Geo Presentation

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
THE TERM GEOTHERMAL ORIGINATES

FROM TWO GREEK WORDS
'GEO' AND 'THERMAL
GEO EARTH
THERMAL HEAT
GEOTHERMAL MEANS
HEAT OF THE EARTH
WHAT IS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Heat is a form of energy andgeothermal

energyis, literally, the heat contained
within the Earth that generates geological
phenomena on a planetary scale.
'Geothermal energy' is often used

nowadays, however, to indicate that part of
the Earth's heat that can, or could, be
recovered and exploited by man, and it is
in this sense that we will use the term from
now on.
HISTORY OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
In 1827 Francesco Larderel, founder of this industry,

developed a system for utilising the heat of the boric
fluids in the evaporation process, rather than burning
wood from the rapidly depleting forests
to extract boric acid from the boric hot waters

emerging naturally or from specially drilled shallow
boreholes. The boric acid was obtained by
evaporating the boric waters in iron boilers, using the
wood from nearby forests as fuel
Exploitation of the natural steam for its mechanical

energy began at much the same time
By 1904 the first attempt was being made at

generating electricity from geothermal steam
The success of this experiment was a clear indication

of the industrial value of geothermal energy and
marked the beginning
In 1919 the first geothermal wells in Japan were drilled

at Beppu
followed in 1921 by wells drilled at The Geysers,

California, USA.
In 1958 a small geothermal power plant began

operating in New Zealand
And in 1959 another began in Mexico, in 1960 in the

USA, followed by many other countries in the years to
come.
The covered lagoon used in the first

half of the 19th century in the
Larderello area, Italy, to collect the
hot boric waters and extract the boric
acid
The engine used at Larderello in 1904

in the first experiment in generating
electric energy from geothermal
steam, along with its inventor, Prince
Piero Ginori Conti.
ENERGY INSIDE THE EARTH
Geothermal energy is heat from within the Earth
It's clean and sustainable
The earths centre is a distance of approximately 4000

miles and is so hot that it is molten
Temperatures are understood to be at least 5000

degrees centigrade.
Heat from the centre of the earth conducts outwards and

heats up the outer layers of rock called the mantle
When this type of rock melts and becomes molten it is

called magma.
Magma can reach just below the earths surface.
HOW ITS WORKS
Geothermal energy is a renewable energy

source because the water is replenished by
rainfall and the heat is continuously produced
inside the earth.
Rain water sometimes seeps down through

geological fault lines and cracks becoming
super heated by the hot rocks below.
Some of this super heated water rises back to

the surface of the earth where it emerges as
hot springs or even geysers.
Sometimes the hot water becomes trapped

below the surface as a geothermal reservoir.
Hot rocks underground heat the water to produce steam.
When drill holes down to the hot region, steam comes

up, is purified and used to drive turbines, which drive
electric generators
There may be natural "groundwater" in the

hot rocks anyway, or may need to drill
more holes and pump water down to them
Water is pumped down an "injection well", filters

through the cracks in the rocks in the hot region,
and comes back up the "recovery well" under
pressure. It "flashes" into steam when it reaches
the surface.
The hot water that rises emerges at the surface

as steam. The steam is used to drive turbines
producing electricity
The steam that used to drive a turbogenerator, or

passed through a heat exchanger to heat water
to warm houses.
Example: A town in Iceland is heated this way
The steam must be purified before it is used to

drive a turbine, or the turbine blades will get
"furred up.
USES OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Direct Use and District Heating Systems use

hot water from springs or reservoirs near the
surface
Electricity generation in a power plant

requires water or steam at very high
temperature (300 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit).
Geothermal power plants are generally built
where geothermal reservoirs are located within
a mile or two of the surface.
Geothermal heat pumps use stable ground or

water temperatures near the earth's surface to
control building temperatures above ground.
ADVANTAGES OF GEOTHERMAL
ENERGY
No
polluti
on
Job
creatio
n
Advantages
of
Geothermal
Energy
Direct
use
Cost
saving
DISADVANTAGES OF GEOTHERMAL
ENERGY
Not many
places to
build
geothermal
energy
High
installation
costs
Run Out of
Steam
COMMONLY USED..
COMMONLY USED..
Best known geothermal energy sources in the

United States are located in western states and
Hawaii.
Most geothermal energy is produced in four
states--California, Nevada, Utah, and Hawaii.
Today the total installed capacity of geothermal
power plants in the United State is 3,200
megawatts (MW) That's the energy equivalent of
three nuclear power plants. American geothermal
power plants range in size from a few hundred
kilowatts to more than 130 megawatts.
RENEWABLE OR NON-RENEWABLE??..
Renewable energy source because the

water is replenished by rainfall, and the
heat is continuously produced by the earth.
Geothermal energy, where we use the heat
from deep under the earth to generate
electricity, is renewable, that is, there is so
much of it that we can keep using it
practically forever.
HOW CAN BE CONSERVED?? IS COSERVATION

NECESSARY??...
EFFECT ON ENVIRONMENT
EFFECT
Air emissions
Depletion of resources
Damage to natural geothermal features
Subsidence
Polluting waterways

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GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

THE TERM GEOTHERMAL ORIGINATES

WHAT IS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Heat is a form of energy andgeothermal

'Geothermal energy' is often used

HISTORY OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

In 1827 Francesco Larderel, founder of this industry,

to extract boric acid from the boric hot waters

Exploitation of the natural steam for its mechanical

By 1904 the first attempt was being made at

The success of this experiment was a clear indication

In 1919 the first geothermal wells in Japan were drilled

followed in 1921 by wells drilled at The Geysers,

In 1958 a small geothermal power plant began

And in 1959 another began in Mexico, in 1960 in the

The covered lagoon used in the first

The engine used at Larderello in 1904

ENERGY INSIDE THE EARTH

Geothermal energy is heat from within the Earth

It's clean and sustainable

The earths centre is a distance of approximately 4000

Temperatures are understood to be at least 5000

Heat from the centre of the earth conducts outwards and

When this type of rock melts and becomes molten it is

Magma can reach just below the earths surface.

HOW ITS WORKS

Geothermal energy is a renewable energy

Rain water sometimes seeps down through

Some of this super heated water rises back to

Sometimes the hot water becomes trapped

Hot rocks underground heat the water to produce steam.

When drill holes down to the hot region, steam comes

There may be natural "groundwater" in the

Water is pumped down an "injection well", filters

The hot water that rises emerges at the surface

The steam that used to drive a turbogenerator, or

Example: A town in Iceland is heated this way

The steam must be purified before it is used to

USES OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Direct Use and District Heating Systems use

Electricity generation in a power plant

Geothermal heat pumps use stable ground or

Best known geothermal energy sources in the

Renewable energy source because the

HOW CAN BE CONSERVED?? IS COSERVATION

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