leaching fluids by quantifying metal release from various mineralised rocks. The main findings of this study include: enhanced mobilisation of metals typically found in sulphide minerals (Pb, Zn, Cu), lesser mobilisation of some critical elements (such as Co, Sr and W), and the efficacy of organic additives in mobilising metals.

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Research on a Coupled Total-Flow and Single-Flash (TF-SF) System for Power and Freshwater Generation from Geothermal Source

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10082689 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 2689 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Guopeng Yu ◽

Zhibin Yu

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Geothermal Energy ◽

Energy Utilization ◽

Condensation Process ◽

Total Flow ◽

Combined System ◽

Geothermal Resources ◽

Single Flash ◽

System Output ◽

Efficiency Effects

In response to the twin development challenges of energy shortage and water-scarcity in worldwide arid to semi-arid regions with geothermal resources, a new combined power and freshwater generation system is proposed for geothermal energy utilization. In this system, a total-flow turbine (TF) is employed to be coupled with the traditional single-flash (SF) system and thereafter the coupled TF-SF system is investigated in this work. In addition to power generation, the exhaust steam from turbines are recovered to produce freshwater through condensation. Based on the novel designed system, the production of both power and water are studied under variable wellhead conditions, including variable wellhead pressures, temperatures, mass flowrates, and vapor qualities. The temperature of the separating point at which the total-flow expansion ends and the steam expansion starts is studied for optimal system output. In addition, the efficiency effects of the total-flow turbine on performance of the combined system is also investigated. The power generation comparison shows good power potential of the proposed TF-SF combined system. An effective total-flow turbine with an average efficiency of 65% can lead to an optimal power capacity, exceeding the traditional single-flash (SF) system by 23.7%. Moreover, more than 1/3 of total wellhead discharge can be recovered as desalinated freshwater by the naturally equipped condensation process of the power plant, showing extra benefit from geothermal energy utilization.

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Potential and Future Prospects of Geothermal Energy in Space Conditioning of Buildings: India and Worldwide Review

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12208428 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (20) ◽

pp. 8428

Author(s):

Vivek Aggarwal ◽

Chandan Swaroop Meena ◽

Ashok Kumar ◽

Tabish Alam ◽

Anuj Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Geothermal Energy ◽

Action Plan ◽

Energy Utilization ◽

Future Prospects ◽

Heating And Cooling ◽

Ground Source ◽

Efficient Performance ◽

Occupant Comfort ◽

Generation Capacity ◽

Air Conditioning Systems

This paper presents modern trends in geothermal energy utilization, mainly focusing on ground source heat (GSH) pumps for space conditioning in buildings. This paper focuses on India along with a general review of studies around the world. Space conditioning of a building contributes to about 40–50% of the total energy consumed in buildings and has an adverse impact on the environment and human health. The India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) estimates that the demand for electricity for heating and cooling of buildings will increase by over 700% in India at current levels by 2047 with an additional 800 GW of power generation capacity needed just to meet heating and cooling needs by 2050, of which about 70% is required for the residential sector only. It further intensifies as the demand for peak electric load sharply increases in summer because of the extensive use of building air conditioning systems. Researchers across the globe have tried different cooling systems and found that some systems can offer a certain amount of energy-efficient performance, and also occupant comfort. Therefore, this article examines the geothermal potential in buildings for space conditioning by critically reviewing experimental and numerical studies along with the future prospects of GSH pumps.

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