Geothermal energy utilization

Dickson M.H., Fanelli M. (2013). Geothermal Energy Utilization and Technology. Routledge. 

Phillips, S.L., A. Igbene, J. A. Fair and H. Ozbek, 1981, A technical databook for geothermal energy utilization. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Report LBL-12810. 

The most adverse environmental effect of geothermal energy utilization is chemical pollution, from gaseous components in steam that are discharged into the atmosphere and from aqueous components in spent water that may mix with surface- and groundwaters. This problem has been reduced by injecting into drillholes both the separated water and the steam condensate. Injection is specifically discussed in a separate section below. 

Batik, H., Kocak, A., Akkus, I., Simsek, S., Mertoglu, O., Dokuz, I. Bakir, N. 2000. Geothermal energy utilization development in Turkey - present geothermal situation and projections. In Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2000, Kyushu-Tohoku, Japan, 28 May-10 June 2000, 85-91. 

Arnorsson, S. 2004. Environmental impact of geothermal energy utilization. In Giere, R. STILLE, P. (eds) Energy, Waste and the Environment a Geochemical Perspective, The Geological Socieity, London, 297-336. 

Significant amounts of waste heat arise from geothermal energy utilization the amounts vary with the utilization type. The possibilities of waste heat disposal are often limited by technical or legislative barriers. For technical reasons, re-injection of used geothermal fluids into the subsurface often remains incomplete. Regulations, on the other hand, can restrict discharges of waste fluid and heat to (or dissipation) in the environment. A beneficial way of waste heat treatment is the use of the heat for purposes that can even result in economic profits. Several such options have been described above but many more possibilities are technically feasible and economically viable. 

Lack of applications and publications on general environmental effects related to engineering activities, as demonstrated by much less works reported about contaminant transport and consequences, such as nuclear waste management, geothermal energy utilization, landfill performance evaluation and landslides ... 

Stress induced permeability change is of crucial importance in various kinds of applications such as nuclear waste disposal in deep geological formations, geothermal energy utilization and underground excavations. In particular, coupling between the stress and permeability is a key element in understanding the nature of flow in the fractured rock (Rutqvist and Stephansson, 2003). This is because fractures, which are the main pathways of fluid flow in fractured hard rocks, are heavily dependent on the stress conditions for their deformations. 

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