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Development and Utilization in Geothermal Energy

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "H: Geo-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 5498

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: geothermal energy; ground source heat pumps; thermodynamics; energy and oil & gas; reservoir engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: geothermal energy; ground source heat pumps; thermodynamics; energy and oil & gas; reservoir engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rise of the low-carbon energy demand geothermal energy exploitation is gaining more visibility as a sustainable, renewable and clean energy resource. Along with project development from classic hydrothermal systems, increased interest is seen in developing projects which use existing oil & gas well assets as well as the development of enhanced geothermal systems. Deep geothermal energy resources provide power as well as direct thermal applications. Likewise, increase of ground and groundwater source heat pumps is seen when it comes to exploiting shallow geothermal resources, adding to the increase of the share in the thermal applications, especially in domestic heating and cooling. Both deep and shallow geothermal systems can provide safe, reliable and constant energy product. However, the share of this resource is increasing rather slowly in the energy mix. Therefore, it is beneficial to highlight current research in the field of technology development , geothermal exploitation as well as utilization of both deep and shallow geothermal resources, which this Special Issue aims to publish.

Dr. Marija Macenić
Prof. Dr. Tomislav Kurevija
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • geothermal energy
  • heat transfer
  • reservoir engineering
  • geothermal power generation
  • geothermal direct heat application
  • cogeneration
  • oil & gas fields revitalization
  • enhanced geothermal systems
  • borehole heat exchangers
  • heat pumps.

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 10845 KiB  
Article
Numerical Simulation of the Transport and Sealing Law of Temporary Plugging Particles in Complex Fractures of Carbonate-Type Thermal Storage
by Anle Tian, Guoqiang Fu, Jinyu Tang and Dezhao Wang
Energies 2024, 17(13), 3283; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133283 - 4 Jul 2024
Viewed by 878
Abstract
Geothermal energy plays a crucial role in the large-scale deep decarbonisation process and the transition of energy structure in our country. Due to the complex reservoir environment of geothermal energy, characterised by low porosity and permeability, conventional fracturing methods struggle to create a [...] Read more.
Geothermal energy plays a crucial role in the large-scale deep decarbonisation process and the transition of energy structure in our country. Due to the complex reservoir environment of geothermal energy, characterised by low porosity and permeability, conventional fracturing methods struggle to create a complex network of fractures. Temporary plugging and diverting fracturing technology (TPDF) is a key technology to improve the efficiency of geothermal reservoir extraction. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the migration and sealing law of temporary plugging agents in complex fractures. Therefore, in this study, two multiphase flow models of temporary plugging particle transport at the fracture slit and inside the complex fracture were established by using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-Discrete Element Method (DEM) algorithm. The influence of fracturing fluid concentration, temperature, the concentration of temporary plugging particles, and particle size combinations on migration blocking in fractures was investigated. The simulation results indicate the following: High-viscosity fracturing fluid may cause plugging particles to adhere to each other to form clusters of plugging particles, reducing dispersion during transport and slowing down the velocity of the plugging particles. A particle concentration that is too high does not have a better temporary plugging effect. The use of different combinations of particle sizes is significantly better than using a single particle size, which is a key factor for the success of fracture plugging. The research findings are of great theoretical and practical significance for scaled-up, vibration-controlled fracturing technology in geothermal reservoirs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Utilization in Geothermal Energy)
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23 pages, 6741 KiB  
Article
Thermodynamic Analysis of an Increasing-Pressure Endothermic Power Cycle Integrated with Closed-Loop Geothermal Energy Extraction
by Hao Yu, Xinli Lu, Wei Zhang and Jiali Liu
Energies 2024, 17(7), 1756; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17071756 - 6 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1398
Abstract
The thermodynamic analysis of an increasing-pressure endothermic power cycle (IPEPC) integrated with closed-loop geothermal energy extraction (CLGEE) in a geothermal well at a depth from 2 km to 5 km has been carried out in this study. Using CLGEE can avoid some typical [...] Read more.
The thermodynamic analysis of an increasing-pressure endothermic power cycle (IPEPC) integrated with closed-loop geothermal energy extraction (CLGEE) in a geothermal well at a depth from 2 km to 5 km has been carried out in this study. Using CLGEE can avoid some typical problems associated with traditional EGS technology, such as water contamination and seismic-induced risk. Simultaneous optimization has been conducted for the structural parameters of the downhole heat exchanger (DHE), the CO2 mixture working fluid type, and the IPEPC operating parameters. The CO2-R32 mixture has been selected as the optimal working fluid for the IPEPC based on the highest net power output obtained. It has been found that, when the DHE length is 4 km, the thermosiphon effect is capable of compensating for 53.8% of the pump power consumption. As long as the DHE inlet pressure is higher than the critical pressure, a lower DHE inlet pressure results in more power production. The power generation performance of the IPEPC has been compared with that of the organic Rankine cycle (ORC), trans-critical carbon dioxide cycle (t-CO2), and single-flash (SF) systems. The comparison shows that the IPEPC has more net power output than other systems in the case that the DHE length is less than 3 km, along with a DHE outer diameter of 0.155 m. When the DHE outer diameter is increased to 0.22 m, the IPEPC has the highest net power output for the DHE length ranging from 2 km to 5 km. The application scopes obtained in this study for different power generation systems are of engineering-guiding significance for geothermal industries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Utilization in Geothermal Energy)
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24 pages, 22163 KiB  
Article
A Theoretical Study on the Thermal Performance of an Increasing Pressure Endothermic Cycle for Geothermal Power Generation
by Hao Yu, Xinli Lu, Wei Zhang and Jiali Liu
Energies 2024, 17(5), 1031; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17051031 - 22 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1039
Abstract
In this study, a power cycle (IPEC), with an increasing pressure endothermic process in a downhole heat exchanger (DHE) and a CO2-based working fluid mixture, was developed for geothermal power generation. The increasing pressure endothermic process, which cannot be achieved in [...] Read more.
In this study, a power cycle (IPEC), with an increasing pressure endothermic process in a downhole heat exchanger (DHE) and a CO2-based working fluid mixture, was developed for geothermal power generation. The increasing pressure endothermic process, which cannot be achieved in a conventional evaporator on the ground, was realized using the gravitational potential energy in the DHE. The parameters of the power cycle and the structural size of the DHE were optimized simultaneously. Using CO2-R32 as the working fluid of the IPEC provides the highest net power output. The net power generated with the IPEC was compared with a single-flash (SF) system, a trans-critical CO2 (t-CO2) system, and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) under the same heat source and sink conditions. Six selection maps were generated for choosing the optimum power cycle for electricity production, in which four power generation systems (ORC, t-CO2, IPEC, and SF) were included, and two DHE diameters (0.155 m and 0.22 m) were investigated. It was found that the IPEC system had more net power output than the other three systems (ORC, t-CO2, and SF) under the conditions that the geofluid’s mass flow rate was less than 10 kg/s and its temperature was lower than 180 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Utilization in Geothermal Energy)
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27 pages, 7916 KiB  
Article
Revitalization Modelling of a Mature Oil Field with Bottom-Type Aquifer into Geothermal Resource—Reservoir Engineering and Techno-Economic Challenges
by Martina Tuschl and Tomislav Kurevija
Energies 2023, 16(18), 6599; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16186599 - 13 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1390
Abstract
The possibilities of using geothermal energy are slowly expanding to all areas of energy consumption, so the assessment of geothermal potential has become the backbone of energy policies in countries that have the potential. Countries and companies that have experience in the oil [...] Read more.
The possibilities of using geothermal energy are slowly expanding to all areas of energy consumption, so the assessment of geothermal potential has become the backbone of energy policies in countries that have the potential. Countries and companies that have experience in the oil and gas industry are increasingly exploring the possibilities of first using the acquired knowledge, and then using the existing oil and gas infrastructure for the use of geothermal energy. For this reason, it is necessary to analyse the possibilities of using the existing infrastructure with all its limitations to maximise the energy potential of geothermal energy. The existing oil infrastructure, especially the wells, is in many cases not suitable for the production of brine and it is necessary to analyse the maximum impact of each well for the production of geothermal energy, with particular attention to the equipment installed in the well and the thickness of the geothermal reservoir in the oil and gas fields that would be suitable for the production of brine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Utilization in Geothermal Energy)
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