{"id":37598,"date":"2023-09-22T14:16:57","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T13:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=37598"},"modified":"2023-09-22T14:16:57","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T13:16:57","slug":"new-method-could-help-overcome-issues-with-geothermal-heat-extraction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/new-method-could-help-overcome-issues-with-geothermal-heat-extraction\/37598\/","title":{"rendered":"New method could help overcome issues with geothermal heat extraction"},"content":{"rendered":"
A new method developed by Penn State researchers may help prevent \u2018short-circuits\u2019 that can cause geothermal power plants to halt production and improve the efficiency of geothermal heat.<\/p>\n
The study, \u2018Autonomous fracture flow tunning to enhance efficiency of fractured geothermal systems<\/a>,\u2019 is published in Energy<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe public perception of geothermal is that since it\u2019s renewable we should be able to produce from these resources infinitely,\u201d said co-corresponding author Arash Dahi Taleghani, Professor of petroleum engineering at Penn State.<\/p>\n Enhanced geothermal heat systems involve injecting cold water into hot dry rock deep underground. The water travels through fractures in the rock and heats up, and production wells then pump the heated liquid to the surface where a power plant turns it into electricity.<\/p>\n However, wide fractures may allow large volumes of water to move too quickly to sufficiently heat up before reaching the production wells. Cooler production liquid impacts the efficiency of the power plant and can compromise the economics of the project.<\/p>\n \u201cWith geothermal heat projects, you can get cold-water breakthroughs,\u201d Dahi Taleghani said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe water takes a shortcut passing through the reservoir. However, because the water doesn\u2019t have a chance to heat up, it can short-circuit the system.\u201d<\/p>\n Producers try to prevent these shortcuts before they form by adjusting how much water circulates through the system or potentially shutting down production periodically.<\/p>\n This means the plant cannot produce continuously, which would be a major benefit of geothermal heat over other sources of renewable energy<\/a>, like solar and wind.<\/p>\n The researchers proposed adding materials or chemicals to the liquid pumped into the reservoir that would autonomously control flow from inside the rock itself.<\/p>\n The process, called the fracture conductivity tuning technique, involves adding materials that could change properties with the temperature, hindering cold water and allowing hot water to flow through the fractures.<\/p>\nWhat are some of the current issues with geothermal heat extraction?<\/h3>\n
The fracture conductivity tuning technique<\/h3>\n