Transcript In a binary cycle power plant

• Translates as: Earth-heat energy
Can be harnessed near hot
spots, known as geysers,
fumaroles, and hot springs,
and mud pots
Geothermal Energy Plant in
California
Until recently,
geothermal
power plants
have been limited
to the “hot spots”
near plate
tectonic
boundaries.
The white smoke isn’t smoke at all. It’s steam.
Geothermal energy produces no air pollution.
Rainwater can seep
down faults and
fractured rocks for
miles. After being
heated, it can return
to the surface as
steam or hot water.
Geothermal reservoirs
can reach
temperatures in excess
of 350° C (that’s more
than three times hotter
than the boiling point
of water). This is a
powerful source of When the rising hot water and steam is
trapped in permeable and porous rocks
energy.
under a layer of impermeable rock, it can
form a geothermal reservoir.
Turbine blades inside a geothermal plant
The force of
steam is
used to spin
the turbine
blades which
spin the
generator,
producing
electricity.
Natural steam from the production wells power the turbine
generator. The steam is condensed in the cooling tower and the
water is pumped down an injection well to sustain production.
• crops
(Philippines)
• forested
recreational
areas (Mammoth
Lakes, Ca.)
• deserts
(Mojave, Ca)
• tropical
rainforests
Apo, Philippines)
Geothermal plants are operating successfully in sensitive
environments such as:
(Mt.
Prince Piero
Ginori Conti
invented the
first
geothermal
power plant in
1904
Today, there is still a productive geothermal power plant in
Larderello, Italy…although it was rebuilt after WWII as it was
destroyed.
• Dry Steam
In dry steam power plants, the
steam from the reservoir (and no
water) shoots up the wells and is
passed through a rock catcher
(not shown) and then directly into
the turbine
• Flash Steam
Flash steam power plants use hot
water reservoirs. In flash plants,
as hot water is released from the
pressure of the deep reservoir in a
flash tank, some if it flashes to
steam (most common)
• Binary Cycle
In a binary cycle power plant (binary means two), the heat from geothermal water
is used to vaporize a "working fluid" in separate adjacent pipes. The vapor, like
fluid? Isobutane or other organic fluids such as
steam, powers the turbine generator. Working
pentafluoropropane, which boils at a lower temperature than water
In the heat exchanger, heat is transferred from the geothermal water to a second
liquid. The geothermal water is never exposed to the air and is injected back into
the periphery of the reservoir.
Binary technology allows the use of lower temperature reservoirs, thus increasing
the number of reservoirs that can be used. This binary plant is at Soda Lake,
Nevada.
While Texas is
not a Geothermal
“Hot Spot”, there
The areas in orange and red are where with today's
is some potential
technology, we can find and use geothermal
for development
reservoirs.
here as well.
These outlined
regions have been
used to access both
oil and natural gas,
some of which have
been sufficiently
drilled deep enough to
encounter high
temperatures for the
use in a geothermal
power plant system.
Pipes of geothermal water can be installed
under sidewalks and roads to keep them
from icing over in winter, like this sidewalk in
Klamath Falls, Oregon
People who live in these areas are receiving electricity from geothermal power
plants
Solar Energy
•Homemakers have harnessed solar energy for millennia
30% of the homes in Pasadena California were equipped
with solar water heaters in 1896!
In the early 1920s,
large deposits of fossil
fuels were being
discovered, and as
these low cost fuels
became available, solar
systems were replaced
The parabolic trough focuses sunlight on a pipe containing
water, or some other “working fluid”, which gets hot enough to
boil.
The steam is used to turn a turbine, producing electricity!
Solar technologies are broadly
characterized as either passive solar or
active solar depending on the way they
capture, convert and distribute solar
energy.
Active solar techniques include the use of
photovoltaic panels, parabolic troughs,
and solar thermal collectors to harness
the energy.
Passive solar techniques include orienting
a building to the Sun, selecting materials
with favorable thermal or light dispersing
properties, and designing spaces that
naturally circulate air.
Problems faced by solar energy
plants...
• Only work on sunny days
On cloudy days and at night
energy can’t be produced.
A possible answer:
• Hybrid plants use natural gas,
or another alternative fuel at
night, and on cloudy days.
• Store generated electricity in
batteries until needed.
The Photovolatic Cell (PV)
•The sun’s energy can also be directly made into
electricity through using a photovoltaic cell (solar
calculators and other technologies)
This technology relies upon the element
silicon. The silicon cells known as
semiconductors, have a negative (electron
rich) side, and a positive (electron poor) side.
When a light photon hits the N side of
the silicon cell, an electron is knocked
free. Electricity is the flow of
electrons…
Used to power billboards
Home lights and small
Cell phones
appliances
Experimental cars
Outside lighting
Last but not least...
Biomass Energy
In California, 1.4 trillion pounds are burned every year
to produce electricity, and today in the US it is the
second most used alternative energy.
It truly is the oldest source of
renewable energy known to humans,
used since our ancestors learned the
secret of fire. (Homo erectus)
If excessive, it can increase the
greenhouse effect because of CO2
emissions.
Are the CO2 emissions produced
when we burn biomass any less
toxic than the CO2 emissions
produced when we burn coal?
Are there any areas in our
school that might be
considered a passive solar
design? Explain