Hot dry rock geothermal heat extraction

Conference · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1979

OSTI ID:6118927

Murphy, H D

A man-made geothermal reservoir has been created at a depth of 2.7 km in hot, dry granite by hydraulic fracturing. The system was completed by directionally drilling a second well in close proximity with the top of the vertical fracture. In early 1978 heat was extracted from this reservoir for a period of 75 days. During this period thermal power was produced at an average rate of 4 MW(t). Theoretical analysis of th measured drawdown suggests a total fracture heat transfer area of 16,000 m/sup 2/. Viscous impedance to through-flow declined continuously so that at the end of the experiment this impedance was only one-fifth its initial value. Water losses to the surrounding rock formation also decreased continuously, and eventually this loss rate was less than 1% of the circulated flow rate. Geochemical analyses suggest that, with scale up of the heat transfer area and deeper, hotter reservoirs, hot dry rock reservoirs can ultimately produce levels of power on a commercial scale.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos Scientific Lab., NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 6118927
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-79-1920; CONF-790906-8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150906* -- Geothermal Engineering-- Reservoir Stimulation & Extraction Technology
CHEMISTRY
COMMINUTION
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
DRAWDOWN
DRILLING
FRACTURING
GEOCHEMISTRY
GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS
GRANITES
Geothermal Legacy
HEAT EXTRACTION
HOT-DRY-ROCK SYSTEMS
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
IGNEOUS ROCKS
IMPEDANCE
LOSSES
NEW MEXICO
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE
ROCKS
SOUTHWEST REGION
USA
WATER