ALBERT M.

STONE

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY - AN OVERVIEW

There are more things in heaven and earth, H oratio,

Than are dreamt oj in y our philosophy .
Hamlet, I, v, 166

Geothermal energy, although not strictly speaking a renewable resource, can substitute for
fossil fuel in important applications and can be available for an indeterminate time in the future.
Its source is largely the still-hot interior of the earth. Considerable technical difficulty persists,
but is slowly being overcome, in geothermal reservoir discovery, in proper engineering of the
withdrawal and reinjection wells (for hydrothermal waters), and in the economic application of
the heat. By far the most abundant resource available at depths down to 3 km or so is of
relatively low temperature, below about 185°F, and thus is basically useful for space heating of
commercial, industrial, and residential buildings. Used in this mode, there are some environmen-
tal problems to be expected, but none looms of such serious consequence as cannot be overcome
with straightforward engineering.

INTRODUCTION 190 MW of electrical power. 2 Other steam systems

have been discovered and are driving turbines in
As little as ten years ago who, except for a mere the volcanic islands of Iceland and Japan, but the
handful of earth scientists, had ever heard of largest natural supply of steam now being utilized
geothermal energy? But now, in sharp contrast the surges out of the ground at The Geysers in Califor-
incessant and continual discussion and polemics nia, where commercial electric power has been pro-
relating to energy, fuels, and environment have duced since 1960. Here the Pacific Gas and Electric
made it, if not exactly a household phrase, at least Company currently generates over 600 MW of
moderately familiar . People now see geothermal power (about half the needs of San Francisco) and
energy as one of our better candidates for new will expand to probably 1900 MW in the decade of
energy technology. Along with direct solar radia- the 1980's. Current usage of steam is 8 million
tion, wind, waves, tides, ocean thermal, and pounds per hour. A complex system of under-
biomass as sources of renewable energy, geother- ground faults and fractures is thought to provide
mal will displace its appropriate share of ·fossil deep passageways for water to circulate from the
fuels. Although not as obvious and pervasive a surface down to where it comes into contact with
source as the sun's rays, geothermal energy tech- very hot rock and is thereby vaporized and super-
nology is a far better proven one. Together then, heated.
energy from the earth and energy from the sky rep- Dry steam fields are the exception rather than
resent the two basic legacies from the genius who the rule. More commonly, the geothermal resource
created the world. consists of a hydrothermal (hot water) system that
Hot springs, fumaroles, and geysers are as well derives its thermal energy either by conduction
known as any geologic features on earth since the from the earth's mantle (the layer between the mol-
days of antiquity. About 85 years ago in Italy, near ten interior - the core - and the "cold" crust),
Pisa, an underground steam field was discovered or from an intrusive crystalline granite body (called
and, after being originally exploited to make boric a "pluton") that contains minute amounts of
acid from the boron compounds contaminating the radioactive uranium, thorium, and potassium and
steam, the spewed vapor was turned into a steam is being heated continuously by the a-particle emis-
supply for the fledgling electrical generating in- sion or fission decay of these unstable elements. To
dustry. The fields at Larderello are still producing the extent that the overlying sediments are porous,
2.5 million lb ' of steam per hour for generating contain water, and are permeable, water can be

78 J ohns H opkins A PL Technical Digest

_______________________________________________TECHNICALARTICLES

pumped from them. These moderately hot hydro- temperatures will be found at quite modest depths
thermal resources turn out to be far more extensive (say 2 to 4 km), but frequently anomalies can be
and ubiquitous than the steam fields. Such hydro- found with gradients in the neighborhood of
thermal resources heat buildings in the USSR, 35°C/km, or even higher. At a depth of 3 km, for
Hungary, Iceland, France, and several other coun- example, temperatures well above the (sea-level)
tries. Just south of the Imperial Valley of Califor- boiling point of water (100°C) will be reached. If
nia, in Cerro Prieto, Mexico, a 100 MW electrical the rocks are nonporous and dry, they can be
generator runs from hydrothermal resources and EI cracked in various ways, such as by hydraulic frac-
Salvador is on the verge of similar installations; so turing, and surface water can be circulated through
are a number of other countries. the crack to absorb the stored heat and convect it
A third, exotic form of energy is stored in the by natural circulation to the surface. Thus the al-
earth in the so-called "geopressured" zones, most most unbelievably huge heat content of the upper
prominent in Texas and Louisiana. At relatively basement rock of the earth's crust can be tapped,
great depths (12,000 to 15,000 ft) zones are en- at least in principle. Since the heat stored in the
countered where the ancient water-rich sediments topmost 3 km of the crust of the United States is
have been sealed off by beds of impermeable shale. 3 x 10 6 quads (one quad = 10 15 Btu), in principle
In such zones the pressure has risen to considerably a resource base of this type could supply the coun-
more than the hydrostatic pressure appropriate to try's needs for tens of thousands of years.3
that depth, in fact, to the pressure necessary to sus- Whether the energy from hot dry rock is
tain the total burden of the sediments above. As a economically recoverable is another matter, to
consequence the fluid has not only heat energy ap- which we shall return later on.
propriate to that depth, but also the mechanical en- Thus, in summary, the geothermal resources in
ergy stored in the excess geopressure. This mechan- nature consist essentially of:
ical stored energy makes a geopressured well risky dry steam,
to drill and unpredictable to develop. Oil and gas convective hydrothermal systems,
drillers intensely dislike a geopressured zone. geopressured systems,
One of the most intriguing features of a geopres- hot dry rock.
sured well is that it often contains saturated quan- This cIassification 4 implies ' that the energy extrac-
tities of methane dissolved in the hot saline water. tion is basically different for each. The order in
When the fluid pressure is relieved upon well com- which they are listed also appears to be in ascen-
pletion, the methane comes out of solution as a gas ding order of available energy content, the most
of pipe-line quality. Amounts up to 70 ft 3 of prolific resource being the hot dry rock.
methane per barrel of water have been observed,
but generally the content is between 20 and 40 ft3.
If widespread, this methane itself could extend BASIC AND SIMPLISTIC GEOLOGY
U.S. gas reserves manyfold. The interior of the earth is so hot that most mat-
Finally, the hot dry rock at depth is always a ter there is in the molten state, with densities from
potentially recoverable source of energy. Heat 10 to 11 times that of water (Fig. I). "Floating"
flows continually from the mantle to the surface to on this fluid is the mantle, with a specific gravity
be radiated into space. This heat flux is so diffuse, ranging from 3 to 6. Next lies a relatively thin
however - an order of magnitude less than the en- sliver of rock that has solidified from the melt. The
ergy from the sun - that it simply cannot be cap- average density of this continental crust is 2.7. Still
tured and put to use. Some method of storing the moving outward, we find what is, on the scale of
heat for long times - eons - is needed to bring the earth's size, onionskin-thin layers of detrital
both the flux and the temperature to the point material deposited by eons of weathering, that is,
where practical use can be made of the energy. by chemical and physical alteration of crystalline
The storage is effected by the relatively low ther- rock. This top layer is generally termed "sedimen-
mal conductivity of the rocks of the earth. Just as tary." It may also contain remnants of marine
in ,an electrical resistor the voltage rises toward the plant and animal life. The lower part of the
source of electricity, so in the earth the temperature sediments may have been converted by heat,
rises the deeper one goes. The normal temperature pressure, and geologic time to hard material
gradient (25 °C/km depth) suggests that very useful ("sedimentary rock") and various sequences of

Volume J, Number 2, J980 79

 to be captured and put to practical use (although
essential for the heat balance of the earth). Most
(a) Oceanic crust, rocks are poor thermal conductors. Since the
density 3.0 g/cm 3
steady state demands equal heat flux per unit area
Mantle
through all layers from the interior outward,
elevated heat transport must be associated with
higher temperature gradients. Therefore, we look
for anomalies in the heat transported upward from
Liquid core
below, that is, an area of unusually high and useful
temperature gradient. Such places do exist.
...
Solid

inner
The sources of the anomalies, apart from oceanic
rifts, in general terms are three: intrusions of
core
magma, that is, granite at a temperature that
renders it plastic; frictional heat due to plate in-
terference; and heat generated by radioactive decay
(Fig. 2).
In certain regions, magma has floated up along
some rift line or through denser material and has
settled down and cooled near the surface. Although
perhaps tens of millions of years old, its
temperature is still significantly higher than its sur-
rounding country rock. Volcanism is an obvious
manifestation of a magmatic abnormality; the
volcano is essentially a conduit between the surface
T
35 km
and the molten material beneath the crust.
Theories of plate tectonics envisage the crust of

1 the earth as subdivided into a number of huge

plates that are in constant motion. In some regions
one plate dips below another - called "subduc-
Fig. 1-Crust, mantle, and core of the earth (after
Bullard, Geothermal Energy, UNESCO 1973). tion." Although excruciatingly slow on human time
(a) Schematic cross section. The mantle is composed scales - rates of the order of a few centimeters per
of a strong lithosphere near the surface of the earth, year - the gigantic scale of the frictional resistance
resting on a weaker asthenosphere. At some 3000 km
depth the temperature reaches the melting point of of one solid body sliding on another manifests
rock, and the interior becomes liquid. Under increasing itself as local heating and melting. Consequently an
pressure (millions of pounds per square inch) in the in- upwelling magma produces an elevated region of
terior, below about 4500 km, the liquid undergoes heat flow. Finally, the molten state of the interior
another phase change and becomes solid. "Floating"
on the mantle is a thin (35 km) continental crust and an
exceedingly thin (5 km) oceanic crust of sedimentary
material. Coastal P l a i n - - - - - I•.-lI~ocean~
Fall
(b) A cross section through a typical continent-ocean line
Abnormal gradient
boundary. The continental crust blends smoothly via areas
I
the continental shelf into the much thinner oceanic
crust. The boundary between continent and ocean is Pied mo nt '~ '~¥~~ii1~,~is~~'i~~}i~::~l}~,~ik:;'T:; "; :?; c •
covered by successive deposits of sediments, each
typical of a distinct geologic era.
Higher than
normal gradient
Radiogenic
heating, cooling, and reheating may have altered deposit
this sedimentary rock to form mixtures, foliations, (pluton)

and alterations, termed "metamorphic rock". In

an imprecise but visualizable terminology, the
metamorphic rock and the older crustal rock
(granites) represent the "basement" of the
sedimentary layer.
By the inexorable dictate of thermodynamics,
heat must flow from the interior of the earth to the Fig. 2-Concept of a hydrothermal system on the Atlan·
tic Coastal Plain. Eons of weathering of the Appalachian
cooler surface, where it is conducted, convected, or Mountains have laid down successive sedimentary strata
radiated away. The worldwide average of this nor- on the coastal plain and the continental shelf. The nor-
mal heat flow is about 1.5 p,cal/cm 2 -s (or, in the mal heat flux from the interior can be concentrated either
literature, 1.5 HFU [heat flow units]). By contrast, by an old magma intrusion (which , in the case of the
geologically old eastern region , has probably lost much
the peak solar flux at the equator is about 0.01 of its original excess heat by thermal conduction) or by a
cal/cm 2 -s, or 7000 times as much. As mentioned younger granitic intrusion heated by the decay of minute
earlier, this geothermal energy flux is far too small deposits of radioactive elements.

80 Johns Hopkins A PL Technical Digest

of the earth, it is generally believed, is maintained Another way of classifying geothermal resources
by the radioactive decay of unstable elements, is in terms of how the energy arrives at the surface.
notably uranium, thorium, and potassium. It has There are a few dry-steam sources (such as The
been established in recent years that certain masses Geysers); there are mixed steam and water sources
of granite have intruded to near the surface (as the (such as Cerro Prieto); there are hydrothermal
magmas mentioned above) and subsequently cooled resources (such as the Paris Basin); and there is hot
off. Containing an excess of up to twenty times the dry rock (such as on the edge of Valles Caldera in
normal amount of uranium, thorium , and potas- New Mexico). Little or no uncertainty in the future
sium found in average crystalline rock, these "plu- use of dry or wet steam stands in the way of com-
tons" are a local source of heat produced by the mercial exploitation of geothermal energy. The
radioactive decay of its uranium and thorium (the greatest unknown is how to exploit the ubiquitous
contribution of potassium is generally ignorable). hydrothermal resources and thus we shall limit the
Although extremely minute (about 10 - 12callgm-s balance of this discussion mainly to these re-
or 4 mW /kg), this energy over millions of years, if sources.
suitably insulated by poorly conducting sediments,
can lead to rather high temperatures (Fig. 3). From TECHNICAL ISSUES
heuristic arguments, Costain has shown 5 that the Certain technical issues, none really formidable,
heat flow at the surface is augmented according to confront the widespread employment of the
q = q o + DA o exp( - z/ D), where q is surface hydrothermal brand of geothermal energy. They in-
heat flow, q o is heat flow in the absence of a clude reservoir discovery, reservoir engineering and
pluton source, D is the depth of the sedimentary management, chemical management of hot brines,
insulating layer, A o is the heat production term, drilling technology, conversion of thermal energy
assumed to be uniform within the pluton, and z is to electrical energy (where applicable), development
depth. Figure 3 illustrates a typical case. of economical heat exchangers, district or com-
Examples of all these locally anomalous heat munity heating/cooling system problems, and en-
sources abound throughout the world, but as usual vironmental issues. Only a few of the more impor-
the " log normal distribution of values" prevails: tant of these topics will be briefly discussed.
the hotter, more accessible the resource, the fewer
in number. Although the anomalies contribute only Reservoir Discovery
marginally to the world's total recoverable geother- Without a doubt the most serious technical prob-
mal energy, the usefulness of a resource with from lem is finding the anomalous heat source. Occa-
normal to twice-normal temperature gradient is sionally a hot spring, a fumarole, or a geyser will
clear and undeniable. indicate subterranean thermal resources', but in the
vast majority of cases the existence of a hydrother-
mal asset or of an anomalous heat production zone
Temperature (OC)
must be inferred from indirect indicators. These in-
00~~__~
40__~__8~0__~__1~20__~__
16~0__~--n
20% direct techniques include: gravity surveys, magnetic
, surveys, electrical resistance measurements in a
"" 4 variety of ways ranging from 0.01 to 100 Hz, and
"" chemical thermometry. The final proof, of course,
2
"" 8
Vl
"0
~ lies in drilling and in situ thermometry.
Vl

2l 3 "" ~
o The existence of plutons can sometimes be in-
CIl
E "
Nor mal grad ient "
12 -:
r.
ferred from gravity lows. Intrusive granites are of
.Q 4
~ "" CIl
CIl slightly lower specific gravity than the surrounding
",
LL

16 country rock (e.g., 2.7 versus 3.2); this shows up as

5
"" a reduction in the observed acceleration of gravity
of from a few to a few score milligals (I milligal =
6 "" 20
0.001 cm/s2) in a precision gravity survey. Further-
7~----~--~--~----~--~--~~~
" more, there is geologic evidence that magnetite
400
Temperature(OF)
(iron oxide, Fe 3 0 4 ) is often precipitated out
preferentially on the boundaries where magma in-
Fig. 3-Calculated temperature above a radioactive trusions cool and solidify; this exhibits itself as
pluton (after Ref. 5). The surface temperature is assumed rings of magnetic highs in precision surveys of the
to be 18°e. A " normal gradient" of 25°/km is .shown earth's magnetic field. The coincidence of the two
(dashed line). The uniform heat production from radioac-
tive decay is 10.12 cal/cm3-s. The pluton exists in the (i.e., gravity low, magnetic high) obviously lends
basement, with assumed thermal conductivity of 7 x 10.3 credibility to the hypotheses mentioned above and
cal/cm-s-oe at a depth below 2 km and is overlain by permits some confidence in assigning the term
sediments with assumed thermal conductivity of 3.5 x "anomaly. " Generally speaking, to be economical-
10.3 cal/cm-s-oe. The solid curve gives the calculated
temperature as a function of depth. The elevated
ly useful, the source location needs to be one to a
temperature at a given depth is the basis of keen interest few kilometers below the surface since the sedimen-
in.the existence and location of radioactive plutons. tary or alluvial cover must be thick enough to in-

Volume I , N umber 2, 1980 81

 sulate the source sufficiently for the temperatures
to rise to economically attractive values.
In the case of hydrothermal resources, the deeper
they are, the more saline or ionic they are in
general, and the electrical conductivity is noticeably
affected. When a bounded volume or stratum pos-
sesses sufficient porosity (say 15(70), the resistivity
is substantially lower than that of surrounding rock
(say, 1 versus 10 Om). The most effective indirect
measurements of the electrical conductivity of
deeply buried strata come from the so-called
"magnetotelluric" techniques. Natural sources of
electric energy (lightning strokes) provide vertically
descending electromagnetic waves of frequencies
from 0.01 Hz upward. Large coils, sensing the
magnetic field on the earth's surface, see the com-
bined effect of the incident field and the secondary
field scattered by a buried conductive body. With
considerable manipulation (and uncertainty) a con-
ductivity model that gives a measure of the extent
.> 35-48° C/ km
48°C/ km
Near-surface granitic areas ; poor geothermal prospects

and quality of the resource can then be adduced.

Fig. 4-Potential resource areas in the eastern United
Another advantage can be taken of the high sa- States (from geothermal gradient maps of the American
linity of deep hydrothermal waters. The relative Association of Petroleum Geologists and the U.S.
concentration ratio of several ions (sodium/potas- Geological Survey).
sium, for example) is related to the temperature, as
is also the fraction of dissolved silica. If evidence while extraordinary gradients, up to 200°C/km, are
of a resource reaches the surface by virtue of a -found in rare cases (Iceland, EI Salvador, etc.).
spring, for example, . analysis of the water can im- The boundary between normal gradient and "hot
ply the temperature at depth. dry rock" is hazy, but is now conventionally taken
Correlating with the techniques described above, to be 40°C/ km. The desi rability of high gradients
and generally superior to them, the most reliable is obvious: the highest available temperature in a
indication of a true source is to measure the ther- hydrothermal zone is obtained at the greatest
mal gradient itself. For this purpose, a technique depths, down to the basement rock. Thus T lI1ax =
that has been pursued by the Virginia Polytechnic To + (V T x D), where To is the surface
Institute and State University is currently in favor. temperature and D is depth to basement. The base-
Typical plutons on the East Coast of the United ment depth is generally a slowly varying function
States are about 10 to 20 km in extent. Slim holes of the local geography, whereas an anomalous 'IT
are drilled where other information (gravity, mag- is found only in restricted local regions. More
netic, geologic) suggests that plutonic intrusions generally, the higher V T, the less drilling is re-
with elevated radioactive content may occur. These quired to reach a desired temperature.
so-called gradient holes are cased and cemented to While an above-average temperature gradient
a depth of about 1000 ft and allowed to come to might support a strong case for a hot dry rock in-
equilibrium, whereupon a temperature log is run to stallation (see below), it does not of itself guarantee
an accuracy of a millidegree. At the time of -drill- a useful hydrothermal resource. Thermal power
ing, a core (or cores) is taken, sliced into cylinders, (often expressed as Btu/h) = milTCp , where C p is
and the thermal conductivity of the rock measured the specific heat of water, ilT the temperature dif-
in the laboratory. A variety of rock types - arising ference between the source and sink, and ill is the
from compaction, metamorphism, intrusion, etc. mass rate of fluid production. In practice, there-
- is found, and the temperature correlates usually fore, large amounts of water are needed. Whether
inversely with the thermal conductivity, as it should or not the quantities are adequate is connected with
unless unsuspected convection is taking place. the porosity of the medium, the permeability (or
From the two measurements, temperature and ther- resistance to flow), the confinement or extent of
mal conductivity, heat flow is calculated from q = the water-bearing stratum (the "aquifer"), and the
k V T, where q is the flux of heat, k is the thermal natural pressure exerted by either the weight of the
conductivity, and V T is the temperature gradient. overburden or the hydrostatic head (if the aquifer
Identifying high values of q (or '11) lends strong reaches the surface at some distant horizon), or
confirmation to the idea that an anomalous heat something intermediate.
source exists below. Worldwide "normal" tempera-
ture gradients run 20 to 30°C/km; gradients of Reservoir Engineering and Management
superior interest for geothermal energy in the east- Of most significance, but as yet only rather
ern United States run to 40 to 60°C/km (Fig. 4), poorly understood, are the intricacies of hydrother-

82 Johns Hopkin s A PL Technical Digesl

 mal reservoir engineering and management. The the aquifer and the pressure available (piezometric
discussion to follow is somewhat simplistic in order head), augmented by the pressure applied by either
to point up the issues of importance. However a downhole or a surface pump. At equilibrium the
neither the technology nor the interpretation of resulting effective source of the fluid becomes in
data is by any means simple or predictive. In short, the ideal case an inverted hyperbolic cone of
geothermal reservoir engineering and management revolution with the well bottom at the apex. 6 The
is emerging as an exacting technical discipline, depth of the apex of the cone at the well below the
where substantial improvements can be expected in static water surface is called the "drawdown" and
the near future. physically it is the level at which the fluid stands in
Reservoir Engineering - As has been stated the well while fluid is being withdrawn. Figure 5 il-
earlier, the geothermal aquifer is characterized by lustrates the point. If the drawdown is high (at a
geometrical boundaries - pinchouts, where it given rate of withdrawal), then the downhole pump
comes to an end; fault zone1\) i.e., rock displace- must be sized for considerable lift. (Pumps of 100
ments that may be fluid conduits; impermeable to 400 horsepower are by no means uncommon in
layers - and by such physical parameters as poros- large, deep wells.) If the drawdown increases with
ity (or interstitial fluid content), piezometric head time, the only solutions are to increase the depth
(the driving pressure), transmissivity, and perme- and power of the pump or to decrease the rate of
ability. (The last two terms are intimately con- withdrawal. Therefore the drawdown of the well is
nected, as mentioned below.) Porosity is defined as a critical engineering parameter.
the fraction of the consolidated material (by Permeability and porosity data are generally ob-
volume) occupied by water; typical values of in- tained from core sampling as the well is drilled.
terest run from 10070 in competent (hard) rock to Additional formation data on these quan ti ties in
perhaps 25% in sandstones and limestones. The situ come from well-logging, a complex subject in
deeper one goes, in general, the lower the porosity, itself that we have insufficient space to discuss
as the lithostatic pressure compacts the rock lattices here. 7
and expels the fluid. One should recall in this con- The drawdown data are derived from permeabil-
nection that at, say, 3000 m depth, the lithostatic ity data by means of pump tests (Fig. 6). In prin-
pressure may be as high as 15,000 Ib/in 2 or, if ciple, if one pumps a well at a constant rate of
there is access to the surface, the hydrostatic water flow, the level of water in the well will in-
pressure may be greater than 4000 Ib/in 2 • itially fall, approaching an equilibrium value. If
The piezometric head is nothing more or less pumping ceases, the well will recover, that is, the
than the hydrostatic pressure in an unconfined water will rise in the well. Both the rate of recovery
aquifer (one with access to the surface) or the of level and the rate of fall are directly related to
lithostatic pressure, if completely confined. Arte- the permeability of the aquifer (or to the transmis-
sian wells are those where the piezometric head ex- sivity, which is the permeability multiplied by a
ceeds the hydrostatic pressure at the well outlet, so
that they flow freely. In general, artesian wells are Pumping well
scarce, occurring where a recharge area exists in
neighboring hills or high ground. Most wells must
/' Land surface
be pumped to bring the water to the surface.
The permeability of a medium is directly related Static water table level
to the transmissivity and has an engineering defini- E 0
·c
tion (Darcy's Law) which states that v = - D V p, :::l

where v is the volume flow rate through a cross- ~ 5

sectional area A, V P is the average pressure gra- :0 Water table level
~10 during pumping
dient, and D is the Darcy constant. (Note the c
similarity to Ohm's Law.) For v in cm 3 /cm 2 -s and ~
.g 15
p in atmospheres, D (which is a measure of ~
permeability) is denoted as "darcys." Darcy's o20
equation is an empirical one, related to viscous
flow in small channels. (If v = 1 cm 3 /cm 2 -s and
V p = 1 atm/ cm, then D = 1 darcy for water at
20 e, where its viscosity is 1 centipoise.) The term
o

D is physically given by k/ YJ, where k is the o 20 40 60 80

permeability of the medium, and YJ is the viscosity D ist ance from pumped well (arbitrary units)
of the fluid. Typical values of D run from 10 to 20
millidarcys in semi-hard rock, to several hundred Fig. 5- Typjcal drawdown during pumping of a water
millidarcys in permeable sandstone, and up to dar- well. The water table level becomes ideally a hyperbolic
cone of revolution asymptotic to the static level. The drop
cys in limestone. in the water level during pumping, called the drawdown,
The maximum rate of withdrawal of water, is a function of the porous water·bearing formation
therefore, depends primarily on the permeability of parameters and the rate of water withdrawal.

Volume 1, Number 2, 1980 83

 ability of the resource to supply heat irrespective of
the temperature at which it is used. The Second
Law of Thermodynamics, however, assigns great
value to large temperature differences, providing a
measure of the capacity of the resource to do
mechanical work or generate electricity. Thus the
temperature of the resource plays a dual role: it
measures the energy available, and it also deter-
mines what use can be made of it. In general,
generation of electricity is not attractive for
geothermal resources below 150°C.
A totally different aspect of quality of the well
Time since pump started (arbitrary scale)
output relates to the dissolved gases and solids.
Fig. 6 -Typical pumping test data. Water is withdrawn Usually the deeper the source, the hotter the fluid
from the well at a constant rate. The drawdown is initially and the higher the pressure. Consequently, from
small but increases with time, eventually approaching an extensive and lengthy leaching and eroding pro-
asymptotic limit (for an aquifer of infinite extent). The for- cesses, considerable amounts of gases and salts are
mation transmissivity and storage coefficient can be ob-
dissolved in geothermal water. Indeed the generic
tained by adjusting the porous medium parameters in a
model of the aquifer to match the observed curve. term for geothermal water is "brine," virtually a
chemical storehouse with a host of elements in
varying concentrations. The dissolved sodium
geometric factor to account for the size of the chloride and calcium chloride content may vary
water-producing stratum). With more-or-Iess com- from very little up to over 30070 dissolved solids. In
plicated models of the reservoir (derived from addition, dissolved silica is always present in
geological, seismic, or electromagnetic surveys, granitic formations . I2 When the brine reaches the
from similarity to neighboring aquifers, and from surface or at the flashing point below the surface,
intelligent intuition), a fairly satisfactory set of the sudden release of pressure often causes deposi-
reservoir parameters useful for reservoir manage- tion of hard scale on pipes, valves, and fittings.
ment can be derived . 8 This can be extremely awkward since in time open-
Reservoir Management - Given that the reser- ings become clogged and useless. Furthermore
voir model is accurate, then reservoir management many waters are extremely aggressive (i.e., cor-
is not a difficult task. There are two aspects. First, rosive) and mercilessly attack common metallic sur-
the withdrawal rate must be controlled so that the faces. However, with proper care as to where and
lifetime of the reservoir is compromised neither by when the pressure is released, and with due regard
reduction of water flow nor by reduction of to choice of materials, the problems due to scaling
temperature (see below). Second, since after use the and corrosion can be managed; this has been
water withdrawn from the well must, in general, be satisfactorily demonstrated in a number of installa-
reinjected somewhere else for environmental tions in Iceland, Hungary, France, and elsewhere.
reasons, the reinjection stratum must be chosen The "noncondensible" gases that come out of
geographically 9 so that the chilling thermal pulse solution, notably hydrogen sulfide, can be objec-
from -the (relatively) cool reinjected fluid does not tionable even if concentrations are so low as not to
intersect the producing reservoir until some span of present a hazard to health or to the integrity of the
time, perhaps 25 to 50 years. Recalling that the geothermal installations. Commercial methods of
migration of the cool water from reinjection point sulfide scrubbing, if necessary, are available; conse-
to production point usually involves some reheating quently these noncondensible gases need not pre-
by conduction from the country medium through sent insoluble problems.
which it passes, one has a nice, but soluble, prob- Environmental Problems
lem in convective/ conductive heat flow. 10, 11 Reser-
In addition to the problems enumerated in the
voir management largely revolves around this solu-
disposal of brine and the control of noxious gases,
tion, in making enough and proper measurements
two other environmental issues must be dealt with.
to keep up-to-date. The references are recom-
One is the noise that often is associated with the
mended to those who wish to delve further.
well discharge, particularly when and if it flashes to
Reservoir Quality - A word should be said steam. This is handled in a straightforward (albeit
about the quality of the reservoir. First and fore- somewhat expensive) way by properly designed
most, of course, the quality of a reservoir is a noise mufflers.
strong function of its temperature. The First Law The other is the question of subsidence. 13 If fluid
of Thermodynamics yields an inadequate measure that supports in part the lithologic overburden is
of temperature "quality," namely, the number of removed, will the rest of the column consolidate
Btu's per unit mass per unit time available from and thus result in surface subsidence? This question
the hydrothermal resource. It is a measure of the commands considerable attention in the form of

84 J ohns Hopkins A PL Technical Diges/

basic and applied research, particularly at the to the point where a large program to investigate
University of California and at the University of direct-contact heat exchangers (fluid-to-fluid) has
Texas, and it is still not totally resolved. In most shown promise. IS There is much yet to be learned,
formations, the best current opinion is that the however, about the practicality of both flashed and
magnitude of subsidence will be slight, particularly binary electrical systems.
if the effluent is reinjected into the same forma-
tion. That is, in time the pressure will redistribute
Direct Use of Geothermal Energy
itself with only little effect on the surface. As one descends the scale of quality, the nonelec-
tric, or direct, use of geothermal energy becomes
Electric Usage dominant. What these lower enthalpy fluids lose in
The principal use of geothermal energy in the "quality," they must make up in quantity. By far
United States and elsewhere up to now has been the greatest potential use of accessible geothermal
the production of electricity. The Larderello field energy is at a temperature well below that necessary
has been producing electricity since 1904. The for efficient conversion to electricity. In common
Geysers has been supplying the Pacific Gas and with other mineral resources, it is conjectured that
Electric Company experimentally since 1925 and geothermal resources are distributed worldwide in a
commercially since 1960. Technically these dry more-or-Iess log-normal fashion. That is, the abun-
steam fields produce moderately superheated steam dance of any resource as a function of its quality
(at a pressure of 110 psi) and drive turbogenerators (temperature, concentration, etc.) takes the form
of conventional type. log A == exp ( - CQ2), where we denote abundance
At a number of other locations - Cerro Prieto, by A, quality by Q, and c is a constant. The larger
for example - a mixture of low-pressure steam Q, the less the abundance, and the drop-off is
and water introduces the added complexity of precipitous. Thus major attention should be paid to
separating the steam from the water, which is the exploitation of these relatively easy-to-find, but
about 70070 by weight. Generally the separation is relatively low-temperature, geothermal resources,
effected by a centrifugal device that drives the leaving the few high quality resources for produc-
water to the periphery and ejects the dried steam tion of a high quality end-product, namely, elec-
from the center. From there on, the technology is tricity. Figure 7 conveys an idea of the "distribution
quite conventional except that the low superheat re- of usage of resources of various quality. It is
quires the resurrection of bulky turbogenerator remarkable how the low temperature usages
designs reminiscent of the earlier part of this cen- dominate.
tury.
Next in order of desirability for electricity
Heating and Cooling
generation are hot-water systems, generally between More than 25070 of all energy consumed (or
200 and 300°C. The geothermal fluid remains in transformed) in the United States is used for
the liquid phase until the pressure is relieved at heating and cooling residential, commercial, and
some point below the surface, whereupon it sud- industrial space. It is obvious that relatively low
denly flashes into steam. This presents some minor quality heat is involved. Seldom are buildings
engineering complications in the generation of elec- heated with air above 120°F or water above 160°F.
trici ty. Single flashes or several flashes at pro- Air-conditioning by the absorption process (am-
gressively lower temperatures and pressures may be monia is used commercially, lithium bromide occa-
used . Alternatively, the geothermal fluid may be sionally) can be accomplished at temperatures from
used in a heat exchanger, while kept under pressure 150 to 200°F. It is extravagant of Nature's bounty
so as not to flash, thus avoiding all the problems to use such superior, high quality fuels as oil, gas,
of scaling associated with pressure release. The or coal, each of which is perfectly capable of
geothermal heat energy is imparted to an auxiliary melting iron or steel, for such lowly tasks as
fluid of low boiling point. A typical auxiliary fluid heating or cooling.
is one of the many halogenated hydrocarbons I t is in space conditioning, therefore, that geo-
(Freons) whose boiling points are well below that thermal energy can well find eventually its greatest
of water. Consequently considerable superheat can practical application. The Icelanders heat the entire
be achieved at the temperature of the geothermal city of Reykjavik by geothermal energy; the
fluid. It would take us too far afield to discuss the Hungarians provide heat for hospitals, apartments,
temperature-entropy diagram and operating points greenhouses, and thermal baths; in France, up-
of such "binary-cycle" systems. 14 Suffice it to say wards of 20,000 apartment units are already heated
that experimental cycles are being tested in the by water from the hydrothermal aquifer of the
Imperial Valley of California and at Raft River, Paris Basin. In years gone by, Klamath Falls in
Idaho. Oregon heated several hundred houses by geother-
Many new technical problems emerge as a conse- mal energy, since displaced by artificially cheap
quence of using a high molecular weight substance natural gas. Recent price escalation has prompted a
as the working fluid: for example, the efficiency of resurgence of interest and of activity in once again
heat exchangers poses difficult technical questions, heating by geothermal means.

Volume I , Number 2, 1980 85

 connected as part of a district heating system,
_ Industrial
much as is done in Sweden to dispose of the waste
heat from electricity-generating plants. In such a
/ .ir-';:Co mmercial case, the large expense of the welles), of the reinjec-
Res idential
tion welles), and, above all, of the piping system
for distribution is spread over a substantial number
of users, as well as over typical periods of twenty
Air conditioning or more years. In such cases, the costs may well be
affordable. For high density complexes, such as in-
dustrial plants, condominium units, and the like,
~ 150-174° C r----------'...o..:..;.;...........'-"'------'-~
direct use of a geothermal well appears promising,
a;
a.
E even today.
~ 125-149° C
] ~_ _ _ _ _ _...J Range cooking SUMMARY
a:l Cl othes drying
~ I t is becoming increasingly clear that geothermal
(/) 100- 124° C
augmentation of United States energy resources
Water heating could be a reliable, non-polluting, domestic asset of
great value. While it is unlikely that these resources
will become a major contributor to United States
energy self-sufficiency before the end of this cen-
50-74°C r---P7~%~ITTfJS7JJ &!.n!-vJ tury, there are regions, conspicuously California,
O~----~1------2~----~3------~4~~2 where both steam and hydrothermal energy from
Rate of energy use (arbitrary units)
the ground can make substantial inroads well be-
fore that time.
Fig. 7-Most heating _fuel usage below 125°C provides In the East, however, the going will be slower
heat at comparatively low temperatures. Over one-half of and will depend on commercializing hot water in
all heating fuel used in the United States generates the 60 to 120°C range. To the extent that enough is
temperatures below 75°C. Above 125°C, the bulk of the
fuel is used in industrial processes_ (Proc_ Second United found in juxtaposition to population or industry
Nations Symp. on the Development and Use of Geother- load centers, it is very likely that these resources
mal Resources, May 20-29,1975, p. 2163.) will eventually penetrate space heating/cooling and
industrial process markets as they become economi-
In principle, the technology is simple. The cally viable. However, Federal demonstration proj-
geothermal water may be used directly in the ects will undoubtedly be required to establish that
radiator system of the building, as is done in
Hungary, or a heat exchanger can serve to
distribute properly treated and controlled water,
while the aggressive geothermal water is returned to
the ground. Figure 8 is a schematic illustration of
the latter system. Cooling by the ammonia absorp-
tion cycle, for example, can be accomplished by in-
troducing a water solution of ammonia into the cir-
cuit (Fig. 9). The geothermal energy is used to
distill pure ammonia from solution; the . enriched Accumulator
ammonia solution, under pressure, is piped to the CD
Circulating
air conditioner heat exchanger where its tempera- pump
ture is lowered by louIe-Thomson expansion. The
ammonia gas, after absorbing heat from the heat
exchanger, is returned to the still, mixed again with
water, and the heat dissipated by a wet or dry cool~
ing tower; and the process is repeated. To date,
~~
however, we know of no such geothermal cooling Cool
installa~ions, but the process is clearly commercially ...Jf"-.
Hot
viable (as practiced in the once-popular gas
refrigerator). Sooner or later, as ' the economics Fig. 8-Community heating by a hydrothermal resource.
warrant, this or a similar process will find its role. Two water loops are employed because geothermal water
Introduction of heating and cooling by geother- is generally too aggressive to circulate in the community.
mal energy depends entirely on the economics of Geothermal water from a well is passed through a heat
the total system, as will be discussed in the accom- exchanger to heat the secondary loop and is reinjected
into the same or a different aquifer. Ordinary treated
panying article. To anticipate here, however, it ap- water in the secondary loop circulates the heat through
pears that the geothermal heating of individual the community. Another heat exchanger or conventional
residences is unlikely to happen unless they are hot-water radiator provides heat to each residence.

86 J ohns Hopkins APL Technical Digest

 Condenser
Pump

To cooling tower

To cooling tower

99.6% NH3
-40° F, 75 psia

_ Liquid
<:.;'.:} Gas
57 .3T NH 3 , -80° F, 75 psia

RESIDENCE DISTRIBUTION GEOTHERMAL

SYSTEM SOURCE Hot water

Fig. 9-Concept of a geothermal·driven cooling system. Ammonia liquid, expanding through a nozzle, cools
rapidly and is used commercially in ice-making machines. As the text describes, this property can be combined
with the distillation of gaseous ammonia from an ammonia-water solution by geothermal heat to form the
building cooling system here illustrated.

the technology is relatively risk-free, to develop a 7W. Scott Keys, " Borehole Geophysics in Geothermal Wells," in
commercial, technical, and financial infrastructure, Geothermal Reservoir Engineering Second Workshop Summaries, Dec
1-3,1976, Stanford University Report SGP-TR-20.
and to promulgate reliable cost figures. Once these 8T. N. Narasimhan and P . A . Witherspoon, Recent Developments in
three areas of uncertainty are dealt with, and ade- Modeling Groundwater Systems, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
quate state laws and regulations are enacted, the Report LBL-5209 (1977).
twenty-first century should dawn on a sound geo- 9G. Bodvarsson, "Thermal Problem in Siting Reinjection Wells,"
thermal industry which will help to keep us warm Geothermics 1, No.2 (1972).
10 J. Goguel, Geothermics, Chaps . 2 and 3 (translated by A. Rite) ,
in winter, cool in summer, and wash our pots and McGraw-Hill (1976).
pans. 11M . A. Combarnous and S. A. Bareis, "Hydrothermic Convection in
Saturated Porous Media," Advances in Hydroscience 10, Academic
REFERENCES and NOTES Press (1975).
I We adopt in this paper the mixed units that are conventional in 12p . Kruger and C. Otte (eds. ), Geothermal Energy, Chap. 5, Stanford
geothermal literature, e.g . , "Ib" for weight, "Btu" for thermal University Press (1973) .
energy, etc. To use SI (or other) units consistently would impede the 13M. K. Grover, J. G. Lewis, G . E. Rawson, and D. S. Srinivasa,
ability to compare or dispute any statements made here with other Evaluation oj Geothermal Energy Exploration and Resource
publications in the field. Assessment. Vol. I: A Review oj Geothermal Subsidence Modeling,
2R. DiPippo, A Summary oj the Technical Specifications oj the Final Report , R&D Associates Report RDA TR-0400-001 (1977).
Geothermal Plants in the World. Rev. I. CATMAC 2. Brown Univer- 14S. L. Milora and J. W. Tester, Geothermal Energy as a Source oj
sity (1978). Electric Power, MIT Press (1976) .
3See also U.S . Geological Survey Circular 790 (1978), in which current 15M . W. Urbank, Development oj Direct Contact Heat Exchangers jor
energy consumption is reported as 70 quads/y r. Geothermal Brine, Final Report , DDS Engineers, Inc., Lawrence
4We ignore the so-ca lled "magma chambers" of which few, if any, Berkeley Laboratory Report LBL-8558 (1978) .
have been tapped except in zones of current volcanism.
5J. K. Costain et ai, Evaluation and Targeting oj Geothermal Energy
Resources in the Southeastern United States, VPI-SU-5648-3 (April -
June 1978) . ACKNOWLEDGMENTS - The work that has led to the article was _
6Johnson Divi sion, Universal Oil Products, Ground Water and Wells supported by the Department of Energy - Division of Geothermal
(1974). See also D. Skiba, Wellhead Costs jor Geothermal Power, Energy . I am particularly indebted to my colleague, Fletcher C.
JHUI APL QM-78-126A (1978). Paddison, for advice and counsel in developing these ideas .

Volume I , Number 2,1980 87