Lecture

Geothermal Energy Systems: Principles and Applications

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In course

ME-460: Renewable energy (for ME)

The students assess and compare all renewable energy resources, their real potentials, limitations and best applications (energy services). Solar thermal, solar electric, wood, bioliquids, biogas, hydropower incl. tidal and wave power, wind, geothermal inc ...

Description

This lecture covers the principles and applications of geothermal energy systems, focusing on thermodynamic cycles, heat pump systems, and various geothermal technologies. It begins with an introduction to thermodynamics, including the first and second laws, and their relevance to energy systems. The instructor discusses different types of geothermal systems, such as vapor-compression refrigeration and absorption heat pumps, explaining their operational principles and efficiency metrics. The lecture also highlights the importance of temperature gradients in geothermal applications and the potential for electricity generation from geothermal resources. Various geothermal power plants, including dry steam, flash steam, and binary cycle plants, are examined, along with their efficiencies and operational characteristics. The discussion extends to the classification of geothermal reservoirs and the factors influencing their performance. The lecture concludes with a summary of the current state of geothermal energy production worldwide, emphasizing its role as a sustainable energy source.

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Instructors (2)

Jan Van Herle

Born in Antwerp, Belgium. In Switzerland since 1983. Became Swiss citizen in 2004 out of conviction of principles of democracy and bottom-up participation. No double nationality. Village Council Member for 2 five-year mandates in 2006-2016. 1987 : Chemist from Basel University (CH). 1988 : Post-graduate IT diploma from Basel Engineering School. 1989 : Industry internship ABB Baden (CH). 1990-1993 : PhD Thesis EPFL, on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell cathode reaction mechanisms. 1994-1995 : Japanese Postdoctoral Fellowship in Tsukuba, Japan, on ceramic powders. 1995-2000 : Researcher at EPFL, Dpt. Chemistry : project responsible in PPM2 (materials), FP4-BriteEuram, NEDO (Japan), Swiss Gas Union (CH, oxygen membranes). 1998-2000 : Masters in Energy Technology, EPFL. 2000 : Cofounder of HTceramix SA (EPFL spin-off), now based in Yverdon (14 employees). Taken over by SOLIDpower in 2007, now 250 employees with 70 MCHF raised. 2000 : 1st Assistant and lecturer at LENI (STI-IGM) : fuel cell group responsible, projects on biogas (Federal Energy Office), woodgas (CCEM), fuel cell stacking (CTI, FP6, FNS), ceramic separation membranes (COST, FNS), microtubes (STI Seed), stability/lifetime/reliability in fuel cells (Electricité de France, swisselectric research). Currently 4 Ph D theses ongoing, 14 theses concluded, of which 5 colateral with SB and IMX. M.E.R. since Nov 2008. Total funding raised so far >18 MCHF (50% as main applicant; 30% outside CH; 20% industry). Scientific output : >135 peer-reviewed publications, >120 conference papers, 40 invited presentations (8 keynotes), >70 granted proposals. Fluent in 5 languages (Dutch, French, German ( Swiss-german), English, Spanish).

Sophia Haussener

Sophia Haussener is an Associate Professor heading the Laboratory of Renewable Energy Science and Engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Her current research is focused on providing design guidelines for thermal, thermochemical, and photoelectrochemical energy conversion reactors through multi-physics modeling. Her research interests include: thermal sciences, fluid dynamics, charge transfer, electro-magnetism, and thermo/electro/photochemistry in complex multi-phase media on multiple scales. She received her MSc (2007) and PhD (2010) in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich. Between 2011 and 2012, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Joint Center of Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP) and the Energy Environmental Technology Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). She has published over 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. She has been awarded the ETH medal (2011), the Dimitris N. Chorafas Foundation award (2011), the ABB Forschungspreis (2012), the Prix Zonta (2015), the Global Change Award (2017), and the Raymond Viskanta Award (2019), and is a recipient of a Starting Grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation (2014). She is a deputy leader in the Swiss Competence Center for Energy Research (SCCER) on energy storage and acts as a Member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Helmholtz Zentrum.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Mechanical engineering

Thermal engineering: Air conditioning

Physics

Thermodynamics: Statistical mechanics

Energy engineering

Fuel power: Fossil fuel power stations

Related concepts (32)

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. Renewable resources include sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy sources are sustainable, some are not. For example, some biomass sources are considered unsustainable at current rates of exploitation. Renewable energy is often used for electricity generation, heating and cooling.

Absorption refrigerator

An absorption refrigerator is a refrigerator that uses a heat source (e.g., solar energy, a fossil-fueled flame, waste heat from factories, or district heating systems) to provide the energy needed to drive the cooling process. The system uses two coolants, the first of which performs evaporative cooling and is then absorbed into the second coolant; heat is needed to reset the two coolants to their initial states. The principle can also be used to air-condition buildings using the waste heat from a gas turbine or water heater.

Heat transfer

Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the generation, use, conversion, and exchange of thermal energy (heat) between physical systems. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as thermal conduction, thermal convection, thermal radiation, and transfer of energy by phase changes. Engineers also consider the transfer of mass of differing chemical species (mass transfer in the form of advection), either cold or hot, to achieve heat transfer.

Thermodynamic process

Classical thermodynamics considers three main kinds of thermodynamic process: (1) changes in a system, (2) cycles in a system, and (3) flow processes. (1)A Thermodynamic process is a process in which the thermodynamic state of a system is changed. A change in a system is defined by a passage from an initial to a final state of thermodynamic equilibrium. In classical thermodynamics, the actual course of the process is not the primary concern, and often is ignored.

Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of thermodynamics which convey a quantitative description using measurable macroscopic physical quantities, but may be explained in terms of microscopic constituents by statistical mechanics.

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