Search results for "geothermal system"

Energy-saving potential of ground source multiple chillers in simple and hybrid configurations for Mediterranean climates

2022

Air conditioning accounts for a large share of energy usage in residential and tertiary sectors. Renewable energy technologies offer promising solutions to reduce the environmental impacts of meeting buildings’ energy loads. The possibility of using the soil as a thermal reservoir for heating and cooling systems has gained growing attention in the last decade due to its high potential for energy saving. In this paper, the benefits achievable using ground source chillers for air conditioning in an office building located in Southern Italy are discussed. A multiple chillers system coupled with a borehole heat exchanger is investigated and compared to conventional air-cooled and water-cooled s…

The hydrothermal system of the Domuyo volcanic complex (Argentina): A conceptual model based on new geochemical and isotopic evidences

2016

The Domuyo volcanic complex (Neuquén Province, Argentina) hosts one of the most promising geothermal systems of Patagonia, giving rise to thermal manifestations discharging hot and Cl−-rich fluids. This study reports a complete geochemical dataset of gas and water samples collected in three years (2013, 2014 and 2015) from the main fluid discharges of this area. The chemical and isotopic composition (δD-H2O and δ18O-H2O) of waters indicates that rainwater and snow melting are the primary recharge of a hydrothermal reservoir located at relative shallow depth (400–600 m) possibly connected to a second deeper (2–3 km) reservoir. Reactive magmatic gases are completely scrubbed by the hydrotherm…

Fluid geochemistry in a low-enthalpy geothermal field along a sector of southern Apennines chain (Italy)

2020

Abstract The chemical and isotopic features of the fluids (water and gases) in the Lucane thermal area (southern Italy) have been investigated in order to verify their origin, water temperature in the geothermal reservoir, and to recognize the main natural processes concerning the water composition during ascent towards the surface. The Lucane geothermal system is placed in the southern sector of the Apennines chains, a seismically active area, close to the southern base of the Mt. Alpi carbonate massif. Along the study area, two main sets of high-angle faults form an almost orthogonal fault system that, as suggested by local structural geology, acts as a preferential pathway for uprising d…

Gaseous Elemental Mercury (GEM) from mining areas and volcanic and geothermal systems in some Mediterranean areas: a preliminary study

2013

Western Sicily (Italy), a key area for understanding geothermal system within carbonate reservoirs.

2012

Medium enthalpy geothermal systems in carbonate reservoirs, the Western Sicily example.

2013

The multidisciplinary and integrated review of existing data (mainly acquired during oil exploration), specifically reread for geothermal purposes, and the integration with new data acquired in particular key areas, such as the Mazara Del Vallo site in the southern part of western Sicily, allowed us to better understand this -regional scale- medium-enthalpy geothermal system (with measured temperatures up to 100 °C), to reconstruct the modalities and peculiarities of fluids circulation, and to evaluate the geothermal potentialities of western Sicily. We suggest that these findings could be taken as exemplificative of the behavior of low-to medium enthalpy geothermal systems hosted in carbon…

The Mazara del Vallo area, a key site to understand the regional geothermal system of Western Sicily

2012

A dish-stirling solar concentrator coupled to a seasonal thermal energy storage system in the southern mediterranean basin: A cogenerative layout hyp…

2020

Abstract In the future, renewable energy sources will increasingly represent an efficient energy source capable of meeting the demands of residential and industrial buildings avoiding the emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In this paper, a heat and electric power cogeneration plant implementing a field of dish-Stirling collectors, a seasonal geothermal storage and a system of water-to-water heat pumps is proposed for the first time. The cogeneration plant has been designed both to supply thermal energy to the heating system of Building 9 of the Department of Engineering in Palermo and to produce electricity. The operation of the plant has been tested by means of hourly-based…

An insight on the thermo-mechanical behaviour of a shale

2016

In recent years, several shale formations have been employed in geo-energy related engineering fields that foresee the presence of high thermal loads or significant temperature variations. Such thermal conditions are related to a need to reach great depths (several hundred of meters), as in the case of CO2 sequestration and Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) technologies, or to the presence of thermal sources, as in the context of nuclear waste geological disposal. In addition, thermal changes can occur in shale formations through the injection of drilling and fracturing fluids at great depths, where a higher temperature with respect to the one of the injected fluid is encountered as a result…

Microbiology meets geochemistry: geothermal flux shapes different microbial communities at the same exhalative area

2015

Volcanic/geothermal areas are sites of complex interactions between geosphere and biosphere. Pantelleria island (Southern Mediterranean Sea) hosts a high enthalpy geothermal system characterized by high CH4 and low H2S fluxes. Two sites, FAV1 and FAV2, located a few meters apart at the main exhalative area of the island (Favara Grande), recorded similar physical conditions (soil temperature 60°C, soil gas composition enriched in CH4, H2 and CO2). However, while high methanotrophic activity (59.2 nmol g-1 h-1) and high diversity of methanotrophs was detected at FAV2, FAV1 was not active and appeared deprived of methanotrophs (1). Our aim was to investigate the main factors influencing methan…