Condensate re-injection pump for geothermal plants

Dry rock Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) have an injection well (deeper than the ground water tables) drilled into hot bedrock that has limited permeability and fluid content. Water is injected at very high pressure usually by reciprocating pumps, to ensure fracturing and re-opening of existing fractures some distance from the injection wellbore. The production well, which intersects the stimulated fracture network, has water circulated to extract the heat from the hot rock. The temperature of the water extraction can be higher than in the natural geothermal fields, resulting in higher vaporization pressures and thermodynamic efficiencies. Depending on the production hot water temperature (T < 280 ºC), the EGS fields can be typically combined with binary cycle or flash steam power plants. Sulzer supports these processes with high pressure Brine Re-Injection pumps (BRIP), Condensate Re-Injection pumps (CRIP), Hydrocarbon Feed Pumps (HFP), Cooling Water pumps (CWP) and auxiliary pumps.

A dry steam plant has production wells that are drilled down to the geothermal reservoir. The superheated pressurized steam (180°C < T < 280°C) is brought to the surface at high speeds and passed through a steam turbine to generate electricity. The steam passes through a condenser and is converted into water. The condensate is then re-injected into the ground through wells. Sulzer supports these processes with Condensate Re-Injection pumps (CRIP), Cooling Water pumps (CWP) and auxiliary pumps.

A flash/binary cycle plant uses a combination of flash and binary technology. The portion of the geothermal fluid (185 ºC < T < 220 ºC) which "flashes" to steam under reduced pressure is first converted to electricity with a backpressure steam turbine. The low-pressure steam exiting the backpressure turbine is condensed in a binary system. Sulzer supports these processes with Production pumps (PP), Brine Re-Injection pumps (BRIP), Hydrocarbon Feed Pumps (HFP), Cooling Water pumps (CWP) and auxiliary pumps.

In a flash steam plant, hot and high-pressure water (185°C < T < 220°C) is converted into steam by flashing the extracted liquid through reducing the pressure. The liquid is separated into steam and brine. This brine is pumped back down into the reservoir again and the steam is sent to the turbine, which drives a generator. After passing through the turbine, the steam enters a condenser and is cooled to a liquid state, then pumped back down into the reservoir. Sulzer supports these processes with Production pumps (PP), Brine Re-Injection pumps (BRIP), Condensate Re-Injection pumps (CRIP), Cooling Water pumps (CWP) and auxiliary pumps.