A FLASHING BINARY COMBINED-CYCLE FOR GEOTHERMAL POWER-GENERATION

The performance of a flashing binary combined cycle for geothermal power generation is analysed. It is proposed to utilize hot residual brine from the separator in flashing-type plants to run a binary cycle, thereby producing incremental power. Parametric variations were carried out to determine the optimum performance of the combined cycle. Comparative evaluation with the simple flashing plant was made to assess its thermodynamic potential and economic viability. Results of the analyses indicate that the combined cycle can generate 13-28% more power than the conventional flashing plant. The economic assessment reveals that its unit generation cost is slightly less than that of a flashing-type system. The proposed cycle thus represents a more effective utilization of the resource, aside from helping to alleviate environmental degradation.