Geothermal direct-contact heat exchange. Final report [electronic resource].
- Published:
- Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy, 1976.
- Physical Description:
- Pages: 117 : digital, PDF file
- Additional Creators:
- United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Access Online
- Restrictions on Access:
- Free-to-read Unrestricted online access
- Summary:
- A glass direct contact heat exchange column was operated in the laboratory at atmospheric pressure using hot water and normal hexane. Column internals tested included an empty column, sieve trays, disk-and-doughnut trays, and two types of packing. Operation was very smooth in all cases and the minimum temperature approaches varied from less than 1°C for packing to 13°C for the empty column. High heat transfer rates were obtained in all cases, however, columns should be sized on the basis of liquid and vapor traffic. The solubilities of hydrocarbons were determined for normal hexane, pentane and butane in water and sodium chloride and calcium chloride brines at various temperatures. The values seem to be internally consistent and salt content was found to depress hydrocabon solubility. Laboratory stripping tests showed that gas stripping can be used to remove hydrocarbon from reject hot water from the direct contact heat exchange column. Although the gas volumes required are small, stripping gas requirements cannot be accurately predicted without testing. A computer program was used to study the effect of operating variables on thermodynamic cycle efficiencies. Optimum efficiencies for the moderate brine conditions studied were obtained with isopentane as working fluid and relatively low operating pressure. A preliminary design for a 50 MWe plant was prepared and plant capital cost and operating cost were estimated. These costs were combined with previously developed brine production and power transmission costs to provide an estimate of the cost of delivered power for a geothermal field at Heber, California. A pilot plant program is described that would be suitable for continuing the investigation of the direct contact process in the field. The program includes a suggested schedule and the estimated cost.
- Report Numbers:
- E 1.99:doe/tic-1023098
doe/tic-1023098 - Subject(s):
- Other Subject(s):
- Butane
- Solubility
- Direct Contact Heat Exchangers
- Bench-Scale Experiments
- Geothermal Power Plants
- Design
- Hexane
- Pentane
- 2-Methylbutane
- 2-Methylpropane
- Binary-Fluid Systems
- Brines
- Calcium Chlorides
- California
- Computer Codes
- Computerized Simulation
- Cost
- Economic Analysis
- Efficiency
- Flashed Steam Systems
- Heat Transfer
- Heber Geothermal Field
- Pilot Plants
- Power Range 10-100 Mw.
- Salinity
- Sodium Chlorides
- Solvent Properties
- Stripping
- Thermodynamic Cycles
- Working Fluids
- Alkali Metal Compounds
- Alkaline Earth Metal Compounds
- Alkanes
- Calcium Compounds
- Calcium Halides
- Chlorides
- Chlorine Compounds
- Direct Reactions
- Economics
- Energy Systems
- Energy Transfer
- Fluids
- Functional Models
- Geothermal Fields
- Halides
- Halogen Compounds
- Heat Exchangers
- Hydrocarbons
- North America
- Nuclear Reactions
- Organic Compounds
- Power Plants
- Simulation
- Sodium Compounds
- Steam Systems
- Thermal Power Plants
- Transfer Reactions
- Usa
- Western Region
- Geothermal Legacy
- Note:
- Published through SciTech Connect.
06/10/1976.
"doe/tic-1023098"
"DE81023098"
Sims, A.V.
Holt (Ben) Co., Pasadena, CA (USA) - Funding Information:
- EY-76-C-03-1116
View MARC record | catkey: 14388315