Geothermal energy control system and method

Patent · 01 January 1977

OSTI ID:862834

Matthews, Hugh B ^[1]

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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. The bearing system employs liquid lubricated thrust and radial bearings with all bearing surfaces bathed in clean water serving as a lubricant and maintained under pressure to prevent entry into the bearings of contaminated geothermal fluid, an auxiliary thrust ball bearing arrangement comes into operation when starting or stopping the pumping system.

• Research Organization: Sperry Research Center, Sudbury, Mass. (USA)
• Other Award/Contract Number: EY-76-C-02-2838
• Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation (New York, NY)
• Patent Number(s): US 4025240
• OSTI ID: 862834
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/417/
arrangement
arrangement supporting
auxiliary
ball
ball bearing
bathed
bearing
bearing surface
bearing surfaces
bearings
boiler-turbine-alternator
bottom
clean
clean water
closed-loop
combination
concentrated
contaminated
control
cooled
cooled water
deep
driven pump
earth
electrical
employs
energy
energy control
energy stored
energy transfer
entry
flow
fluid
generate
generate super-heated
generation
geothermal
geothermal energy
heat
heated steam
hot
hot solute-bearing
injected
injected flow
liquid
lubricant
lubricated
lubricated thrust
lubrication
maintained
makes
method
novel
operating
operation
power
pressure
prevent
pump
pumped
pumping
radial
radial bearing
regenerated
residual
residual concentrated
returned
serving
solute-bearing
starting
steam
stopping
stored
super-heated
super-heated steam
supporting
surface
surface-located
surfaces
thermal
thermal energy
thrust
transfer
turbine-driven
utilization
water