This is an
unexpected discovery. It was reasonable
to expect metal failure if one got into close proximity with molten magma. For that reason alone, it was avoided. Now it has happened by accident and the
operational results are excellent and well worth repeating.
In fact I now
expect that this makes all volcanoes excellent power sources with the
additional prospect of possibly stifling actual potential eruptions. After all a volcano is nothing more than a
natural heat engine attempting to dump surplus heat.
We now know that
we can drill directly into a magma deposit with closely spaced bore holes and
actually complete the well as a steam production well by simply injecting water
at the maximum sustainable rate to keep the well toe at a stable
temperature. Better what is returned is
the highest quality steam for maximum turbine efficiency. We have no need to play with heat exchangers
except to strip the residual heat from the spent steam. All this produces power.
Thus every
active volcano is now a prime energy prospect and should be exploited for two
excellent reasons. They actively
displace the whole Nuclear industry as a source of convenient grid energy
outright and they will cool dangerous volcanoes and slow the advent of actual
volcanism. Mt St Helens leaps to mind. Even if we cannot prevent at eruption we can
set back the well heads and almost tap the magma at an angle. A volcano can be surrounded with a ring of
power plants drawing this energy.
Free energy is
coming but this is still worth it.
World’s first
magma-enhanced geothermal energy system operates in Iceland
Published 27 January 2014
In various parts of the world, enhanced or
engineeredgeothermal systems
are being created by pumping cold water into hot dry rocks at 4-5 kilometers
depths. The heated water is pumped up again as hot water or steam from
production wells. In recent decades, considerable effort has been invested in
Europe, Australia, the United States, and Japan, with uneven, and typically
poor, results. In 2009 a borehole drilled at Krafla, northeast Iceland, as part
of the Icelandic Deep Drilling Project (IDDP), unexpectedly penetrated into
magma (molten rock) at only 2,100 meters depth, with a temperature of 900-1,000
C. The borehole, IDDP-1, was the first in a series of wells being drilled
by the IDDP in Iceland in the search for high-temperature
geothermal resources.
In 2009 a borehole drilled at Krafla, northeast
Iceland, as part of the Icelandic
Deep Drilling Project(IDDP), unexpectedly penetrated into magma (molten
rock) at only 2,100 meters depth, with a temperature of 900-1,000 C. The
borehole,IDDP-1, was the first in a series of wells being drilled by the IDDP in
Iceland in the search for high-temperature geothermal
resources. The January 2014 issue of the international journal Geothermics is
dedicated to scientific and engineering results arising from that unusual
occurrence. A University of California, Riverside release reports that this
issue is edited by Wilfred Elders, a professor emeritus of geology at the
University of California, Riverside, who also co-authored three of the research
papers in the special issue with Icelandic colleagues.
“Drilling into magma is a very rare occurrence
anywhere in the world and this is only the second known instance, the first
one, in 2007, being in Hawaii,” Elders said. “The IDDP,
in cooperation
with Iceland’s National Power Company, the operator of the Krafla
geothermal power plant, decided to investigate the hole further and bear
part of the substantial costs involved.”
Accordingly, a steel casing, perforated in the
bottom section closest to the magma, was cemented into the well. The hole was
then allowed to heat slowly and eventually allowed to flow superheated steam
for the next two years, until July 2012, when it was closed down in order to
replace some of the surface equipment.
“In the future, the success of this drilling and
research project could lead to a revolution in the energy
efficiency of high-temperature geothermal areas worldwide,”
Elders said.
He added that several important milestones were
achieved in this project: despite some difficulties, the project was able to
drill down into the molten magma and control it; it was possible to set steel
casing in the bottom of the hole; allowing the hole to blow superheated,
high-pressure steam for months at temperatures exceeding 450 C, created a world
record for geothermal heat (this well was the hottest in the world and one of
the most powerful); steam from the IDDP-1 well could be fed directly into
the existing power plant at Krafla; and the IDDP-1 demonstrated that a
high-enthalpy geothermal system could be successfully utilized.
“Essentially, the IDDP-1 created the world’s
first magma-enhanced geothermal system,” Elders said. “This unique engineered
geothermal system is the world’s first to supply heat directly from a
molten magma.”
Elders explained that in various parts of the world
so-called enhanced or engineered geothermal systems are being created by
pumping cold water into hot dry rocks at 4-5 kilometers depths. The heated
water is pumped up again as hot water or steam from production wells. In recent
decades, considerable effort has been invested in Europe, Australia, the United
States, and Japan, with uneven, and typically poor, results.
“Although the IDDP-1 hole had to be shut in,
the aim now is to repair the well or to drill a new similar hole,” Elders said.
“The experiment at Krafla suffered various setbacks that tried personnel and
equipment throughout. However, the process itself was very instructive, and,
apart from scientific articles published in Geothermics, comprehensive
reports on practical lessons learned are nearing completion.”
The release notes that the IDDP is a
collaboration of three energy companies — HS Energy Ltd., National
Power Company, and Reykjavik Energy — and a government agency, the National
Energy Authority of Iceland. It will drill the next borehole, IDDP-2, in
southwest Iceland at Reykjanes in 2014-15. From the onset, international
collaboration has been important to the project, and in particular a consortium
of U.S.scientists, coordinated by Elders, has been very active, authoring
several research papers in the special issue of Geothermics.
Funding for the science program of the IDDP was
provided by the U.S.National
Science Foundation (NSF) and the International
Continental Scientific Drilling Program.
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