Use of geothermal heat for crop drying and related agricultural applications. Final report

Technical Report · Wed Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6765757· OSTI ID:6765757

Gordon, T J; Wright, T C; Fein, E; Munson, T R; Richmond, R C

Observations led to the selection of the alfalfa dehydration industry for in-depth analysis of the application of moderate-temperature geothermal heat. Six geothermal heat exchanger/dryer configurations were examined. A low-temperature conveyor dryer using geothermal water to supply all required heat was chosen for site-specific analysis, the retrofitting of a large alfalfa dehydration plant within the Heber KGRA in the Imperial Valley, California. Even in the most favorable scenario--sharing a geothermal pipeline with the neighboring fertilizer plant--geothermal retrofitting would increase the price of the alfalfa ''dehy'' about 40 percent. The geothermal brine is estimated to cost $2.58/million Btu's compared with a 1977 natural gas cost of $1.15. Capital cost for heat exchangers and the new dryers is estimated at $3.3 million. The Heber plant appeared to offer the only good opportunity for geothermal retrofitting of an existing alfalfa dehydration plant. Construction of new plants at geothermal resource sites cannot be justified due to the uncertain state of the ''dehy'' industry. Use of geothermal heat for drying other crops may be much more promising. The potato dehydration industry, which is concentrated in the geothermal-rich Snake River Valley of Idaho, appears to offer good potential for geothermal retrofitting; about 4.7 x 10{sup 12}Btu's are used annually by plants within 50 miles of resources. Drying together at the geothermal wellhead several crops that have interlocking processing seasons and drying-temperature requirements may be quite attractive. The best ''multicrop drying center'' site identified was at Power Ranch Wells, Arizona; 34 other sites were defined. Agricultural processing applications other than drying were investigated briefly.

• Research Organization: The Futures Group, Glastonbury, CT (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 6765757
• Report Number(s): IDO-1628-4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
151000* -- Geothermal Energy-- Direct Energy Utilization
AGRICULTURAL WASTES
ALFALFA
ANIMAL FEEDS
ARIZONA
CAPITAL
DATA FORMS
DEHYDRATION
DEHYDRATORS
DESIGN
DIAGRAMS
DRYERS
DRYING
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FLOWSHEETS
FOOD
GEOTHERMAL FIELDS
GEOTHERMAL PROCESS HEAT
Geothermal Legacy
HEAT
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEBER GEOTHERMAL FIELD
IDAHO
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
LEGUMINOSAE
MANAGEMENT
NORTH AMERICA
PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION
PLANTS
POTATOES
PROCESS HEAT
PROCESSING
RETROFITTING
SITE SELECTION
SOLID WASTES
TABLES
TUBERS
USA
USES
VEGETABLES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
WESTERN REGION