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Improving the Environmental Sustainability of Flash Geothermal Power Plants—A Case Study

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  • Lorenzo Bruscoli

    (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale G.B. Morgagni 40, 50134 Firenze, Italy)

  • Daniele Fiaschi

    (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale G.B. Morgagni 40, 50134 Firenze, Italy)

  • Giampaolo Manfrida

    (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale G.B. Morgagni 40, 50134 Firenze, Italy)

  • Duccio Tempesti

    (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale G.B. Morgagni 40, 50134 Firenze, Italy)

Abstract

The sustainability of geothermal energy production is analyzed with reference to a production plant located in a specific area (Monte Amiata, Italy). Four solutions combining a flash power plant with an Organic Rankine Cycle in a hybrid configuration are analyzed in terms of production of electricity, exergy balance and emissions level (CO 2 , H 2 S, Hg). The different solutions correspond to increasing environmental performance, and for the most advanced case achieve near-zero emissions (complete reinjection of the natural resource, including incondensable gases). The results show that this can be achieved at the price of a progressive reduction of electrical productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorenzo Bruscoli & Daniele Fiaschi & Giampaolo Manfrida & Duccio Tempesti, 2015. "Improving the Environmental Sustainability of Flash Geothermal Power Plants—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-22, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:11:p:15262-15283:d:59025
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Frick, Stephanie & Kaltschmitt, Martin & Schröder, Gerd, 2010. "Life cycle assessment of geothermal binary power plants using enhanced low-temperature reservoirs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 2281-2294.
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    5. Saner, Dominik & Juraske, Ronnie & Kübert, Markus & Blum, Philipp & Hellweg, Stefanie & Bayer, Peter, 2010. "Is it only CO2 that matters? A life cycle perspective on shallow geothermal systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(7), pages 1798-1813, September.
    6. Fiaschi, Daniele & Manfrida, Giampaolo & Mathieu, Philippe & Tempesti, Duccio, 2009. "Performance of an oxy-fuel combustion CO2 power cycle including blade cooling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2240-2247.
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    Cited by:

    1. Anderson, Austin & Rezaie, Behnaz, 2019. "Geothermal technology: Trends and potential role in a sustainable future," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C), pages 18-34.
    2. Brady Bokelman & Efstathios E. Michaelides & Dimitrios N. Michaelides, 2020. "A Geothermal-Solar Hybrid Power Plant with Thermal Energy Storage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, February.

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