Increasing the efficiency of geothermal power plants using optimum pressures for turbocompressors and steam jet ejectors in gas extraction systems
Geothermal power plants generate electricity by extracting energy from the earth's interior. The radioactive decay of the earth's core causes heat to conduct towards the surface. When water flows into the fissures of this hot rock a naturally occurring geothermal well is formed. Geothermal power plants use the steam in these wells to drive a turbine and thus generate electricity.The steam in the earth however, is always accompanied by a small fraction of non-condensable gases that build up in the power plant's condenser unless actively removed by some gas extraction system. Because these gases contribute significantly to the total backpressure on the turbine, it is in the interest of power generation to remove them from the condenser. The industry standard for removing these non-condensable gases has been steam jet ejectors or a hybrid system of steam jet ejectors and liquid ring vacuum pumps. This thesis focuses on finding the optimum operating pressures for a hybrid steam jet ejector system and a hybrid turbocompressor system. It was found that plants with steam jet ejectors and liquid ring vacuum pumps provide maximum power output when the liquid ring vacuum pump is operated at its maximum pressure ratio. However, plants with a turbocompressor and liquid ring vacuum pump were found to provide maximum power output when the turbocompressor was operated at its maximum pressure ratio.
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- In Collections
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Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Copyright Status
- In Copyright
- Material Type
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Theses
- Authors
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Harns, Karsten Franz
- Thesis Advisors
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Mueller, Norbert
- Committee Members
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Mueller, Norbert
Engeda, Abraham
Liu, Dahsin
- Date Published
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2014
- Program of Study
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Mechanical Engineering - Master of Science
- Degree Level
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Masters
- Language
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English
- Pages
- x, 55 pages
- ISBN
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9781303883514
1303883511
- Permalink
- https://doi.org/doi:10.25335/dhne-0s19