MEKELLE UNIVERSITY

EIT-M
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Sustainable energy technology
Prepared by Stream ID
 Monaliza birhane Process 95592/08
 Betelhem Girma Process 96948/08
 Eyerusalem Gebre Process 96933/08
 Sndu Mesele Process 96962/08
 Birhane Gidey Process 96662/08
 Shewit Mamo Biochemical 97367/08

Submitted to- Ins. Mebrahtom

Submission date- 1-24-2020

Flash steam geothermal energy technology

Like all conventional thermal power plants, a geothermal plant uses a heat source to expand a
liquid to vapor/steam. This high pressure vapor/steam is used to mechanically turn turbine
generator.
At a geothermal plant, fuel is geothermal water heated naturally in the earth, so no burning of
fuel is required. Geothermal power is generated by using steam or a secondary hydrocarbon
vapor to turn a turbine-generator set to produce electrons. A vapor dominated (dry steam)
resource can be used directly, whereas a hot water resource needs to be flashed by reducing the
pressure to produce steam. In absence of natural steam reservoirs, steam can be also generated in
hot dry rock (HDR) or enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) engineered in the subsurface. In the
case of low temperature resource, generally below 150⁰C, the use of a secondary low boiling
point fluid (hydrocarbon) is required to generate the vapor, in a binary or organic Rankin cycle
plant because initially it involved organic compounds, such as toluol (C₇H₈), pentane (C₅H₁₂),
propane (C₃H₈) or halogenated hydrocarbons. More recently, the so-called Kalina Cycle
technology improves the efficiency of this process further by evaporating a mixture of water and
ammonia (NH3) over a finite temperature range rather than a pure fluid at a definite boiling
point.
Flash Steam Power Plants also referred as liquid dominated power plant, which are the most
common, use water with temperatures greater than 182⁰C. This very hot water is pumped under
high pressure to equipment on the surface, where the pressure is suddenly dropped, allowing
some of the hot water to “flash” into steam.
The steam is then used to power the turbine/generator. The remaining hot water and condensed
steam are injected back into the reservoir. Flash plants vary in size depending on whether they
are single (0.2-80 MW), double(2-110 MW) or triple-flash (60- 150 MW) plants.
A single flash condensing cycle is the most common energy conversion system for utilizing
geothermal fluid due to its simple construction and to the resultant low possibility of silica
precipitation. A double flash cycle can produce 15-25% more power output than a single flash
condensing cycle for the same geothermal fluid conditions.
As the hot water moves from deeper in the earth to shallower levels, it quickly loses pressure,
boils and “flashes” to steam. The steam is separated from the liquid in a surface vessel (steam

1|Page
 Flash steam geothermal energy technology 2020

separator) and is used to turn the turbine, and the turbine powers a generator. Flash power plants
typically require resource temperatures in the range of 177⁰C to 260⁰C.
In two-phase high-temperature fields, geothermal fluid from a reservoir reaches the surface as a
mixture of steam and brine due to boiling of the fluid. The steam is then separated from the
brine, either by a cyclone effect in a vertical separator or by gravity in a horizontal separator. The
dry steam is directed to a turbine which is connected to a generator to generate electricity while
the separated brine is piped back into the reservoir through reinjection wells. According to the
type of turbine (exhaust condition of the turbine), this system can be divided into two types.
In a single flash steam plant, the two phase flow from the well is directed to a steam separator;
where, the steam is separated from the water phase and directed to the inlet to the turbine. The
water phase is either used for heat input to a binary system in a direct-use application, or injected
directly back into the reservoir. Steam exiting the turbine is directed to a condenser operating at
vacuum pressure. Low vacuum pressure in the condenser is maintained in order to increase the
enthalpy difference in the turbine as well as to increase the power output of the plant. Non
condensable gasses, associated with steam which is accumulated in the condenser, potentially
increase the condenser pressure and must, therefore, be pumped out of the condenser. Vacuum
pumps, steam jet ejectors or compressors are installed for that purpose. In this model, the gasses
are assumed to be extracted from a condenser by using a compressor.

Figure 1: Simplified schematic diagram of a single flash condensing system

In direct contact condensers, cooling water from a cooling tower is typically sprayed at the top of
the condenser, condensing the steam back into liquid form. The mixture of condensate and

2|Page
 Flash steam geothermal energy technology 2020

cooling water is then pumped to the top of the cooling tower for heat rejection to the
environment.
The steam is usually condensed either in a direct contact condenser, or a heat exchanger type
condenser. In a direct contact condenser the cooling water from the cooling tower is sprayed onto
and mixes with the steam. The condensed steam then forms part of the cooling water circuit, and
a substantial portion is subsequently evaporated and is dispersed into the atmosphere through the
cooling tower. Excess cooling water called blow down is often disposed of in shallow injection
wells. As an alternative to direct contact condensers shell and tube type condensers are
sometimes used. In this type of plant, the condensed steam does not come into contact with the
cooling water, and is disposed of in injection wells.
Depending on the steam characteristics, gas content, pressures, and power plant design, between
6000 kg and 9000 kg of steam each hour is required to produce each MW of electrical power.
Historically, flash has been employed where resource temperatures are in excess of
approximately 150⁰C; however, new studies are showing that flash technology could be
employed at temperatures as low as 120⁰C or less, and at a cost significantly lower than that of a
similarly sized binary plant.
Another type of single flash system is the Single flash back pressure system. The term “back
pressure” is used because the exhaust pressure of the turbine is much higher than the condensing
system.
Some other popular types of flash steam power plant include double flash system and triple
expansion system. The double flash system uses a two stage separation of geothermal fluid and
the triple-expansion system is a variation on the conventional double-flash system, with the
addition of a “topping” dense-fluid and back-pressure turbine.
Methods to utilize the various types’ of geothermal energy technologies depend largely on local
heat distributions. The factors that most influence the applications of geothermal energies are
accessibility, water or steam temperatures, and geothermal reservoir permeability and porosity.
Applications can be broadly divided into three categories: power generation, direct heating, and
ground source heating and cooling.
Power production is a “high enthalpy” geothermal application which involves extracting heat
from subsurface area. The United States currently generates more electricity from geothermal
sources than any other country. Geothermal power generation requires heat flow temperatures
3|Page
 Flash steam geothermal energy technology 2020

ranging from 212 °F to 482 °F. For flash steam require resource temperatures ranges from 300-
700 °F.
Unlike intermittent power sources like solar and wind, geothermal energy is a reliable and
consistent source of energy with an average system availability of 95 percent.
Some advantages of flash steam power plant include:
 Environmentally friendly – There are a few polluting aspects to harnessing geothermal
energy, and the carbon footprint of a geothermal power plant is seen as minimal.
 A renewable resource – Geothermal reservoirs are naturally replenished. According to
some scientists, the energy in our geothermal reservoirs will last billions of years. While
fossil fuels have an expiry date, renewable sources like geothermal energy is not going to
expire anytime soon.
 Potential capacity – Estimates for the potential of flash geothermal power plants vary
between 0.035 to 2 TW.
 A stable resource – The power output of a flash geothermal plant can be accurately
predicted. Not subject to the same low-energy fluctuations as with solar or wind.
 No fuel required – After installation, no mining or transportation activity is necessary.
 Small land footprint – Smallest land footprint of any major power source.
 Renewable – Geothermal energy is extracted from earth’s core and will be available as
long as earth exists. It is therefore renewable and can be used for roughly another 4-5
billion years.
 Abundant Supply – With geothermal energy, there are no shortages or other sorts of
problems which sometimes occur with other types of power.

Flash steam geothermal Energy Disadvantages

 Potential emissions – Greenhouse gas below Earth’s surface can potentially migrate to
the surface and into the atmosphere. Such emissions tend to be higher near geothermal
power plants, which are associated with sulfur dioxide and silica emissions. Also, and the
reservoirs can contain traces of toxic heavy metals including mercury, arsenic and boron.

4|Page
 Flash steam geothermal energy technology 2020

 Surface Instability – Construction of flash geothermal power plants can affect the
stability of land. In January 1997, the construction of flash geothermal power plant in
Switzerland triggered an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.4 on the Richter scale.
 High cost for electricity – Flash and the other types of geothermal power cost
significantly higher when compared to nonrenewable sources of energy.
 Location Specific – Good geothermal reservoirs are hard to come by. Iceland and
Philippines meet nearly one-third of their electricity demand with geothermal energy.
Prime sites are often far from population centers.
 Distribution costs – If flash steam based geothermal energy is transported long distances,
cost can become prohibitive.
 Sustainability questions – Some studies show that reservoirs can be depleted if the fluid is
removed faster than replaced. This is not an issue for residential geothermal heating and
cooling, where geothermal energy is being used differently than in geothermal power
plants.
 May Run Out of Steam - You have to be incredibly careful when you are trying to check
everything that is related to geothermal energy. Mind must be taken to watch the heat and
not to abuse it, because if the heat is not taken care of properly, it can cause a meltdown
or other issues where the energy is not properly, it can cause a meltdown or other issues
where energy is not properly distributed or used.

The market for geothermal energy is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period,
the global cumulative geothermal energy generation capacity grew by 4.0% in 2018, flash steam
taking the bigger share, when compared with 2017. Major factors driving the market include
supportive government policies, drive towards cleaner energy generation, and increasing energy
generation across the globe. On the other hand, the lucrative market for solar and wind is likely
to hinder the market growth.

The heat in the upper six miles of the Earth's crust contains 50,000 times as much energy as
found in the world's oil and gas reserves combined. Despite this, the world has harnessed just
14,600 megawatts (MW) of geothermal generating capacity in 2018. This underperformance of
the global geothermal sector can be partly attributed to the fact that geothermal power resources

5|Page
 Flash steam geothermal energy technology 2020

are restricted to certain regions across the world, namely tectonically active areas. Although the
U.S. leads the world in geothermal energy production, it’s still only less than 1% of all energy
consumed in the country.

Another trend in geothermal energy is its use in hybrid power systems, combining geothermal
with other types of sources including photovoltaic and solar thermal power generation. A triple-
hybrid plant, using all three methods mentioned, opened in 2016 in Fallon, NV. As research and
development of more “hybrid geothermal” systems make them cost-efficient, growth at the
residential and commercial level will become more practical for HVAC manufacturers and
installers.

The technology roadmap for Geothermal Heat and Power offers a strategic plan to maximize
deployment of these energy resources by 2050. It projects that 1,400 TWh of electricity per year
could come from geothermal power by 2050, up from 67 TWh at present.
Separate studies by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) concluded over 100,000 MWe could feasibly be reached in the
next 15 to 50 years, respectively, with a reasonable, sustained investment in R&D.
For technology improvement and innovation, several prospects can reduce the cost of producing
geothermal energy and lead to higher energy recovery, longer field lifetimes, and better
reliability. With time, better technical solutions are expected to improve power plant
performance and reduce maintenance down time.
Improvements and innovations in deep drilling are expected as a result of the Deep Drilling
Projects whose aims are to penetrate into supercritical geothermal fluids, which can be a
potential source of high-grade geothermal energy. The concept behind it is to flow supercritical
fluid to the surface in such a way that it changes directly to superheated (>450°C) hot steam at
sub-critical pressures. This would provide up to ten-fold energy output of approximately 50
MWe as compared to average high enthalpy geothermal wells.
The possibility of using CO₂ as a working fluid in geothermal reservoirs, particularly in EGS,
has been under investigation. Recent modeling studies show that CO₂ would achieve heat
extraction at higher rates than aqueous fluids, and that in fractured reservoirs CO₂ arrival at
production wells would occur a few weeks after starting CO₂ injection.

6|Page