Geothermal energy exploitation from depleted high-temperature gas reservoirs by recycling CO_(2): The superiority and existing problems

CO_(2) can be used as an alternative injectant to exploit geothermal energy from depleted high-temperature gas reservoirs due to its high mobility and unique thermal properties.However,there has been a lack of systematic analysis on the heat mining mechanism and performance of CO_(2),as well as the problems that may occur during geothermal energy exploitation at specific gas reservoir conditions.In this paper,a base numerical simulation model of a typical depleted high-temperature gas reservoir was established to simulate the geothermal energy exploitation processes via recycling CO_(2) and water,with a view to investigate whether and/or at which conditions CO_(2) is more suitable than water for geothermal energy exploitation.The problems that may occur during the CO_(2)-based geothermal energy exploitation were also analyzed along with proposed feasible solutions.The results indicate that,for a depleted low-permeability gas reservoir with dimensions of 1000 m×500 m×50 m and temperature of 150℃ using a single injection-production well group for 40 years of operation,the heat mining rate of CO_(2) can be up to 3.8 MW at a circulation flow rate of 18 kg s^(-1)due to its high mobility along with the flow path in the gas reservoir,while the heat mining rate of water is only about 2 MW due to limitations on the injectivity and mobility.The reservoir physical property and injection-production scheme have some effects on the heat mining rate,but CO_(2)always has better performance than water at most reservoir and operation conditions,even under a high water saturation.The main problems for CO_(2) circulation are wellbore corrosion and salt precipitation that can occur when the reservoir has high water saturation and high salinity,in which serious salt precipitation can reduce formation permeability and result in a decline of CO_(2) heat mining rate (e.g.up to 24%reduction).It is proposed to apply a low-salinity water slug before CO_(2)injection to reduce the damage caused by salt precipitation.For high-permeability gas reservoirs with high water saturation and high salinity,the superiority of CO_(2) as a heat transmission fluid becomes obscure and water injection is recommended.

Prospect of HDR geothermal energy exploitation in Yangbajing,Tibet,China,and experimental investigation of granite under high temperature and high pressure

Hot dry rock （HDR） geothermal energy, almost inexhaustible green energy, was first put forward in the 1970s. The development and testing of HDR geothermal energy are well reported in USA, Japan, UK, France and other countries or regions. In this paper, the geological characters of Yangbajing basin were first analyzed, including the continental dynamic environments to form HDR geothermal fields in Tibet, the tectonic characteristics of south slope of Nyainqentanglha and Dangxiong-Yangbajing basin, and the in-situ stresses based on the investigations conducted, and then the site-specific mining scheme of HDR geothermal resources was proposed. For the potential development of HDR geothermal energy, a series of experiments were conducted on large-scale granite samples, 200 mm in diameter and 400 mm in length, at high temperature and high triaxial pressure for cutting fragmentation and borehole stability. For the borehole stability test, a hole of 40 mm in diameter and 400 mm in length was aforehand drilled in the prepared intact granite sample. The results indicate that the cutting velocity obviously increases with temperature when bit pressure is over a certain value, while the unit rock-breaking energy consumption decreases and the rock-breaking efficiency increases with temperature at the triaxial pressure of 100 MPa. The critical temperature and pressure that can result in intensive damage to granite are 400-500℃ and 100-125 MPa, respectively.

Development of an ultra-high-pressure rotary combined dynamic seal and experimental study on its sealing performance in deep energy mining conditions

With the continuous development of deep oil and gas,minerals,geothermal resources,and other resources,there are increasingly more stringent requirements for equipment.In particular,the ultra-highpressure dynamic seals of deep mining device need to be developed.Therefore,considering the use of dynamic seals in unique deep mining environments,an ultra-high-pressure rotating combined dynamic seal was designed and developed and its sealing performance was experimentally measured and analyzed.The results show that the experimental device can operate stably under a pressure of up to150 MPa and a rotating speed of 76 r/min,and can also operate normally under a rotating speed of up to 140 r/min and a sealing pressure of 120 MPa.During the operation of the ultra-high-pressure rotating combined dynamic seal,the sealing ring does not show obvious damage,which vouches for its sealing performance.No leakage of flow and pressure was detected in the all seal structures within the sealing pressure range of 0-150 MPa.Therefore,the dynamic sealing performance of the device is intact under ultra-high-pressure conditions and can be applied in deep mining environments at a certain depth.The research and development of this device can aid future deep energy exploration and exploitation.

Exploitable wave energy assessment based on ERA-Interim reanalysis data—A case study in the East China Sea and the South China Sea

Wave energy resources assessment is a very important process before the exploitation and utilization of the wave energy. At present, the existing wave energy assessment is focused on theoretical wave energy conditions for interesting areas. While the evaluation for exploitable wave energy conditions is scarcely ever performed. Generally speaking, the wave energy are non-exploitable under a high sea state and a lower sea state which must be ignored when assessing wave energy. Aiming at this situation, a case study of the East China Sea and the South China Sea is performed. First, a division basis between the theoretical wave energy and the exploitable wave energy is studied. Next, based on recent 20 a ERA-Interim wave field data, some indexes including the spatial and temporal distribution of wave power density, a wave energy exploitable ratio, a wave energy level, a wave energy stability, a total wave energy density, the seasonal variation of the total wave energy and a high sea condition frequency are calculated. And then the theoretical wave energy and the exploitable wave energy are compared each other; the distributions of the exploitable wave energy are assessed and a regional division for exploitable wave energy resources is carried out; the influence of the high sea state is evaluated. The results show that considering collapsing force of the high sea state and the utilization efficiency for wave energy, it is determined that the energy by wave with a significant wave height being not less 1 m or not greater than 4 m is the exploitable wave energy. Compared with the theoretical wave energy, the average wave power density, energy level, total wave energy density and total wave energy of the exploitable wave energy decrease obviously and the stability enhances somewhat. Pronounced differences between the theoretical wave energy and the exploitable wave energy are present. In the East China Sea and the South China Sea, the areas of an abundant and stable exploitable wave energy are primarily located in the north-central part of the South China Sea, the Luzon Strait, east of Taiwan, China and north of Ryukyu Islands; annual average exploitable wave power density values in these areas are approximately 10-15 kW/m; the exploitable coefficient of variation （COV） and seasonal variation （SV） values in these areas are less than 1.2 and 1, respectively. Some coastal areas of the Beibu Gulf, the Changjiang Estuary, the Hangzhou Bay and the Zhujiang Estuary are the poor areas of the wave energy. The areas of the high wave energy exploitable ratio is primarily in nearshore waters. The influence of the high sea state for the wave energy in nearshore waters is less than that in offshore waters. In the areas of the abundant wave energy, the influence of the high sea state for the wave energy is prominent and the utilization of wave energy is relatively difficult. The developed evaluation method may give some references for an exploitable wave energy assessment and is valuable for practical applications.

Energy-efficient methods for production methane from natural gas hydrates

Gas hydrates now are expected to be one of the most important future unconventional energy resources. In this paper, researches on gas hydrate exploitation in laboratory and field were reviewed and discussed from the aspects of energy efficiency. Different exploiting methods and different types of hydrate reservoir were selected to study their effects on energy efficiencies. Both laboratory studies and field tests have shown that the improved technologies can help to increase efficiency for gas hydrate exploitation. And it also showed the trend that gas hydrate exploitation started to change from permafrost to marine. Energy efficiency ratio （EER） and energy return on energy invested （EROI） were introduced as an indicator of efficiency for natural gas hydrate exploitation. An energy-efficient hydrate production process, called ＂Hydrate Chain Energy System （HCES）＂, including treatment of flue gas, replacement of CH4 with CO2, separation of CO2 from CH4, and storage and transportation of CH4 in hydrate form, was proposed for future natural gas hydrate exploitation. In the meanwhile, some problems, such as mechanism of C02 replacement, mechanism of CO2 separation, CH4 storage and transportation are also needed to be solved for increasing the energy efficiency of gas hydrate exploitation.

ESTIMATION OF THEORETICAL POTENTIAL AND EXPLOITABLE QUANTITY OF CHINA'S OCEANIC THERMAL ENERGY

Two estimaton methods are used to calculate the theoretical reservoir potential of China's oceanic thermal energy. One is based on the measured temperature difference between the surface water and the deep water, the other on the net radiation energy income from solar insolation either measured or deduced. The results from these two methods are compared and examined. Then, the maximum amount of the exploitable thermal energy is calculated based on the assumption of a Carnot cycle efficiency. In the process of estimation, such factors as water depth, seasonal water temperature variation and geographic location have been taken into account.The theoretical reservoir capacity and the exploitable quantity of the thermal energy of China's four seas are thus estimated separately.

Coalbed Reserves to be Exploited for New Energy

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TOWARDS AN ACTIVE, RESPONSIVE, AND SOLAR BUILDING ENVELOPE

The key role of the building envelope in achieving building energy efficiency and indoor comfort for the user has been long established.The most promising-and innovative-strategy for the building envelope of the future is based on a dynamic,active and integrated solution,that is able to optimize the thermal performance,integrate the active ele­ments and systems,and exploit energy from renewable sources.This paper illustrates the most relevant results of a decade-long research activity carried out on active and inte­grated building envelopes at the Politecnico di Torino,in which numerical analyses and experimental campaigns,involving test cells and field monitoring,have been performed.The overall performances of different façade modules and the thermo-physical behaviour of various components,under different operating strategies,are presented and discussed.The analysis provides information on the contribution of each subsystem,e.g.glazing,sun-shading devices,natural and mechanical ventilation,...to the achieved energy efficiency and the overall performances of different typologies of Double-Skin Façades(DSFs)and Advanced Integrated Façades(AIFs).

Mapping of energy potential through annual crop residues in Turkey

The objective of this study was to determine the annual crop residue potential in terms of types,quantities and mapping in Turkey.The calorific values of agricultural residues were determined by calorimeter according to ASTM D 5865 Standard Test Method for Coal and Coke 2002.In this study,the energy potential of annual crop residues was evaluated by ArcGIS^(TM) which is a geographical information system program.The total amount of unused annual crop residues was approximately 15.24 Mt/a.It was found that the total calorific value of the field crop residues was around 268 PJ/a for the 2012 production period in Turkey.The major crops included in the ratio of the total calorific value were maize(45.81%),wheat(21.30%),sunflower(15.10%)and cotton(18.1%).The amount of CO_(2) emitted into the atmosphere can be reduced by 30 Mt/a year through the use of agricultural residues.