Heat potential evaluation of effluent and used thermal waters in Budapest, Hungary

Abstract

Europe's largest thermal water system can be found in the capital of Hungary. The springs and wells that supply the famous baths of Budapest discharge mainly from a regional Triassic carbonate rock aquifer system. The springs have mostly been substituted by wells; only a few natural springs are known today, most of which are drained unused into the Danube.In this study, first the heat potential of these unutilized spring waters in the three natural discharge areas was assessed. Secondly, the heat potential of used thermal waters of three baths was calculated. At the springs discharge and temperature measurements were carried out. In the case of the baths, water management data were evaluated. At the Boltív Spring at the foot of Rózsadomb, the heat potential calculation shows that cooling the spring water to 5 °C would provide 6 MW th thermal capacity, providing a stable energy source for heat pumps. From the overflowing water of the springs of Rudas Bath at the foot of Gellért Hill, a total of 107 kW th heat could be utilized when cooling it to 5 °C, possibly by heat pump system. However, the heat potential of the Bründl Spring is not sufficient for geothermal utilization, mainly due to lack of end users in the vicinity of the spring. Together with the wastewater of the thermal baths, the effluent springs and wastewaters of pools carry a total of 25 MW th waste heat, which is a considerable amount compared to the needs of a public institution. The importance of this study is in the assessment of such potential heat sources (unused lukewarm and thermal springs, wastewater of spa pools) which are present either naturally or artificially, and do not require further thermal water production for heating purposes.

Nem lehet mindenhol mindent, de mindenhol lehet valamit – A geotermikus energia hasznosításának lehetőségei a hazai ellátás diverzifikálása érdekében

“…A fürdésre használt és elengedett termálvízből szintén jelentős hőmennyiség lenne kinyerhető. Erőss-Zsemle-Pulay (2015) számításai Geotermia -energia a talpunk alatt alapján négy budapesti termálfürdő elfolyó vizét 5 °C-ra lehűtve 0,11 és 9,04 MW th közötti hő nyerhető. A budapesti elfolyó forrásvizek (ma már nem források, hanem kutak vizét használják a fürdők) és a termálfürdők medencevizeiben rejlő együttes elméleti hőpotenciált a szerző 25 MW-ra becsülte.…”

Hazards in Karst and Managing Water Resources Quality

“…Simple volumetric calculation was restricted to only one spring in the Central discharge region and the waste water from the four biggest spas has proven the importance of this issue. These effluent waters carry 782 TJ/y (25 MWh) of waste heat (Erőss et al 2013).…”