Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294

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Energy
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Life cycle assessment of geothermal binary power plants using enhanced

low-temperature reservoirs
Stephanie Frick a, *, Martin Kaltschmitt b, Gerd Schröder c
a
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, D-14473 Potsdam, Germany
b
Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics, Eissendorfer Strabe 40, D-21073 Hamburg, Germany
c
Leipzig Institute for Energy (IE Leipzig), Torgauer Strabe 116, D-04347 Leipzig, Germany

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Geothermal binary power plants that use low-temperature heat sources have gained increasing interest
Received 5 March 2009 in the recent years due to political efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of
Received in revised form finite energy resources. The construction of such plants requires large amounts of energy and material.
13 January 2010
Hence, the question arises if geothermal binary power plants are also environmentally promising from
Accepted 9 February 2010
Available online 17 March 2010
a cradle-to-grave point of view. In this context, a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) on geothermal
power production from EGS (enhanced geothermal systems) low-temperature reservoirs is performed.
The results of the analysis show that the environmental impacts are very much influenced by the
Keywords:
Geothermal energy
geological conditions that can be obtained at a specific site. At sites with (above-) average geological
Binary power plants conditions, geothermal binary power generation can significantly contribute to more sustainable power
Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) supply. At sites with less favorable conditions, only certain plant designs can make up for the energy and
Life cycle analysis (LCA) material input to lock up the geothermal reservoir by the provided energy. The main aspects of envi-
ronmentally sound plants are enhancement of the reservoir productivity, reliable design of the deep
wells and an efficient utilization of the geothermal fluid for net power and district heat production.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The technical requirements to effectively exploit reservoirs with

less promising characteristics are quite significant. To tap geological
The use of geothermal energy for electricity and/or heat layers with temperatures above 100
C, deep wells are needed.
production has gained increasing interest due to the political goals Drilling and completion of such wells, as well technical measures to
of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the consumption enhance geothermal reservoirs in order to obtain higher perme-
of finite energy resources, and increasing security of energy supply. abilities (enhanced geothermal systems, EGS) require large
Geothermal energy provides power and/or heat from a renewable amounts of energy and material. On the surface, the geothermal
source of energy that is independent of season and time of day and heat is transferred to a binary conversion cycle (and at some sites
offers a significant potential on a world wide scale (e.g. [1]). Only additionally to a district heating system). In the binary unit,
a small part of this huge potential is currently being used. The a working fluid with low-boiling point is circulated because the
globally installed electrical power in 2007 summed up to about direct use of the geothermal fluid in a power conversion cycle is not
9 GW [2]. The largest share of this capacity is generated from efficient from a thermodynamic point of view. Electricity genera-
high-enthalpy or high-temperature geothermal reservoirs that are tion using low-temperature heat sources is generally characterized
located at exceptionally favorable geological sites (e.g. Italy, Iceland, by relatively low conversion efficiencies.
Philippines). Less than 1% of the capacity, but the predominant part Due to the technical challenges associated with the assessment
of the still unexploited geothermal potential, is located outside and energetic use of low-temperature geothermal heat sources, the
exceptionally favorable geological areas and is found in reservoirs question arises if the environmental benefit of geothermal energy
of low-temperature (typically between 100 and 200
C), large supply also exists for such reservoirs. Putting this question is further-
depths and/or low natural permeabilities. more important because most of the low-temperature geothermal
binary power plants presently need to be subsidized from the
public purse due to the still challenging economic performance.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ49 331 288 1574; fax: þ49 331 288 1577. In this context, the goal of this paper is it to analyze selected
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Frick). environmental effects of power production from low-temperature

0360-5442/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.energy.2010.02.016
2282 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294

geothermal resources based on the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) gross power as functional unit, the typically large auxiliary power
methodology. As with the evaluation of any technology still at the demand of geothermal binary power plants would lead to envi-
beginning of its learning curve and thus on the borderline to market ronmental impacts that are significantly influenced by the envi-
implementation, the assessment of geothermal binary power ronmental impacts of the consumed electricity mix [8]. Due to the
plants lacks sufficient and assured data. Moreover, geothermal time period considered in this study (feed-in tariffs for geothermal
power production from low-temperature resources is dominated power production are a time-limited political instrument) and the
by site-specific preconditions and plant specifications varying focus on geothermal-specific aspects of an LCA, however, net power
considerably between different locations. is also for these plants the more applicable functional unit.
Based on existing publications ([3e7]), this paper will therefore If electricity and district heat are provided at the same site, the
present a more comprehensive evaluation of geothermal binary environmental effects are allocated between the two products so
plants that provide power as well as power and heat. First, selected that they either refer to one kWh net power or 1 MJ heat at the
geothermal binary power plants representative for the current plant. The geographic reference of this LCA is the Federal Republic
state of technology in Europe are defined as base cases and the of Germany. The time reference is the year 2006.
environmental key figures of these base cases are analyzed. Focus is Inventory analysis (2): In this step, the mass and energy flows for
given to the impact of the different life cycle stages, the effect of all products and processes required within the overall life cycle to
data uncertainties and the impact of changing site and plant provide one kWh net power and, in case of the additional supply of
parameters. Afterwards, the range of the environmental perfor- district heat, 1 MJ heat are quantified. This includes, for example, the
mance associated with low-temperature geothermal binary power energy to operate the drilling rig (i.e. mainly diesel to run the diesel
plants is estimated by means of “worst case” and “best case” generators). The diesel fuel is produced from different types of crude
scenarios. In order to classify the environmental performance of the oil and transported to the drill site. The use of the fuel at the drill site
analyzed plants within the energy sector, the results of the base and the fuel provision result in airborne emissions. Since the
case evaluation and the scenario analysis are discussed in relation Ecoinvent data base [9], which provides life cycle data for common
to a reference electricity mix and a reference heat mix. Based on all products (e.g. diesel) and basic processes (e.g. transportation, diesel
the results, conclusions and recommendations are drawn. use or waste disposal), is used for this study, only a limited number of
inventory data must be assessed. For these data, however, uncer-
tainties must be considered as they relate to an insufficient inven-
2. Methodical approach
tory data base typical for newly developing technology such as
geothermal plants using enhanced low-temperature reservoirs.
The idea behind an LCA is that environmental impacts of
Mass and energy flows directly referring to the production of
a product (such as the power generated in geothermal binary
power and heat, respectively, are directly allocated to the corre-
power plants) are not limited to the power production process
sponding energy product. Mass and energy flows related to the
itself. Substantial environmental impacts can also occur within the
power conversion equipment on the surface, for example, are fully
pre-chains of installed components (e.g. diesel fuel supply and
assigned to the environmental impacts of power production. Shared
consumption for drilling the deep wells), used materials (e.g. steel
mass and energy flows refer to the subsurface plant part and the
production and supply for the completion of the wells) and
geothermal fluid cycle and are allocated according to the amount of
necessary services (e.g. disposal of disused components and waste
exergy, which corresponds to the provided net power and district
material). Within an LCA, a product is hence investigated
heat, respectively. The calculation of the allocation factor for power
throughout the overall life cycle (i.e. from “cradle-to-grave”).
fel and heat fth is based on equations (1) and (2) [10].
Regarding geothermal binary power plants, this approach includes
environmental impacts directly and indirectly related to the
Qel wel
construction, operation and decommissioning of the plant. fel ¼ (1)
Qel wel þ Qth wth
According to given standards (i.e. ISO 14 040, ISO 14 0441) the
LCA is carried out in four steps:
Goal and scope definition (1): The goal of this LCA is to assess the Qth wth
fth ¼ (2)
emission of greenhouse gases and the cumulated demand of finite Qel wel þ Qth wth
energy resources within the different life cycle stages, as well as
throughout the whole life cycle, of geothermal power generation In equations (1) and (2) Qel and Qth describe the total provided
from low-temperature resources by means of theoretical case amount of net power and district heat, respectively, wel and wth the
studies. Additionally, acidification and eutrophication effects on exergy content of the energy products. The exergy content of the
natural eco systems are evaluated. net power equals 1 (wel ¼ 1). The exergy content of the produced
The environmental effects are analyzed in reference to one kWh heat is derived according to equation (3) from a reference ambient
net power at the plant (functional unit). Net power is thereby temperature Ta ¼ 293.15 K and the supply and return temperature
defined as the produced gross electrical power at the generator of the district heating grid Th1 and Th2, respectively [10].
minus the electricity consumption of the overall plant (i.e. the
auxiliary power used in pumps to provide the geothermal fluid at the lnðTh1 =Th2 Þ
wth ¼ 1  Ta (3)
plant, or running the cooling devices of the power plant). Defining Th1  Th2
net power as functional unit is not representative for all running
Impact analysis (3): In order to quantify the environmental
geothermal binary power plants since some countries presently pay
effects, all inventoried mass and energy flows are aggregated to
feed-in tariffs for the produced gross power (e.g. Germany) so that
different impact indicators according to Table 1.
the plants consume the auxiliary power from the public grid. With
Interpretation (4): The results of the impact analysis are quali-
tatively interpreted by separately discussing the different impact
1
indicators. Focus is given to the influence of the different life cycle
Standard of the International Organization for Standardization: ISO 14 040:
2006. Environmental management e Life cycle assessment e Principles and
stages and the effect of data uncertainties on the life cycle perfor-
framework; ISO 14 044:2006. Environmental management e Life cycle assessment mance of geothermal binary power plants typical for Europe. Due to
e Requirements and guidelines. the large range of possible plant specifications, also the impact of
 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294 2283

Table 1 used for the combined power and heat supply from conversion
Impact indicators and conversion factors for the analyzed environmental effects [9]. cycles. After its use, the geothermal fluid is pumped to the injection
Environmental Impact indicator Inventoried Conversion well and reinjected into the reservoir.
effect inputs/outputs factors Back-up or peak load systems, which might be necessary at
Demand of finite CEDa crude oil 1 MJ/MJ some plants providing both heat and power (the share of
energy resources hard coal 1 MJ/MJ geothermal energy in the supply of district heat typically lies
lignite 1 MJ/MJ
between 50 and 100% [4,11]), are not considered in this case study.
natural gas 1 MJ/MJ
nuclear powerb 10,908 MJ/kWh The life cycle information on general components of the pre-
Global warming CO2-equivalentc,d CO2 1 kgE/kgP sented plant concept (such as pipelines and heat exchangers) is
CH4 23 kgE/kgP derived from technical literature and data sheets. The data for
N2O 296 kgE/kgP common products (such as diesel, cement and steel) and basic
SF6 22,200 kgE/kgP
CF4 5700 kgE/kgP
processes (such as transports and diesel use in construction
C2F6 11,900 kgE/kgP equipment) are taken from the Ecoinvent data base. Geothermal-
Acidification SO2-equivalentd SOx as SO2 1 kgE/kgP specific life cycle information (such as well drilling and comple-
NOx as NO2 0.7 kgE/kgP tion, reservoir enhancement and the operation of the geothermal
NH3 1.88 kgE/kgP
fluid cycle) is compiled in expert surveys and from the literature.
HCl 0.88 kgE/kgP
HF 1.6 kgE/kgP All mass and energy flows are related to plant parameters (see
H2S 1.88 kgE/kgP Appendix) in order to perform the parameter study and the
Eutrophication PO3
4 -equivalent
d
NOx as NO2 0.13 kgE/kgP scenario analysis. For analyzing data uncertainties associated with
NH3 0.35 kgE/kgP the geothermal-specific life cycle information, uncertainty factors
a
Cumulated Energy Demand (CED) referring to lower heating values. are applied based on the expert survey and uncertainties for
b
Net electricity from nuclear power plants. inventory data of geothermal heat plants surveyed in [12]. The
c
Time horizon 100 years.
d main aspects of the inventory analysis of geothermal binary power
Subscripts: E equivalent, P pollutant.
plants are addressed in the following paragraph. The complete
changing site and plant parameters is studied. In order to estimate inventory information used in this paper are listed in the Appendix.
the total range of environmental parameters associated with After the preparation of a drill site, deep wells are usually drilled
geothermal binary power generation, which also includes untypical in several sections using the rotary technique. A drilling section
plant specifications, a scenario analysis by means of “worst case” consists of the drilling itself, and the subsequent casing and
and “best case” scenarios is carried out. In order to classify all cementing process. The drilling is realized by rotating the drilling
results, power related impacts are compared to the environmental rod with a drill bit at the bottom of the well. The loose rocks are
key figures of a reference electricity mix and heat related impacts to removed from the well with circulating drilling mud. The amount
a reference heat mix. of material and energy required to drill such wells, as well as the
amount of cuttings which need to be disposed of, vary depending
on the depth and diameter of the wells. Additionally, geological
3. Definition of case studies
conditions have a strong influence because they determine the
composition of the drilling mud, composition of the cement and the
The environmental impacts of geothermal binary power plants
required thickness of the casing wall (and thus the amount of steel).
are analyzed by means of base cases that represent presently
On average, the amount of diesel to drive the drilling rig can
typical geothermal binary plants in Europe. The case study is based
roughly vary between 6 and 8 GJ per drilled meter. The amount of
on a simplified plant layout and an inventory data base derived
drilling mud required under average geological conditions ranges
from expert surveys and the literature, which are described in the
from 700 to 1000 kg/m. For the completion of 1 m open hole
following section. Afterwards, the scope of the parameter study and
approximately 80e120 kg of steel for the casing and 45e65 kg of
the scenario analysis, which assess various geothermal binary
cement to seal the casing with the surrounding rocks is needed.
power plants, is outlined. For the classification of the LCA results an
For all case studies, it is assumed that the reservoir needs
electricity mix and a heat mix are defined as reference.
enhancement measures after the wells have been completed in
order to improve the permeability and hence the productivity of the
3.1. Plant concept and inventory data base reservoir. Reservoir enhancement is realized by injecting a frac fluid
under high pressure into the reservoir. The energy for driving the
The basic plant design for providing power and, optionally, injection pumps and the composition and amount of the frac fluid
district heat from low-temperature geothermal reservoirs is shown depend on the reservoir characteristics and the designated reservoir
in Fig. 1. According to this plant layout, the geothermal fluid is enhancement. Due to lack of experience with the technical
produced from the reservoir and delivered to the surface by using enhancement geothermal reservoirs, it is not yet possible to define
a downhole pump installed in the production well. Above ground, representative values for energy and material flows. In this study,
the geothermal fluid is transported within a closed pipeline to the the reservoir enhancement is estimated with 3000 GJ of diesel to
heat exchangers, where heat is transferred to the binary conversion drive the injection pumps and 260,000 m3 water as frac fluid.
cycle. Here, a low-boiling working fluid (such as an organic fluid) is The downhole pump, pipeline and heat exchanger are the
preheated and evaporated. The generated vapor drives a turbine- essential elements for connecting the production and injection well
generator unit. After the turbine, the working fluid is cooled and transferring the geothermal heat to the binary power unit and
down, condensed, and then recycled to the preheater. The the district heating grid. The material and energy required to install
condenser is charged with cooling water from a wet cooling tower. these parts is mainly determined by the flow rate of the geothermal
For the supply of district heat, a heat exchanger downstream of the fluid and, in the case of the pipeline, its length and the mode of
binary unit is used. This is due to the fact that the temperature of construction. The material used for the heat exchangers depends on
the geothermal fluid after the heat transfer to the binary cycle is its thermal capacity.
usually higher than the temperature of the working fluid vapor at For the binary power unit the main material input are the
the outlet of the turbine, which is in other applications typically working fluid and system components such as heat exchangers,
2284 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294

Fig. 1. Plant design and system boundaries of the analyzed geothermal binary power plants exploiting a low-temperature reservoir for the supply of net power and, optionally,
district heat.

turbine, generator, recooling system and peripheral equipment. The At site A, the geothermal reservoir is located at a depth of
required material increases with installed electrical capacity. For 3.8 km and has a temperature of 125
C. The design flow rate of
district heat supply, an additional heat exchanger needs to be taken 250 m3/h can be delivered from this reservoir with a specific
into account. The binary power unit and the heat exchangers are power consumption in the downhole pump of 1.3 kW/(m3/h). The
located in a building. Material outputs due to the construction of power consumption depends on the pressure increase in and the
the surface part, such as waste or emissions, are negligible and thus efficiency of the downhole pump. The pressure increase mainly
not considered. Regarding energy flows, the energy required to results from the geodetic difference in height between the
install the components at the site needs to be considered. dynamic fluid level in the production well and the surface, and the
For plant operation, the exchange of the downhole pump and pressure required within the pipeline to avoid degassing and
the demand for cooling water are taken into account. Furthermore, precipitates. Since the auxiliary power need of the downhole
the disposal of filter residues and removed scaling is estimated. pump increases over-proportionally with increasing flow rate due
As known from the oil and gas industry, both filter residues and to the reservoir characteristics at a specific site, it is assumed that
scaling can, depending on the site, contain small amounts of the design flow rate is optimized regarding the plant's net power
naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). It is, therefore, output [13]. The density of the geothermal fluid is assumed to
assumed that about 1e1.4 kg/(m3/h) filter residues and removed 1000 kg/m3.
scaling are annually disposed of at special disposal sites. Direct At site B, a deeper reservoir (4.7 km) with a higher temperature
gaseous pollutants are not emitted during plant operation because (150
C) is assessed. Due to the lower productivity of this reservoir,
the geothermal fluid is transported in a closed pipeline system. the same specific auxiliary power input to the downhole pump
After the operational phase, the wells are filled with gravel and results in a lower flow rate (155 m3/h) compared to site A.
cement. The surface installations are disposed of or recycled. At both sites, the plants have an electrical capacity of 1.75 MW
assuming a geothermal fluid temperature at the outlet of the binary
3.2. Base cases cycle of 60
C. The auxiliary power demand for the feed pump is
assumed to be 10% of the installed capacity. For the recooling of the
The plant design shown in Fig. 1 is investigated in the base case binary cycle, an induced-draft cooling tower is assumed. The net
analysis for two different sites. Table 2 shows the geological power output resulting from the produced gross power and the
parameters and technical specifications of the base cases. auxiliary power consumed within the plant depends on the
 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294 2285

Table 2 The net power output of the base case plants is between 6041
Geological and technical parameters of the base case plants referring to the plant and 7679 MWh/a. In case of the additional supply of district heat,
concept in Fig. 1.
22,349 GJ/a heat can be provided by plant B2. Plant A2, using the
Parameter Unit Site A Site B larger geothermal flow rate, can supply 36,00 GJ/a.
Reservoir The technical life-time of both plants is assumed to be 30 years. An
Reservoir depth km 3.8 4.7 exchange of components with a shorter technical life-time, such as
Reservoir / geothermal fluid temperature °C 125a 150a the downhole pump or the binary power unit, is taken into account.
Specific heat capacity geothermal fluid kJ/(kg K) 4 4
Technical life-time a 30b 30 b
Geothermal fluid cycle c 3.3. Scope of parameter study
Geothermal fluid flow rate m3/h 250d 155d
Auxiliary power need downhole pump MWel 0.33e 0.20e
The plants defined in the base case analysis are not represen-
Plant A1 Plant A2 Plant B1 Plant B2
tative for all low-temperature geothermal sites and plant
Binary cycle
Conversion efficiency % 9.7 f 9.7 f 11.2f 11.2 f specifications in Europe, because all assumed plant parameters
Geothermal fluid outlet temperature °C 60g 60g/77g 60g 60 g/77 g may vary to a certain extent. Along with uncertainties that are
Installed power capacity MW 1.75h 1.75 h 1.75h 1.75 h generally included in theoretical evaluations of technical concepts,
Full load hours h/a 7000 6529 i 7000 6662 i geothermal power generation from enhanced low-temperature
Auxiliary power need feed-pump MWel 0.18 j 0.18 j 0.18 j 0.18 j
sites is characterized by a large range of geological preconditions.
Auxiliary power need recooling MWel 0.33 k 0.33 k 0.28 k 0.28 k
Cooling water demand m3/h 49 k 49 k 42 k 42 k
District heat supply l Table 3
Supply temperature °C 70 70 Scope of the parameter study.
Return temperature °C 50 50
Thermal full load hours h/a 1800 1800 Parameter Unit Value range
Installed thermal capacity MWth 5.56 m 3.45 m Reservoir
Net power output MWh/a 6476 6041 7679 7308 Reservoir depth km 2.9e5.8 (site A)a
District heat supply GJ/a 36,000 22,349 3.5e7.0 (site B)a


Reservoir/geothermal fluid C 98e163 (site A)b
temperature 104e197 (site B)b
a
Calculated from reservoir depth, an average geothermal temperature gradient of Specific heat capacity kJ/(kg K) 3.5e4.2c
0.03 k/m and an assumed surface temperature of 10
C. geothermal fluid
b
Based on experience; components with a shorter technical life-time: downhole Technical life-time a 20e40d
pump 4 a, other components in the geothermal fluid cycle and the binary power unit Geothermal fluid cycle
15 a. Geothermal fluid flow rate m3/h 100e500e
c
Assumed pipeline length 1500 m. Specific auxiliary power need kW/(m3/h) 0.5e3.0f
d
Values assumed to be optimum flow rate regarding maximum net power output; relating to fluid flow rate
density of the geothermal fluid1,000 kg/m3. Binary cycle
e
Geothermal fluid circulation with downhole pump; calculation of power demand Conversion efficiency % 7.7e11.7 (site A)g
based on an estimated specific auxiliary power demand relating to fluid flow rate of 9.3e13.2 (site B)g
1.3 kW/(m3/h) based on [16]. Auxiliary power feed-pump % 9e11h
f
Estimated efficiency at design point depending on geothermal fluid temperature Geothermal fluid outlet

C 50e70h,i
based on [15]. temperature
g
Estimated value based on experience; higher temperatures at times of heat supply Full load hours h/a 6000e8000j,i
according to an assumed temperature difference between geothermal fluid and Auxiliary power need recooling kWel/MWth 5e35k
district heating grid of 7 K. relating to waste heat
h
Calculated from geothermal heat input and conversion efficiency. Cooling water demand relating m3/h/MWth 1.5e4.5k
i
Calculated full load hours due to reduction in power production at times of district to waste heat
heat supply. District heat supply
j
Relative auxiliary power demand of 10% relating to installed capacity based on [15]. Thermal full load hours h/a 0e7000l
k
Induced-draft cooling tower with specific auxiliary power demand relating to Supply temperature

C 50e90m
waste heat of 20 kWel/MWth and a specific cooling water demand relating to waste Return temperature

C 30e60n
heat of 3 m3/h/MWth based on [17].
a
l
District heating grid supplied to 100% by geothermal heat. Reservoir temperature is kept constant and the geothermal temperature
m
Calculated from geothermal fluid temperature after binary cycle, fluid flow rate, gradient is varied between 0.02 and 0.04 K/m.
b
heat capacity and cooling of geothermal fluid down to 57
C. Reservoir depth is kept constant and the geothermal temperature gradient is
varied between 0.02 and 0.04 K/m for site B and between 0.023 and 0.04 K/m for site
A because of a minimum assumed net power output of 25% referring to the
produced gross power.
c
Lower and upper value correspond to a very high and a very low mineral
temperature and flow rate of the geothermal fluid. The plant at site content of the geothermal fluid.
B can provide more net power due to the lower flow rate and the d
Relevant range of values for the operation of properly designed and managed
higher temperature of the geothermal fluid, which result in geothermal reservoirs.
e
Relevant range of values based on existing geothermal binary power plants;
a smaller auxiliary power demand. values refer to optimum flow rates regarding maximum net power output;
In case of power production without an additional supply of increasing flow rates hence refer to an increasing reservoir productivity; density of
district heat, the plants are operated with 7000 yearly full load the geothermal fluid1,000 kg/m3.
f
hours. This operation time accounts for downtime due to overhaul Range of values based on an expected reservoir productivity of 10e100 m3/(h
MPa) and technical restrictions associated with the use of downhole pumps.
and maintenance and a varying power output due to changing g
Relevant deviation þ/2%-points from the base case values based on [18,19].
ambient conditions. In case of the additional supply of district heat, h
Based on [15].
the yearly full load hours of the power production are reduced. This i
Referring to design point.
j
reduction is because the assumed supply temperature of the district Lower and upper value correspond to smaller or larger variations of ambient
heating system (70
C) can only be met by a geothermal fluid conditions during the year.
k
Based on [17].
temperature at the outlet of the binary cycle of 77
C. Therefore, less l
Upper value corresponds to improved heat customer structure.
geothermal heat is used for power production in times of heat m
Assuming a constant temperature spread in the heating grid.
n
demand. Assuming a constant supply temperature in the heating grid.
2286 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294

In order to analyze the influence of different parameters on the LCA average reservoir characteristics (“worst case” scenario) are
results, a parameter study is carried out. The parameters, which analyzed. Exceptional geological conditions are limited to a few
define the base cases, are varied from minimum to maximum sites, whereas sites with below-average geological conditions can
values. The relevant range of values is derived from existing liter- be found at many places but are only exploited under specific
ature and own experiences. The geothermal fluid temperature at circumstances due to economic considerations.
site A, for example, will not be decreased below 98
C because of Building on the parameter range presented in Table 3, the
a minimum ratio of net to gross power of 25%. This ratio is a theo- above-average geothermal site (site C) is characterized by high
retically assumed value and represents the lower limit for geothermal fluid temperature, high geothermal temperature
geothermal binary power plants being realized from an economic gradient, high specific heat capacity of the fluid, and long tech-
viewpoint. The upper limit of the auxiliary power demand for the nical life-time of the reservoir (Table 4). A flow rate of 500 m3/h
downhole pump is related to a minimum relevant reservoir is obtained from the reservoir with small pumping effort.
productivity of 10 m3/(h MPa). Sites with lower reservoir produc- Regarding the site with below-average geological preconditions
tivities are unlikely to be developed due to economic aspects. The (site D), opposite parameter assumptions are made. However,
scope of the parameter study is presented in Table 3. a minimum ratio of net to gross power of 25% is assumed as
restriction. As mentioned above, this ratio should represent the
3.4. “Best case” and “worst case” scenarios economic lower limit for geothermal binary power plants being
realized.
In order to estimate the total range of environmental impacts for At both sites, power production as well as combined power and
geothermal binary power generation, more than one parameter of heat production with average specifications regarding the surface
the base case scenarios must be changed. So far, typical or repre- plant part are analyzed (plant C1, C2, D1 and D2). In order to show
sentative geothermal low-temperature sites have been discussed so the effect of different surface installations at the sites, different
that in the scenario analysis sites are studied that will be exploited technical specifications are assumed in further scenarios. Less
only by a very small number of geothermal binary power plants. efficient surface technology is analyzed for site C (plant C1 and
Within the scenario analysis one site with exceptional geological C2). At site D, the influence of improved plant design is investi-
preconditions (“best case” scenario) and one site with below- gated (plant D1þ and D2þ).

Table 4
Geological and technical parameters of the plants for the scenario analysis based on the parameter assumptions and calculations in Tables 2 and 3.

Parameter Unit Site C Site D

Reservoir
Reservoir depth km 4.8 a 5.0 b
Geothermal fluid temperature °C 200 110
Specific heat capacity geoth. fluid kJ/(kg K) 4.2 3.8
Technical life-time a 40 20

Geothermal fluid cycle

Geothermal fluid flow rate m3/h 500 100
Auxiliary power need downhole
kW/(m3/h) 0.5 2.0
pump relating to fluid flow rate
Plant C1 Plant C2 Plant C1- Plant C2- Plant D1 Plant D2 Plant D1+ Plant D2+

Binary cycle
Conversion efficiency % 13.6 13.6 11.6 11.6 8.6 8.6 10.6 10.6
Geothermal fluid outlet
°C 60 60/77 c 70 70/77 c 60 60/77 c 50 50/77 c
temperature
Installed power capacity MW 11.10 11.10 8.79 8.79 0.46 0.46 0.67 0.67
Full load hours h/a 7000 6781 6000 5903 7000 5903 8000 6388
Auxiliary power need feed-pump % 10 10 11 11 10 10 9 9
Auxiliary power need recooling
kWel /MWth 20 20 30 30 20 20 5 5
relating to waste heat
Cooling water demand relating to 3
m /h/MWth 3 3 4.5 4.5 3 3 1.5 1.5
waste heat

District heat supply

Supply temperature °C 70 70 70 70
Return temperature °C 50 50 50 30
Thermal full load hours h/a 1800 1800 1800 7000
Installed thermal capacity MW 11.67 11.67 2.11 4.22
Net power output MWh/a 58,2876 56,456 33,354 32,815 799 729 3,081 1,868
District heat supply GJ/a 75,600 75,600 13,680 106,400

a
Geothermal temperature gradient 0.04 K/m.
b
Geothermal temperature gradient 0.02 K/m.
c
Higher temperatures at times of heat supply.
 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294 2287

Table 5 a reference heat mix that is based on a mix of single combustion

Environmental impact indicators for the reference electricity mix and reference heat applications [6].
mix.

Impact indicator Electricity mixa Heat mixb

CO2-equivalent 566 g/kWhel 81.5 g/MJth 4. Results
CED 8.91 MJ/kWhel 1.23 MJ/MJth
SO2-equivalent 1083 mg/kWhel 115 mg/MJth 4.1. Base case analysis
PO3
4 -equivalent 59.9 mg/kWhel 7.7 mg/MJth
a
Breakdown of provided net electricity according to [6], [14]: 26% lignite coal, The plants that provide electrical power (plant A1 and B1) have
26% nuclear power, 24% hard coal, 12% natural gas, 4% hydropower, 4% wind power, larger impacts for all analyzed impact categories compared to the
1% crude oil, 3% other fuels.
b
Breakdown of single combustion heat mix according to [6]: 54% natural gas
plants that provide both power and heat (plant A2 and B2, Fig. 2).
condensing boilers, 46% oil boilers. Comparing the power providing plants, plant B1 shows slightly
lower environmental key figures. This means that the larger energy
and material flows for assessing the deeper reservoir at site B are
made up for by the higher net power output (cf. Table 2). Among
3.5. Reference electricity mix and reference heat mix the plants that provide power and heat, plant A2 has lower power
and lower heat related environmental impacts compared to plant
For the classification of the environmental impacts within the B2 due to the larger geothermal fluid flow rate and the hence
energy sector, the power related LCA results are compared to the higher amount of supplied district heat.
environmental key figures of a reference electricity mix shown in Considering the uncertainties related to the inventory analysis
Table 5. This reference mix represents a business-as-usual devel- of geothermal binary power plants, the impacts can range from
opment until 2010 [6]. The heat related impacts are compared to about 79e121% of the indicated values. Since many data are

Fig. 2. Results of the base case analysis showing the environmental impact indicators of typical geothermal binary power plants, their breakdown referring to the different life cycle
stages and the influence of inventory data uncertainties.
2288 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294

characterized by an assumed uncertainty factor of þ/5%, the

influence of highly uncertain data, such as the data for constructing
the subsurface plant part, is predominant (cf. Appendix).
The construction of the underground plant components causes
for all plants more than 80% of the analyzed environmental impacts
(Fig. 2) and has the largest influence of all life cycle stages. The
influence is larger for site B because of the larger effort for locking
up the deeper reservoir.
The environmental impact resulting from constructing the
subsurface part is dominated by the energy required for drilling the
wells (Fig. 3). This is true especially regarding the PO3
4 -equivalent,
Fig. 3. Typical breakdown of the environmental impacts caused by subsurface because the energy for drilling is based on diesel consumption in
construction for the example of plant A1. construction equipment (see Appendix), which results in

Fig. 4. Parameter study for the example of plant A2 showing the general behavior of the analyzed environmental impacts to changing parameters.
 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294 2289

Fig. 5. Parameter study for the example of the CO2-equivalent showing the general differences in impact changes for all plants using minimum and maximum parameters.

comparatively large PO3 3

4 -equivalent emissions. The PO4 -equiva- the power related impacts, about 60% of the impact caused by
lent, however, is probably lower than calculated because the diesel the construction of the surface components is related to the
utilization in the drilling equipment is more efficient than that of geothermal fluid cycle and about 40% is caused by the binary power
the machine park implemented in the Ecoinvent data base, which unit. The heat related environmental impacts due to surface
typically represents a large bandwidth of stationary and mobile construction are mainly related to the geothermal fluid cycle.
construction machines. The operational phase is responsible for less than 0.4% of the
The influence of the casing material (i.e. steel) depends on the environmental effects, mainly due to replacement of the downhole
impact category and is most significant for the CED and the pump (Fig. 2). The plant decommissioning has a negligible effect on
CO2-equivalent. By contrast, the influence of the material and the analyzed environmental impacts.
energy input for reservoir enhancement is remarkably lower for
these categories. Only for the PO3
4 -equivalent is the contribution of 4.2. Parameter study
the enhancement in the same order of magnitude as the casing.
In contrast to the construction of the subsurface components, The general behavior of environmental impacts to changing
the construction of the above ground facilities contributes only parameters shown in Fig. 4 for the example of the power related
2e11% of the total environmental impacts (Fig. 2). Evaluating CO2-equivalent of plant A2 is applicable for all plant concepts and

Fig. 6. Parameter study for the example of the CO2-equivalent showing the general differences in impact changes for all plants using small parameter changes.
2290 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294

impact indicators. In order to indicate differences in the extent of calculations to changing parameters by using small deviations from
impact changes, the CO2-equivalents of all plants are additionally the base case parameters (i.e. a deviation of þ/5%).
plotted for single points of the parameter variation. Fig. 5 shows the In Fig. 5 it can be seen that a reduction of the analyzed impacts to
maximum deviations from the base case impacts by using the less than 50% of the reference value but also an increase by a multiple
minimum and maximum values of each parameter (cf. Table 3). is possible. The sensitivity analysis shows that small parameter
Fig. 6 gives an overview on the sensitivity of the life cycle changes mainly cause impact variations by þ/9% (Fig. 6).

Fig. 7. Results of the scenario analysis showing the environmental impact indicators of geothermal binary power plants at untypical sites, such as a site with above-average and
a site with below-average geological conditions (site C and D, respectively).
 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294 2291

A changing reservoir or geothermal fluid temperature at significant (Fig. 6). Changing conversion efficiency has a stronger
constant well depth has the largest effect on the impact indicators effect on the LCA results at sites with lower reservoir temperatures.
(Fig. 4). An increasing temperature reduces the environmental Even though changes of the binary cycle parameters do not influence
impacts due to the increase in net power output resulting from an the district heat production, heat and power related key figures are
improvement of the conversion efficiency. A decreasing reservoir affected by parameter changes to the same extent (Fig. 5) since the
temperature, which leads to increasing impacts, has a stronger allocation of the absolute environmental impacts is shifted towards
effect compared to an increasing temperature. The effect of the power production.
temperature changes on the LCA results gets stronger for lower The variation of the district heat parameters, in contrast, has less
reservoir temperatures (Fig. 6). At the same site, the impacts of influence on the power related impacts than on the heat related key
plants that provide power (plant A1 and B1) are more sensitive to figures (Fig. 5). The largest effect on the power related impacts is
changing reservoir temperatures than plants that provide both caused by a variation of the thermal full load hours (Fig. 4). The
power and heat (plant A2 and B2) since the production of district strongest sensitivity of the LCA results, which is generally small for
heat is not affected (Fig. 6). the district heat parameters, is on changes of the return tempera-
Regarding other reservoir parameters, the effect of varying plant ture (Fig. 6). Variation of supply temperature has a negligible effect
life on the LCA results is in the same order of magnitude as for on the power related impacts. Increasing supply temperatures, for
a changing reservoir depth at constant reservoir temperature. The example, lead to a reduction of the net power supply. This influence
specific heat capacity of the geothermal fluid causes comparatively on the power production is, however, made up for by shifting the
small maximum impact changes (Fig. 5). The sensitivity of the LCA allocation of the absolute impacts towards the heat production
results on this parameter, however, is significant (Fig. 6). since the amount of supplied heat remains constant (assuming
Increase of the geothermal fluid flow rate (pumped with the a constant temperature spread in the district heating grid).
same relative pumping power due to increasing reservoir produc- Regarding the heat related impacts, a remarkable reduction of the
tivity) has a reducing effect on the LCA results (Fig. 4). An increasing environmental key figures results from high thermal full load hours
auxiliary power demand of the downhole pump (producing and low supply and return temperatures (Fig. 5). The heat related
a constant flow rate due to decreasing reservoir productivity), LCA results are most sensitive on the supply temperature due to the
increases the environmental impacts (Fig. 4). This effect is more influence on the provided amount of heat and the exergetic factor
significant at sites that produce large flow rates and for plants that (Fig. 6).
provided only power (Fig. 5).
The maximum effect of variations in binary cycle parameters is 4.3. Scenario analysis
smaller than the influence of variations in either reservoir or
geothermal fluid cycle parameters (Fig. 5). The sensitivity of the The results of the scenario analysis (Fig. 7) cover a large range of
analyzed environmental impacts, in contrast, is in some cases more environmental impacts. The site with above-average geological

Fig. 8. Comparison of the base case and scenario analysis results to the reference electricity and reference heat mix.
2292 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294

conditions (site C) represents the lower limit of environmental however, still exceeds the environmental key figures of plant A2
impacts associated with geothermal binary power plants. For and B2 by factor 10. If high-efficiency surface technology is
average surface technology installed at this site (plant C1 and C2), installed at site D (plant D1þ), impact indicators about 3 times
the LCA results are about 85% lower compared to the base cases higher than the base case results are achieved. In case district
(plant A1, B1 and A2, B2, respectively). Even if less efficient surface heat can be additionally supplied to a district heating grid with
equipment is used at site C (plant C1 and C2), the environmental a continuous heat demand and a very low return temperature
impacts are still about 80% lower. (plant D2þ), the environmental impacts exceed the base cases
The site with below-average geological conditions (site D) figures by factor 2.
represents the upper limit of life cycle impacts associated with
geothermal binary power production. With average plant tech- 4.4. Comparison to electricity mix and heat mix
nology (plant D1), this site leads to environmental impacts that
exceed the values of the base case plants A1 and B1 by The results of the base case and the scenario analysis are in
a multiple. If power and heat are provided with average equip- Fig. 8 compared to the environmental impacts of the reference
ment, the environmental impacts can be reduced. Plant D2, mixes. Regarding the power related impacts, CO2-equivalent and

Table 6
Mass and energy flows for the construction of geothermal binary power plants.

Type Description Quantity Unit Uncertainty

factor in%
Drilling site preparation Input Diesel in construction equipment 20,000a,b MJ per site /þ5k
Input Cement, unspecified 300a kg per drilling site /þ5k
Drilling rig drive Input Diesel in construction equipment 7,492c MJ/m per well /þ20c,k
Drilling mud Input Diesel in construction equipment 181.3d MJ/m per well /þ20d,k
Input Bentonite 7.7d kg/m per well /þ20d,k
Input Inorganic chemicals 6.7d kg/m per well /þ20d,k
Input Starch 12.8d kg/m per well /þ20d,k
Input Chalk 5.4d kg/m per well /þ20d,k
Input Water, decarbonized 671.4d kg/m per well /þ20d,k
Input Calcium carbonate 6.7d kg/m per well /þ20d,k
Output Disposal of drilling cuttings 456.0d kg/m per well /þ5d,k
Casing Input Steel, low alloyed 69.1c,e kg/m per well /þ20c,k
Input Steel, high alloyed 34.0c,e kg/m per well /þ20c,k
Cementation Input Bentonite 0.2c kg/m per well /þ20c,k
Input Inorganic chemicals 0.4c kg/m per well /þ20c,k
Input Portland limestone cement 23.5c kg/m per well /þ20c,k
Input Silica sand 7.0c kg/m per well /þ20c,k
Input Cement, unspecified 7.3c kg/m per well /þ20c,k
Input Water, decarbonized 16.9c kg/m per well /þ20c,k
Reservoir enhancement Input Diesel in construction equipment 3,000f GJ per well /þ40g
Input Water. desalinated 260,000f t per well /þ40g
Transport (subsurface construction) Input Trucking (32 t) 144,000g tkm per well /þ5k
Input Rail transport 413,000g tkm per well /þ5k
Geothermal fluid cycle Input Steel, high alloyed 93.6e,g kg/(m3/h) /þ5k
Input Steel, low alloyed 189.9e,g kg/(m3/h) /þ5k
Input Diesel in construction equipment 7.6e MJ/m /þ5k
Input Trucking (32 t) 40g km /þ5k
Input Rail transport 405g km /þ5k
Heat exchanger (binary unit) Input Steel, high alloyed 7h kg/kWth /þ5k
Binary plant unit Input Organic chemicals 0.3g kg/kWel /þ20k
Input Steel, low alloyed (cooling tower) 1,500l kg/MWth /þ10k
Input Steel, low alloyed (other components) 37.8g,e kg/kWel /þ10k
Input Copper 1.2g,i kg/kWel /þ10k
Input Trucking (32 t) 50j km /þ10k
Input Rail transport 2,000j km /þ10k
Plant building Input Concrete 16j m3 /þ5k
Input Steel, low alloyed 1,250j kg /þ5k
Input Trucking (32 t) 40j km /þ5k
Input Rail transport 40j km /þ5k
Heat exchanger (district heat supply) Input Steel, high alloyed 7h kg/kWth /þ5k
Installation surface part Input Diesel in construction equipment 1,000a MJ /þ5k
a
[24].
b
[25].
c
[20].
d
[21].
e
based on [23], Teil XIV, p. 47 assuming that 33% of total steel amount is high alloyed material, 67% are low alloyed.
f
[22].
g
[3], p. 93e94.
h
[23], Teil XIV, p. 34.
i
based on [23], Teil XIV, p. 27 assuming that 30% of total steel amount is copper, 70% is low alloyed low alloyed material.
j
[23]. Teil XIV, p. 45.
k
assumption based on [12].
l
based on http://www.rehsler-kuehlsysteme.de/pdf/Flyer-Kuehlturm.pdf.
 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294 2293

Table 7
Mass and energy flows during operation of geothermal binary power plants.

Type Description Quantity Unit Uncertainty

factor in%
Exchange downhole pump Input Steel, high alloyed 4.5a t/a /þ20c
Output Disposal of steel 4.5a t/a /þ20c
Disposal filter residues and scaling Input Trucking (32 t) 250a tkm/a /þ20c
Output Disposal of hazardous waste 1.5b kg/a/(m3/h) /þ20c
Operation binary plant Input Water, decarbonized 3 m3/h/MWth /þ5c
a
[3], p. 93e94.
b
own estimations, filter capacity approx. 5 kg.
c
assumption based on [12].

CED of the geothermal binary power plants are below the key 5. Conclusions
figures of the reference mix, except the power production based
on average technology at the site with below-average geological This paper evaluates greenhouse gas emissions, consumption of
conditions (plant D1). Typical geothermal binary power plants, finite energy resources and SO2- and PO3 4 -equivalent emissions
represented by plant A1, A2, B1 and B2, have a CED and CO2- during the life cycle of geothermal binary power plants. The results
equivalent that are about 6e11% that of the reference mix, show that geothermal binary power plants cannot be described by
uncertainties in the inventory data of the geothermal binary representative environmental key figures due to the wide range of
power production included. At the site with above-average geological site preconditions, different plant set-ups and data
geological conditions (site C), CO2-equivalent and CED can reach uncertainties, which are typical for theoretical evaluations of
below 1% of the reference values. At the site with below-average complex technical concepts not yet established on the market.
conditions (site D), environmental advantages regarding CO2- Based on the results general conclusions, however, can be drawn:
equivalent and CED (i.e. 40% and less compared to the reference
impacts) are only achieved with the use of high-efficiency surface  The life cycle of geothermal binary power plants is character-
technology. ized by large material and energy inputs, especially during
Comparing the power related SO2-equivalents significantly construction of the subsurface plant part. Successful explora-
lower impacts than the electricity mix are only achieved at sites tion and access to the reservoir with minimum drilling and
with at least average geological preconditions. Regarding the PO4- completion efforts referring to a specific site is hence the
equivalents, in contrast, geothermal binary power plants result in precondition for low environmental impacts.
significantly lower impacts only at sites with above-average  Due to the large influence of the auxiliary power required for
geological characteristics. For the comparison of the PO4-equiva- delivering the geothermal fluid from the reservoir on the net
lents, however, the applicability of the Ecoinvent data must be power output, a sufficient reservoir productivity is required in
considered (cf. Section 4.1). Diesel use in drilling equipment, which order to make up for the large material and energy
causes the main part of the PO3 4 -equivalent, is probably more inputs during construction. The enhancement of the reservoir
efficient than assumed for the average construction machine in productivity by means of technical measures is, therefore, a key
the Ecoinvent data base. Therefore, also the PO3 4 -equivalent of aspect for the improvement of the environmental performance
geothermal binary power generation is probably lower than indi- of geothermal binary power plants.
cated in this study.  The surface plant part is determining for the efficient use of the
A comparison of the heat related impacts shows that at sites geothermal heat. Regarding an optimum net power output at
with average geological conditions and better, the impact indica- a specific site, not only high conversion efficiency of the binary
tors of heat from geothermal binary power plants that provide both power unit but also low auxiliary power for recooling are
power and heat are significantly lower than the key figures of the important factors for the environmental performance.
reference heat mix. At sites with below-average geological char-  Geothermal binary plants offer a large potential to provide
acteristics, only high-efficiency surface technology leads to lower power and heat from the same plant, and the supply of district
impacts compared to the heat mix. heat significantly improves the environmental key factors. The
possibility to supply heat is, however, based on an adequate

Table 8
Mass and energy flows for decommissioning of geothermal binary power plants.

Type Description Quantity Unit Uncertainty

factor in%
Dismantling subsurface Input Gravel 51.1a,b kg/m per well /þ5a,d
Input Cement, unspecified 4.9a,b kg/m per well /þ5a,d
Dismantling surface Input Disposal of building, partial recycling 19c t /þ5d
Input Disposal of copper, shredder-material 2.4c kg/kWel /þ5d
Input Disposal of steel 567c kg/(m3/h) /þ5d
Input Disposal of steel 75.6c kg/MWel /þ5d
Input Disposal of hazardous waste 600c kg/MWel /þ5d
a
[20].
b
[3], p. 93e94.
c
according to material amounts for surface plant part in Table 6 considering shorter plant life of surface equipment.
d
assumption based on [12].
2294 S. Frick et al. / Energy 35 (2010) 2281e2294

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