A Geothermal Desalination and Power Cogeneration Plant

Abstract

This paper summarizes a study performed by Burns and Roe Industrial Services Corp. (BRISC) for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Contract Number 8-07-30-V0030) as part of an overall effort to control the serious salinity problem of the Colorado River waters delivered to Mexico. The objective of this study was to a make a process selection recommendation for a plant which would utilize East Mesa, California geothermal fluid to cogenerate desalted water for discharge into the river and sufficient electric power to make the plant independent of external suppliers. In the selected process, a portion of the geothermal fluid was flashed to produce steam for a condensing steam turbine/generator unit. The remainder of the fluid was used as feed water for a multi-stage flash (MSF) desalination unit. Water from the Salton Sea was mixed with the brine discharge from the MSF unit and the blend was reinjected into the geothermal reservoir.