Geothermal energy control system and method

Patent · 01 January 1976

OSTI ID:862463

Matthews, Hugh B ^[1]

---

1. Acton, MA

A geothermal energy transfer and utilization system makes use of thermal energy stored in hot solute-bearing well water to generate super-heated steam from an injected flow of clean water; the super-heated steam is then used for operating a turbine-driven pump at the well bottom for pumping the hot solute-bearing water at high pressure and in liquid state to the earth's surface, where it is used by transfer of its heat to a closed-loop boiler-turbine-alternator combination for the generation of electrical or other power. Residual concentrated solute-bearing water is pumped back into the earth. The clean cooled water is regenerated at the surface-located system and is returned to the deep well pumping system also for lubrication of a novel bearing arrangement supporting the turbine-driven pump system.

• Research Organization: Sperry Research Center, Sudbury, Mass. (USA)
• Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation (New York, NY)
• Patent Number(s): US 3938334
• OSTI ID: 862463
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/60/417/
arrangement
arrangement supporting
bearing
boiler-turbine-alternator
bottom
clean
clean water
closed-loop
combination
concentrated
control
cooled
cooled water
deep
driven pump
earth
electrical
energy
energy control
energy stored
energy transfer
flow
generate
generate super-heated
generation
geothermal
geothermal energy
heat
heated steam
hot
hot solute-bearing
injected
injected flow
liquid
lubrication
makes
method
novel
operating
power
pressure
pump
pumped
pumping
regenerated
residual
residual concentrated
returned
solute-bearing
steam
stored
super-heated
super-heated steam
supporting
surface
surface-located
thermal
thermal energy
transfer
turbine-driven
utilization
water