Abstract
AbstractA new process combination is proposed to link geothermal electricity generation with desalination. The concept involves maximizing the utilization of harvested latent heat by passing the turbine exhaust steam into a multiple effect distillation system and then into an adsorption desalination system. Processes are fully integrated to produce electricity, desalted water for consumer consumption, and make-up water for the geothermal extraction system. Further improvements in operational efficiency are achieved by adding a seawater reverse osmosis system to the site to utilize some of the generated electricity and using on-site aquifer storage and recovery to maximize water production with tailoring of seasonal capacity requirements and to meet facility maintenance requirements. The concept proposed conserves geothermally harvested latent heat and maximizes the economics of geothermal energy development. Development of a fully renewable energy electric generation-desalination-aquifer storage campus is...
Highlights
Most renewable energy methods for electricity generation cannot be used to provide base-load into the grid system and suffer a number of inefficiencies in the generation process
The fully integrated electric generation and desalination system was further incorporated into the operation of the closed-loop geothermal heat collection system to provide the required make-up water
A Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination system was linked to the electric generation on the same site along with an ASR system to demonstrate the concept of a geothermal electric generation-desalination-water storage “campus” with the objective of achieving full operational flexibility to meet seasonal fluctuations in water demand, scheduled maintenance of facilities, and emergencies caused by equipment failure or other crises
Summary
Most renewable energy methods for electricity generation cannot be used to provide base-load into the grid system (e.g. solar and wind generation) and suffer a number of inefficiencies in the generation process. Electricity generation using geothermal energy harvesting does provide a base load to the grid, but commonly is not very efficient because of wasted latent heat occurring after steam passage through the turbine. The steam passing through the turbine is commonly vented to ambient after the first or second cycle with no additional beneficial use or is condensed to produce process water for reuse. Presented at EuroMed 2015: Desalination for Clean Water and Energy Palermo, Italy, 10–14 May 2015.
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