Geothermal Energy Dong Kim Chemical Engineering Energy Technology and Policy

What is Geothermal Energy?  Utilize temperature of the earth’s core.  Direct use: District Heating System  Electricity generation  Heat pumps

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

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.

Electricity Generation  Dry Steam Power Plant: Uses the superheated, pressurized steam (180°- 350°C)

Electricity Generation  Flash Steam Power Plant: use hot water above 182°C (360°F) from geothermal reservoirs.

Electricity Generation  Binary Cycle Power Plant: Insufficiently hot resource to efficiently produce steam Too many chemical impurities to allow flashing.

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.

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.

References  1: th/insideearth.jpghttp:// th/insideearth.jpg  2:  3: heating-pipeline.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image: district- heating-pipeline.jpg  4:  5:  geothermal.html geothermal.html  6: USGeo