Choice of working fluid and operating conditions for energy conversion with geothermal heat sources
A study of electric power generating cycles which can be used in conjunction with a low-temperature geothermal energy (sensible heat) source is presented. Investigators at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory have proposed a steam/isobutane dual cycle capable of generating 50.7 Mw of electric power. This cycle is optimized using regenerative feed water heating to yield a power output of 52.1 Mw or an improvement of 2.8%. Other power cycle designs and working fluids are investigated. Working fluids including various freons, steam, isobutane, ammonia, SO/sub 2/, CO/sub 2/, and several low molecular weight alkanes and alkenes are considered. The power cycle designs which are investigated include single and dual Rankine cycles (some of which involve regenerative feed heating), as well as topping/bottoming Rankine cycles, and Brayton gas cycles. The investigation shows that use of a single freon-11 cycle results in a 57.7 Mw power output representing an improvement of 13.8% over the LASL proposal. This cycle represents the best performance of all the combinations investigated, although several other cycles exhibit performance superior to that of the LASL proposal. It is recommended that the freon-11 single cycle be considered on an economic basis as a replacement for the steam/isobutane cycle in the proposed LASL system. Furthermore, it is recommended that several new freon working fluids beinvestigated for which thermodynamic data were not available at this time. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26 s
- OSTI ID:
- 7359116
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL-MIT-180
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BINARY-FLUID SYSTEMS
WORKING FLUIDS
BRAYTON CYCLE
PERFORMANCE
FREONS
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION
THERMODYNAMIC CYCLES
RANKINE CYCLE
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
2-METHYLPROPANE
ALKANES
ALKENES
AMMONIA
BOTTOMING CYCLES
CARBON DIOXIDE
EFFICIENCY
SULFUR DIOXIDE
TABLES
TOPPING CYCLES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CONVERSION
ENERGY CONVERSION
FLUIDS
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDRIDES
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
REFRIGERANTS
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
Geothermal Legacy
150802* - Geothermal Power Plants- Power Plant Systems & Components