A thermodynamic screening of 31 pure component working fluids for organic Rankine cycles (ORC) is given using BACKONE equation of state. The fluids are alkanes, fluorinated alkanes, ethers and fluorinated ethers. The ORC cycles operate between 100 and 30 °C typical for geothermal power plants at pressures mostly limited to 20 bar, but in some cases supercritical pressures are also considered. …
In recent years, several larger geothermal heat pump plants for offices or commercial areas have been designed and built in the central region of Germany, mainly in the Rhein-Main area. Systems with borehole heat exchangers (BHE; in the USA the term Vertical Loop is commonly used) as well as with shallow geothermal doublets (groundwater wells) are operational. New solutions had to be found to a…
A suite of models utilizing a simplified structural framework with a range of bulk rock permeabilities were developed to analyze the transient behavior of Basin and Range extensional geothermal systems, and particularly, the evolution of the system temperature with time. Each model consists of two mountain ranges (∼1 km relief from the valley floor) separated by a thick sequence (about 4 km) …
An analytical solution of the transient temperature response in a semi-infinite medium with a line source of finite length has been derived, which is a more appropriate model for boreholes in geothermal heat exchangers, especially for their long-duration operation. The steady-state temperature distribution has also been obtained as a limit of this solution. An erratic approach to this problem t…
Binary-type energy conversion systems are typically used to exploit low-temperature geothermal resources. There are many different technical variations of binary plants, including those known as Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC) and proprietary systems known as Kalina cycles. Recent articles in the technical literature claim dramatic efficiency advantages for Kalina cycles over ORCs, thereby providi…