Que 3.1. | What is geothermal energy ? Give the classification of geothermal energy resources. oR Describe the various types of identified geothermal energy resources and mention its application at different temperatures. al Geothermal Energy : 1. The enormous amount of energy available inside the earth in the form of heat is known as geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is a form of renewable energy and independent of sun, having the source of natural heat inside the earth. 2, Surface manifestation of this heat energy is indicated by hot water springs and geysers discovered at several places. 3, Heat can be experienced from the temperature rise of the earth's crust with increasing depth below the surface. 4, Radial temperature gradient increases proportionally to depth at a rate of about 30°C per km. At a depth of 3-4 km, water bubbles up, while at a depth of 10-15 km the earth's interior is as hot as 1000° to 1200°C. 5. The core of the earth consists of a liquid rock known as ‘Magma’ having a temperature of about 4000°C. 6. This geothermal heat is transferred to the underground reservoir of water which also circulates under the earth's crust. Its heat dissipates into the atmosphere as warm water and the steam vents up through the fissures in the ground as hot springs and geysers. 7. Limitless heat content in magma plus the heat generated by radioactive decay of unstable elements such as K,, Thy» and U,.,, which are abundant in earth's crust are forms of geothermal energy and considered as a renewable energy resource. Classification : Geothermal resources are of following types : A. Hydrothermal Resources : ‘These are the deposits of hot water and steam at lesser depths and these can be extracted by means of production well, 2. High temperature water and steam (300° F to 700° F) is used for the Seneration of electricity, otherwise it is used for space heating. 3. Itmay be seen that only a part of the rock is permeable constituting the Seo-fluid reservoir, so the field is able to produce commercially a viable resource. 4. Examples of Hydrothermal Resource sites : Production well Re 8 a ping Solid rocks conduct heatVapour-Dominated Resources : Vapour dominated reservoirs produce dry saturated steam of pressure above atmospheric pressure and at high temperature about 350 °C. Water and steam coexist, but steam is in dominant phase and regulates pressure in the reservoir. Steam obtained from such a geothermal field directly drives a turbine. Examples : Malsukawa (Japan), The Geysers California (USA), Kamojang (Indonesia) etc. Hot Dry Rock Resources : This is a geological formation with high temperature rocks at 650 °C, heated by conductive heat flow from magma but contains no water. To trap its energy the impermeable rock is fractured and water is injected to create an artificial reservoir. Water circulates and hot fluids return to the surface through the other drilled well as steam and hot water, which are used to generate electricity. Geopressured Resources : These resources contains moderate temperature brines (160 °C) containing dissolved methane and these are trapped under high pressure in adeep sedimentary formation sealed between impermeable layers of shale and clay at depths. When trapped by boring wells, three sources of energy are available : a. Thermal, b. Mechanical as pressure, and c. Chemical as methane. Magma : Magma is a molten rock at temperature ranging from 900 °C to 1600 °C. This hot viscous liquid comes out from active volcanic vents and solidifies. It may form reservoirs at some depth from the earth's surface and magma chambers represent a huge energy source. The existing technology does not allow recovery of heat from these resources.@ Naar YN EQ Applications of Geothermal Energy : Generation of electric power. Industrial process heat. Space heating for buildings. Production of salt from sea. Extraction manufacturing. Textile industry. Sewage heat treatment. Geothermal water is utilized for greenhouse cultivation using discharge water from a geothermal drill hole.Que 3.2. | What is meant by dry steam, wet steam and hot water geothermal system ? Answer A. Hot Water Fields: 1 AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18; Marks 10 Hot water field, containing a water reservoir at temperature ranj atu ging 2. Such fields without much steam content can be useful for house heating and agricultural purposes the temperature gradient in this field is less. The reservoir contains water in the liquid phase below the boiling point of water under pressure. 3. On the surface, there are often thermal springs whose temperature is near the boiling point of water. These fields occur at depth less than 2km. ‘The geyser plant of USA is the largest plant in the world today. Wet Steam Field: The wet steam fields contain pressurized water in reservoir at temperature higher than 100°C. ‘When hot water at high pressure is brought to the surface, its pressure is sufficiently reduced and some water will get flashed into steam and remaining in the form of boiling water. ‘The resulting mixture is a mixture of water and steam. Such fields are suitable for power generation. When the well is drilled at such locations, the pressurized water rises into well because of less pressure above the well. ‘The vapour is used directly for producing power while the hot water gets separated in the separator and is used for thermal applications. The percentage of steam generated depends upon the available geothermal fields and more than 90 % of hydrothermal reservoirs exploited on industrial scales are this type. Dry Steam Field: These fields are similar to wet, steam fields but heat transfer from the depth is much higher. ‘These reservoirs produce superheated steam at pressure above atmosphere. The permeability of these fields is lower than wet fields. When the well is drilled up to the reservoir and extraction of fluid starts, a depressed zone is formed at the bottom of the well that enhances the boiling of water surrounding the rocks. ‘The steam flows through the dry bottom area and starts expanding and gets cool. But the heat added by surrounding rocks at high temperature keeps the steam at superheated state. The degree of superheating may reach up to 100 °C.S.No. Geothermal Power Plant Thermal Power Plant 1. | It uses inexhaustible source of energy. It uses exhaustible source of energy. 2. | Itis more environment friendly It is less environment friendly. 3. | These power plants in some dangerous cases can cause earthquakes. There is no such problem. 4. |It is mainly used for power generations process. It can be used for various industrial processes. 5. | Setup cost is high. Setup cost is low. 6. | Byproducts of these plants are not used. Byproducts of these plants can be used. 7. | These plants are less flexible. These plants are more flexible. 8. | Specified area is required. No such restriction. A is Magneto Hydrodynamics (MHD) : The magneto hydrodynamics deals with generation of electric field, when an ionized fluid at high temperature passes through the applied magnetic field. The direct current is generated from the system with the expense of thermal energy. MHD power generation is based on the Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction. The MHD generator should meet the following requirements : a. b. The magnet material should have high melting point The electrodes are made of SiC or ZrC material to withstand high temperature for preventing the chemical erosion. To prevent the chemical erosion from hot gases the ceramics are chosen to construct the duct. Duct material should have high electrical and thermal insulation. The insulation and conducting materials should be able to withstand high temperature around 2500 °C.1, In MD power generation conversion process depends upon Faraday's law of electromagnetie induction, which states that when a conductor and a magnetic field move relative to each other, a voltage is induced in the conductor. This induced voltage produces an eletri current. 2 The conductor may be solid, liquid or gas. 3, In MHD generator solid conductors are replaced by hot ionized gas. 4. The hot ionized gas (3000 “C) is passed through the MHD duct across which a strong magnetic field is applied. 5. Since the gases are hot and ionized they form an electrically conducting, ‘medium moving in a magnetie field, thus a voltage is generated. 6. The power generated by MHD generator is in the direct current form. 7. Now, ifthe electrodes are placed in a suitable position then generated current can be extracted. ios PSU OL rere Fig. 8.7.1. Working principle of MHD generator. Practical Problems Associated with MHD : The main problem in the design of long-life MHD generators is to find the materials that can survive high operating temperatures of these generators. Both the insulator and conducting materials should sustain temperature of 2500 °C for prolong duration. Electrode materials are chemically eroded by combustion gases. Seed material potassium attacks insulating materials and makes them conducting. The major problem forced by this generator is the economics. Although the overall thermal efficiency is 60 %, against 40 % for conventional thermal plant, additional investment in the magnet, generator, duct, compressors, scrubbers, seed recovery plant and DC to AC converters may increase the plant cost and it may be much higher than conventional plant.a Upen Cycle MHD System : 1. The open cycle MHD generator uses coal as a fuel as it produces more conductive plasma. This is because of more carbon atom as compared to hydrogen atom (as the presence of hydrogen is undesirable in MHD). 2. Fig. 3.8.1 shows the schematic diagram of an open cycle MHD generator. D.C. Power Magnet, Inverter} 36 A.C. Power Stack Seed Praliectedl epaene® Preheated}>/recovery| unit Oxygen Pollution at high temperature control unit Fig. 3.8.1. Open cycle MHD generator. ‘The working temperature in the open cycle MHD generator lies approximately in the range above 2300 °C. This is a lower temperature limit and below this the effective electrical conductivity becomes zero, There may be no limit in the upper working temperatures; so far the materialscan stand with the high heat fluxes under high electric field.b. Closed Cycle MHD System : 1. Fig. 3.8.2 shows the schematic diagram of closed cycle MHD generator. 36 A.C. Power Inverter DC. Power MHD Generator Precooker Fuel gas y Argon. To stack: \Compressor| Fig. 3.8.2. Closed cycle MHD generator. 2. The very high thermal efficiency is achieved with low cycle cost in closed cycle plant and provides more useful power at low temperature at 1600 °C. The duct of these units is small because of high pressure. 3. Helium or argon is used as working fluid, heated in heat exchanger and gets ionised. 4, Less ionised substances such as alkali metal is mixed with inert gas to provide the necessary conductivity in closed cycle plant, where recovery is possible. 5. Theclosed cycle plant is further classified in seeded inert gas system and liquid metal system. ‘ 6. The working fluid (argon or helium) in closed cycle is seeded with cesium and circulates in a close loop. 8. The gas burned in the combustor is supplied in the heat exchanger, where the heat is transferred to the working fluid. 9, The ionised working fluid passes through the magnetic field to produce DC power. 10. The combustion products are discharged to the atmosphere after removal of heat in heat exchanger.Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) : The electrolyte in this cell is a solid, non porous metal oxide that is conductive to oxygen ions and these cells are operate at high temperature between 650 °C to 1000 °C. At the cathode, the oxygen molecules from the air are split into oxygen ions with the addition of four electrons. The oxygen ions are conducted through the electrolyte and combine with hydrogen at the anode releasing four electrons. ‘The electrons move through the external circuit producing electric power and byproduct heat. The reactions are as followed : Anode reaction : 2H, + 20°-- ———> 2H,0 + 4e Cathode reaction : 0, + 4e*- ———> 20°- Total reaction : 2H, + 0, ———> 2H,0 nics Hydrogen 22 Anode Electrolyte Cathode Fig. 3.15.1. Solid oxide fuel cells. The output voltage is about 0.65 V at about 800 °C and a tubular type of SOFC system has been developed which operates at high temperature of about 900 °C - 1000 °C.A Proton Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMEU) 1 a In this type of fuel cell, electrolyte is a solid polymer membrane of an organic material such as polystyrene sulphonic acid and this polymer is permeable to protons when it is saturated with water but it does not conduct electrons. In PEMFC, the fuel is hydrogen and charge carriers are hydrogen ions (protons). Electron flow ti — eo OH |o,| ° —— O) esate | | ama) (a & + — Oxygen Hydrogen —__ Hy on Qo HO lo- | Hydrogen ions |° PB GS— water os — iis Anode Electrolyte Cathode Fig. 3.14.1. PEMFC, At the anode, the hydrogen molecule is split into hydrogen ions and electrons, The hydrogen ions penetrate across the electrolyte to cathode while the electrons flow through an external circuit and produce electric power. Oxygen is supplied to the cathode and combines with electrons and the hydrogen ions to produce water. The reactions are given below : Anode reaction 2H,——> 4H + de- Cathode reaction : 0, + 4H + 4e——> 2H,0 Total reaction 2H, + 0, ——> 2H,0 ‘The membrane is coated on its both sides with finely powdered platinum which acts as a catalyst. These cells are also called ion exchange membrane cell. Advantages of PEMFC : Ithas high power density. Itean be start rapidly. Less expensive, Ithas less problems with corrosion. Ithas longer life. . Itoperates at low temperature i.., usually below 100°C. Disadvantage : ‘The main disadvantage of this type of cel is that due to low operating temperature these are not enough to perform useful cogeneration, Desirable Properties of an Ideal PEMFC Electrolyte : 1. High ionic conductivity. 2, Zero electronic conductivity & Low permechility ef feel end cident. SoeA. Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) : It uses an electrolyte, which is a molten mixture of carbonate salts. Two mixtures commonly used are : a. Lithium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and b. Lithium carbonate and sodium carbonate. Since, these salts can act as electrolytes only in liquid phase; the operating temperature should be as high as 650 °C. Electron flow rr ae = —_e _ @ 8 <— Oxygen Hydrogen ——} -— '<— Carbon Water —] dioxide Anode Electrolyte Cathode Fig, 3.13.1, Molten carbonate fuel cell. Due to high temperature, these salts melt and become conductive to carbonate ions (CO,"~). These ions flow from the cathode to the anode where they combine with hydrogen to give water, carbon dioxide and electrons. The electrons flow through external circuit and reaches to cathode, generating electricity and byproduct heat. The reactions are given below : Anode reaction : CO, ~ + H, ———> H,0 + CO, + 2e Cathode reaction : CO, + 1/2 0, + 2e- ———> CO, Total reaction : H, + 1/2 0, + CO, ———> H,0 + CO, The emf produced by each cell is theoretically 1 V and actual emf of 0.8 V at 700 °C and the expected efficiency is about 60 %.A Fuelcell: 1. A fuel cell is an electro-chemical device that converts chemical energy into electricity and heat without combustion, 2. The conversion of chemical energy into electrical power in case of fuel cells an isothermal process. 3. Main components of a fuel cell are : 1. Anode (Fuel electrode), 2. Cathode (Oxidant electrode), 3, Electrolyte, 4. Container, 5. Separators, 6. Sealings, 7. Fuelsupply, and 8 Oxidant supply, B. Type of Fuel Cell: Alkaline fuel cells (AFC), Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC), Proton or polymer exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC), Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), Zine air fuel cells (ZAFC), and Regenerative fuel cells (RFC). C. Working Principle of Hydrogen Oxygen Cell : 1. Abasic hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell with phosphoric acid as electrolyte is shown in Fig. 3.10.1, 2. In uel cells, platinum coated special graphite plates are used as the cleetrodes, separated by an electrolyte. 3. The fuel is hydrogen gas which is supplied at the anode side where the hydrogen molecules are effectively reduced to hydrogen ions which ‘move to the electrolyte H, (gas) —> 2H" (ion) + 2e er ese eEe Electrons liberated at the anode build up a negative potential and travel towards the eathode through an externally connected circui Oxygen gas is supplied at the cathode where itis reduced by hydrogen ions to produce water. 4H* + 0, + 4e"—> 2H,0 Electrochemical reactions coupled with movement of hydrogen ions through the electrolyte generate an electric potential, which causes electric current to flow through the load. 2H, +0, —Pulell_, 2H,0 + Electric energy generated + Heat energy released This reaction is exothermic, which results in heating up the cel. H, fuel Hy > 2H + 26° ; ‘Anode o t + Electrolyte Toad. ee t ow Current 0; + 4H + de 2H,0 i Wy Oxidant air H,0 Fig. 8.10.1. Fuel cell operation. Asstream of air is circulated on the cathode side of the cell which absorbs ‘enough heat to maintain outlet air and steam at 180 °C which s optimum for best performance of the cell.FES SPANSPEAPePrg os erie s * eee te Features of Hydrogen Oxygen Cell : High ionic conductivity, Zero electronic conductivity, Low permeability of fuel and oxidant, Low degree of electro-osmosis, High resistance to dehydration, High resistance to its oxidation or hydrolysis and, Mechanical stability. Applications of Fuel Cell : It is used in automotive vehicles. It is used in domestic power unit. Itis used in central power station. Ttis used in military and aerospace, For remote and inaccessible locations, fuel cell can be used unattended for a long period. . Advantages of Fuel Cell : Fuel cell has high efficiency. Fuel cell is simple and safe. Fuel cell does not have moving parts. Fuel cells are compact and noiseless. They are pollution free. No cooling water needed. The capacity can be increased as the demand grows. Space requirement is much less. It has long life. . Itis odourless and quiet in application. Limitations of Fuel Cell : The reactivity and invariance are the two general requirements for all fuel cells. To satisfy the reactivity requirement, it is necessary that we have proper stoichiometry and also require high electrode activity, which results in large current densities. The second requirement, invariance, means that a fuel cell should only be aconverter of energy and should remain unlike a conventional battery, invariant throughout its life. This requirement implies no corrosion or side reactions, no change in the electrolyte and no change in the electrodes. Ifthe fuel cell is operated near room temperature, then it would deliver little electricity.