Beneficial uses of geothermal energy description and preliminary results for phase 1 of the Raft River irrigation experiment

Technical Report · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7117150· OSTI ID:7117150

Schmitt, R C; Spencer, S G

The first phase of an experiment using geothermal water for irrigation is described and preliminary results are discussed. The water was from a moderate temperature well, having salinity of about 2000 ppM, and is considered characteristic of the types of geothermal fluids that will be obtained from the young volcanic/young sediment formations of the northern intermountain west. The activity was completed at a location adjacent to ERDA's Raft River Geothermal Project in southern Idaho. About 12.5 acres, of which part had no previous cultivation, were subdivided by crops and irrigation practices for investigation with the geothermal water and a control comparison water from the relatively pure Raft River. Flood and sprinkler application techniques were used and wheat, barley, oats, grasses, alfalfa, potatoes, and garden vegetables were successfully grown. An accompanying experiment evaluated the behavior of an established alfalfa crop located nearby, when most of the irrigation water was geothermal. The experiment addressed heavy metal uptake in plants, plant fluoride retention and damage, plant tolerances to salts, soil alterations and other behavior as a result of the geothermal fluids, all of which were largely believed to eliminate geothermal water from contention for crop growing utilization. Not all analyses and results are complete in this reporting, but first results indicate no apparent difference between the geothermal watered crops and those obtained using the fresh water control. Extensive chemical analyses, neutron activation analyses, and other evaluations of crop samples are discussed, and some of the findings are presented. Although evaluation of crop yields was not an objective, extrapolations from samples indicate that yield results were comparable to those commonly found in the area, and the yield varied little between water sources. (JGB)

• Research Organization: SEE CODE- 9502158 EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls (USA). Idaho National Engineering Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-07-1570
• OSTI ID: 7117150
• Report Number(s): TREE-1048
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
151000* -- Geothermal Energy-- Direct Energy Utilization
AGRICULTURE
BARLEY
BIOMASS
CEREALS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMISTRY
CROPS
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
FOOD
GRAMINEAE
GRASS
Geothermal Legacy
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
IDAHO
IRRIGATION
METALS
NORTH AMERICA
OATS
PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION
PLANTS
POTATOES
RAFT RIVER VALLEY
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SOIL CHEMISTRY
SOILS
THERMAL WATERS
TRACE AMOUNTS
TUBERS
USA
VEGETABLES
WHEAT