Geothermal Conditions for the Usage of Heat Pumps in Eastern Siberia

Abstract

The area under consideration is located in Central Asia and includes a complicated combination of geological structures of different ages and different types: the Precambrian (?) Siberian platform, Sayan-Baikal (PR+PZ) and Transbaikal (MZ) folded areas and Cenozoic (KZ) Baikal Rift Zone.
At depth of 1 km in the south of the Siberian platform the measured temperatures vary from 14-29 ??. The calculated temperature at the depth of 5 km reaches between 40-118 ??. On abnormal sites it exceeds 100 ??.
In the Baikal Rift Zone at the depth of 1 km the rift depressions are outlined by 20 ?? isotherm. Within those contours the temperature reaches as much as 37-56 ?? in the Tunka, 33-55 ?? - in the Selenga, and 22-66 ?? - in the Barguzin depressions. At the depth of 5 km the rift zone is marked by 60 ?? isotherm, while rift depressions are outlined by 70 -100 ?? isotherms. Within those borders there is a probable increase of the temperatures up to 120-150 ?? in the Tunka and Barguzin depressions, i.e. rift depressions are much stronger heated as opposed to their folding framing.
Despite the low-temperature geothermal regime on the south of the Siberian Platform, the possibility of using GHP (Geothermal Heat Pumps) to supply heat to different consumers is being studied. Household, communal or industrial loads (up to 1-5 MWt) of thermal power are considered as consumers. The major requirements include the availability of a stable current of low potential thermal energy, located very close to the consumer.
The use of the thermal energy from surface and/or underground water will decrease the consumption of the organic fuel for heating and hot water supply, which will significantly improve the ecological characteristics of the environment of Eastern Siberia.