Sustainable Utilization of Low Enthalpy Geothermal Resources to Electricity Generation through a Cascade System

Abstract

The article presents an assessment of the potential for using low temperature geothermal water from the C-PIG-1 well (Małopolskie Voivodship, southern Poland) for electricity generation, as the first stage in a geothermal cascade system. The C-PIG-1 well is characterised by a temperature of geothermal water of 82 °C and a maximum flow rate of 51.22 kg/s. Geothermal water is currently only utilised for recreation purposes in swimming pools. In such locations, with the potential to use renewable energy for energetic purposes, the possibility of comprehensive management of the geothermal waters extracted should be considered both in the first stage of the cascade and after recreational use. Thermodynamic calculations were conducted assuming the use of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) or Kalina Cycle. Two variants were analysed—the use of the maximum flow rate of geothermal waters and partial use with an assumption of a priority for recreational/heating purposes. The analysis and calculations indicate that the gross capacity in the most optimistic variant will not exceed 250 kW for the ORC and 440 kW for the Kalina Cycle. As far as the gross electricity generation is concerned, for ORC this will not exceed 1.9 GWh/year and for the Kalina Cycle it will not exceed 3.5 GWh/year.

Repurposing Hydrocarbon Wells for Geothermal Use in the UK: The Onshore Fields with the Greatest Potential

“…In this study, it is assumed that regulations will indeed be changed, in recognition of the added value of repurposing hydrocarbon wells for geothermal energy production and/or storage. The wealth of infrastructure, [17]. ORC denotes the Organic Rankine Cycle.…”

Integrated Geothermal Energy Systems for Small-Scale Combined Heat and Power Production: Energy and Economic Investigation

“…In this context, binary organic Ranking cycles (ORCs) play a crucial role [10,[16][17][18]. ORCs represent an attractive and flexible technology for small applications owing to their capability to convert low enthalpy heat sources (i.e., waste heat [19][20][21][22][23] and renewable sources [24][25][26]) to electricity. Specifically, lower maintenance costs, better partial load performance, faster start-up and stop procedures, and higher safety and lifetime (up to 30 years) with respect to conventional installations are guaranteed [7,27].…”

“…According to the literature [43], the parallel configuration is the most suitable solution for supply and return temperatures higher or close to 80 and 60 • C [43], respectively, typical of space heating applications [7]. On the other hand, the series configuration is recommended for applications with lower temperatures (supply and return temperature close to 50 • C and 30 • C [25,30,43]) suitable for soil warming, swimming pools, de-icing, etc. [7].…”

A Review of the Performance of Minewater Heating and Cooling Systems

“…A summary of progression from active coal production to repurposing for MWG is depicted in Figure 1. Minewater resources do not host high enough temperatures to generate electricity [33], but they offer low enthalpy resources for space heating in new-build or retrofitted buildings, usually when coupled with heat pump technology and shared heat networks [10]. Minewater as a heat resource typically exhibits more stable year-round temperatures than other environmental heat pump sources-river, air or shallow soil [9].…”