Geothermal Energy: An Alternative Resource for the 21st Century

293 Pages·2006·3.89 MB·English

by  Harsh K. Gupta

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY:
AN ALTERNATIVE RESOURCE
FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
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GEOTHERMAL ENERGY:
AN ALTERNATIVE RESOURCE
FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
HARSH GUPTA
RajaRamannaFellow
NationalGeophysicalResearchInstitute
Hyderabad,India
SUKANTA ROY
NationalGeophysicalResearchInstitute
Hyderabad,India
Amsterdam (cid:1) Boston (cid:1) Heidelberg (cid:1) London (cid:1) New York (cid:1) Oxford (cid:1) Paris
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PREFACE
Hot springs have been used for balneological purposes from times immemorial.
However, the use of Earth’s heat as a source of energy began in the early 20th
century when electricity was produced for the first time from geothermal steam at
Larderello, Italy in 1904. With the passage of time, the global population has in-
creased from 2.59 billion in 1951 to 6.3 billion in 2003, and the global energy con-
sumption has increased from 2,710 million metric tons of coal equivalent to 15,178
million metric tons of coal equivalent during the same time. Alternative sources of
energy aregainingimportance andgeothermalenergy isoneofthem. Beingamuch
cleaner source of energy, it deserves a special attention. Today, more than 20 coun-
tries generate electricity from geothermal resources and about 60 countries make
direct use of geothermal energy. For several small countries, such as Iceland, Phil-
ippines, etc., geothermal energy constitutes a significant percentage of total electric-
ity production. As of now, globally, the installed capacity is over 8,000 MW , and
e
indirect use of geothermal energy amounts to over 15,000 MW. Considering that
t
during 1971 total global geothermal electricity production was only 700 MW , the
e
growth has been spectacular. A 10-fold increase in geothermal energy use is fore-
seeable at the current technology level.
Geothermal Energy: An Alternative Resource for the 21st Century provides a
readableandcoherentaccountofallfacetsofgeothermalenergydevelopment.This
is an updated version of Geothermal Resources: An Energy Alternative published by
theElsevierin1980(Gupta,1980).Thefirstchapterdealswiththeever-growingneed
of energy due to increase in global population and the increase in per capita con-
sumptionofenergy.Newmethodsofpowergenerationarebrieflycommentedupon,
andtherolethatgeothermalenergyisplayingandthefuturescenariosarepresented.
ThesecondchapterdealswithEarth’sstructure,temperatureandheatflow,andthe
plate tectonics hypothesis. All geothermal fields and prospects are located in the
vicinityoftheplateboundaries.Thebasicconceptsofheattransferandquantitative
relations for the heat flow for some geometrically simple bodies are provided in the
third chapter. The fourth chapter deals with classification of different kinds of geo-
thermal systems. A suite of exploration techniques, viz. geological, geochemical,
geophysical,airbornesurveysaredealtwithinsomedetailinthefifthchapter.How
tomakeuseofthecurrentlyavailableexplorationtechniquesinaprospectarea,and
how to develop an exploration approach are also commented upon in this chapter.
In the sixth chapter, assessment and exploitation of geothermal resources including
drilling, reservoir physics andengineering and production technologyare discussed.
TheCerroPrietogeothermalfieldinMexico,withaninstalledcapacityof720MW ,
e
is among the three largest producing geothermal fields in the world. A detailed case
studyofthisfieldispresentedintheseventhchapter.Theeighthchapterprovidesthe
worldwide status of the geothermal resource utilization as of now. A very new and
advanced topic of using enormous amount of thermal energy stored in the tropical
oceans for generation of electricity and potable water is discussed in the ninth
chapter. An up to-date bibliography is provided at the end.
viii Preface
Importantconcepts and current technology developments have been dealt in this
bookforgraduatestudents,scientists,engineersorinvestors seekingcurrent knowl-
edge. Geothermal energy development draws experts from diverse traditional dis-
ciplines such as geology, geophysics, engineering, investors, etc. These experts are
usually abreast in their own disciplines, but to be able to converse with those with
different background, a basic knowledge of other disciplines is required. This book
meets this urgent requirement.
The material presented in this book is based on extensive laboratory and field
investigations carried out by the authors. Visits to producing geothermal fields and
interactions with a large number of specialists have been very useful. They are too
manytolist.Thefirstauthorwasdirectlyinvolvedwiththedevelopmentofprojects
dealing with the extraction of heat energy stored in tropical waters of the Indian
Ocean. A special acknowledgement is due to Drs. M. Ravindran, S. Kathiroli,
Purnima Jalihal and Robert Singh of the National Institute of Ocean Technology,
Chennai,India.AspecialmentionmustbemadeofProfessorF.Rummel,Professor
S.K. Singh and Professor D. Chandrasekharam who readily provided material re-
quested for. In the preparation of this text, P. Radhakrishnan provided immense
help. Others who helped include M/s M. Jayarama Rao, Sharad Kumar Tank,
O. Prasad Rao, G. Ramachander, M. Kranthi Kumar, V. Rajasekhar, P. Sundar
Rao, G.S. Vara Prasad and M. Uma Anuradha. Harsh Gupta would like to ac-
knowledge Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India for providing the
Raja Ramanna Fellowship. We thank Dr. V.P. Dimri, Director, National Geo-
physical Research Institute, Hyderabad for providing facilities.
WearethankfultoMr.FrisoVeenstraofElsevierforurgingustowritethisbook
and to Linda Versteeg, Joyce Happee and others at Elsevier and Macmillan India
Production team for excellent coordination during the production of this book and
the good quality of production.
We would like to thank our wives Manju Gupta and Rakhee Roy and our chil-
drenforsupport.SukantaRoyisextremelygratefultohisparents,SachiKantaRoy
and Dipali Roy, for their encouragement.
Hyderabad, India Harsh Gupta
May, 2006 Sukanta Roy
CONTENTS
Preface vii
Chapter 1. The Energy Outlook 1
Introduction 1
New Methods for Recovery, Power Generation and Distribution 6
Increased Utilization of the Renewable Energy Sources 7
Development and Utilization of Other Energy Sources and 9
Techniques
Geothermal Energy—An Alternative 11
Chapter 2. Basic Concepts 15
Introduction 15
Earth’s Structure 15
Thermal Structure of the Earth 19
Heat Flow and Temperature Distribution within the Lithosphere 20
Sources for Heat Flow 24
Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics 25
Chapter 3. Heat Transfer 31
Introduction 31
Temperature, Heat and Its Storage 31
Heat Conduction 34
Fourier’s Equation of Heat Conduction 35
Differential Equation of Heat Conduction 36
Heat Convection 38
Heat Radiation 40
Temperature Estimates in Some Simple Geological Situations 43
Chapter 4. Geothermal Systems and Resources 49
Introduction 49
Types of Geothermal Systems 50
Vapor-Dominated Geothermal Fields 50
Hot Water Geothermal Systems 53
Geopressured Geothermal Resources 55
Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Systems 57
Magma 59
Chapter 5. Exploration Techniques 61
Geological and Hydrological Considerations 61
General Background 61
Geothermal Resources Associated with Igneous Intrusions in the 62
Upper Crust
Geothermal Regimes not Related to Young Intrusions 65
Choosing a Prospect Area 66