Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. The geothermal energy of the Earth's crust originates from the original formation of the planet (20%) and from radioactive decay of materials (80%)
Most geothermal energy from deep within the earth's renewable energy, it plays in the Earth's molten magma and the decay of radioactive substances. There is also a small part of the energy coming from the sun, about 5 percent of the total geothermal energy, geothermal energy, most come to the surface of the sun. After deep groundwater circulation and from the very depths of magma intruded into the crust, the heat from deep underground to the near-surface zone. Its reserves are a lot more people than the total energy use, most concentrated along the edges of tectonic plates in the region is volcanic and earthquake-prone areas. It is not only pollution-free clean energy, and if the heat extraction rate of no more than supplement the pace, then energy and is renewable.
Geothermal power is actually the underground heat into mechanical energy, and then the mechanical energy into electrical energy or energy conversion process is called geothermal power. Development of geothermal resources are mainly two types of steam and hot water type, therefore, geothermal power is also divided into two categories.
Geothermal steam generation, there are two primary steam method and secondary steam method. Direct use of underground steam once dry saturated (or slightly superheat) steam, or using a separation from steam, water mixtures out of steam generation. Secondary steam method has two meanings, one is not directly dirty natural steam (primary steam), but it vaporized by the heat exchanger clean water, then use clean steam (secondary steam) to generate electricity. The second implication is that the first separator out of hot water from the expansion of the production of secondary steam under reduced pressure, the pressure is still higher than local atmospheric pressure, and a steam turbine to generate electricity are entered.
Reference:
1. Dickson, Mary H. Fanelli, Mario, What is Geothermal Energy, Pisa, Italy.
2. Cassino, Adam (2003), "Depth of the Deepest Drilling", The Physics Factbook (Glenn Elert),
3. GEA Update Release 2013, Geo-energy.org,
Reference:
1. Dickson, Mary H. Fanelli, Mario, What is Geothermal Energy, Pisa, Italy.
2. Cassino, Adam (2003), "Depth of the Deepest Drilling", The Physics Factbook (Glenn Elert),
3. GEA Update Release 2013, Geo-energy.org,