MODELLING AND OPTIMISATION OF A BINARY POWER PLANT UTILISING A LOW TO MEDIUM TEMPERATURE GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE

Abstract

To help achieve sustainable geothermal energy development, one should also improve efficiency in the existing energy system. The latest state of the art in the development of models to assist the achievement of this goal is the combination of a reservoir model and surface modeling of the geothermal plant. A successful attempt has previously been made to create such a combined model as part of a digital twin technology application pathway for an existing geothermal binary plant for planning purposes. This work focuses on creating a high-fidelity digital process plant model of a geothermal binary plant using commercial process simulation software for optimisation.
By creating a thorough process model, one can achieve more value from the geothermal binary plant. The model would be a valuable tool in the detailed engineering design phase to predict operational problems before the plant is built. Instead of designing a binary plant that is ideal only for initial conditions, the binary plant can be designed to withstand the changes of reservoir conditions and operational parameters over the lifetime of the plant. That way, the plant can be more robust to changes, and operators can prepare ahead.
The binary plant process model is intended to be a master planning tool in geothermal binary plant development and become a framework for low to medium geothermal resource utilisation. This paper investigates the effect of operational parameter changes over the power plant`s lifetime and conducting a sensitivity analysis on the model plant performance.