Exergetic Performance Assessment of a Double-Flash Geothermal Power Plant in Puga Valley, India

Haloi, Prabin; Kumar, Ankit; Dutta, Joyshree; Makunike, Desire Fadzi

doi:10.22044/rera.2023.13634.1253

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tezpur University, India.

https://doi.org/10.22044/rera.2023.13634.1253

Abstract

The application of a geofluid is primarily characterized by its geofield conditions and locations. One such application of geofluid is in power generation using suitable energy conversion systems. In this study, a thermodynamic model of a double-flash geothermal power plant (DFGPP) has been developed to evaluate its performance which is mainly based on the geofluid of the Puga valley of Ladakh region in the Indian peninsula. The present study investigates the possible use of the DFGPP in the region through application of the exergy tool of the second law of thermodynamics. Under the Puga geofluid conditions, the energy and exergy rates, thermal losses, exergy destruction, and thermal and exergetic efficiencies are evaluated. From the thermal analysis results of the DFGPP, the condenser has the maximum energy loss with 97.08% of the overall loss, followed by low pressure turbine (LPT) and the high pressure turbine (HPT) with minimal energy rate losses of 2.28 % and 0.63 % respectively. However, negligible losses in energy are found to occur in the mixing devices, pump and the fluid separators. The maximum rate of exergy destruction occurs in the LPT with 38.95 % and least in the low pressure separator (LPS). The DFGPP operated with energy and exergy efficiencies of 9.52% and 48.39% approximately, producing a net output work of 3.9 MW. The overall cycle exergy destruction is found at 5.4% of the total energy losses. The use of DFGPP systems in the Puga geofield can be a suitable option in power generation.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Geothermal Energy Systems

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