Introduction to Geothermal Engineering Report

Introduction to Geothermal Engineering

• Renewable energy is sustainable and obtained from inexhaustible sources, clean, and non-polluting.
• Geothermal energy is energy extracted from the heat in the Earth.

Why Use Renewable Energy?

• Renewable energy mitigates climate change and fosters sustainable development.
• The Clean Development Mechanism provides carbon credits and the Renewable Energy law gives incentives for Renewable Energy sources.

Why Use Renewable Energy in the Philippines?

• Energy Security
• Geothermal energy is a natural resource and form of energy conversion that supports the government's goals of energy self-sufficiency and sustainability.

Renewable Energy in the Philippines

• Biomass/Biofuels
• Ocean
• Geothermal Energy
• Solar Energy
• Wind Energy
• Hydropower

Renewable Energy Potential

• Geothermal > 4,000 MW
• Wind resource > 76,600 MW
• Hydropower > 10,000 MW
• Solar > 5 kWh/m2/day
• Ocean > 170,000 MW
• Biomass > 500 MW (bagasse & rice hulls only)

Geothermal Energy

• Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) take advantage of the relatively stable moderate temperature conditions within the first 300 meters (1,000 feet) of the surface to heat buildings in the winter and cool them in the summer.
• Direct-use applications involve the direct use of heated water from the ground without the need for any specialized equipment.
• Electric Power Generation

Geothermal Resources

• Reservoirs of hot water that exist or are human-made at varying temperatures and depths below the earth's surface.
• Geothermal resources are a natural source of heat trapped beneath the Earth's surface, originating from the planet's core and radioactive decay in the mantle.

Classifications of Geothermal Resources

• Hydrothermal Resources
• Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS)
• Geopressured Resources

Hydrothermal Resources

• Most common and widely used type of geothermal energy
• Can be categorized into two types: Vapor Dominated Systems and Water Dominated Systems
• Vapor Dominated Systems: • High temperature fluids exist primarily as steam • Typically found in volcanic and tectonic settings with high heat flow • 150 to 250°C • Superheated steam is produced
• Water Dominated Systems: • Fluids are mostly in the liquid phase and are generally less hot than vapor-dominated systems • Used for electric generation or direct heat applications • Hot Water (50°C - 100°C) • Very little Steam content • Used for house heating, agriculture • Wet Steam • Contains pressurized water at temp >100°C • When this high-pressure hot water is brought to low surface pressure, some of it is flashed into steam • Steam is used for power generation

Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS)

• Also known as engineered geothermal systems
• Involve creating and enhancing fractures in hot dry rock formations that have low natural permeability
• Water is injected in these artificially created fractures and gets heated by contact with the hot rock