Methods and systems for electric power generation using geothermal field enhancements

摘要

Methods for increasing the enthalpy of a geothermal brine, methods for recovering heat enthalpy stored in a geothermal brine, and methods for the production of a heated brine from a natural geothermal reservoir are provided. The methods may be incorporated into a geosolar electric power generation project to provide a steady and flexible source of renewable energy from a geothermal heat source in combination with solar insolation.

主权项

1. A method for increasing the enthalpy of a natural geothermal brine, the method comprising:
injecting a sub-critical heated injection fluid into a naturally occurring geothermal reservoir containing a natural geothermal brine via one or more injection wells, wherein the naturally occurring geothermal reservoir has a temperature gradient higher than a normal thermal gradient of the Earth and stores natural geothermal heat within the natural geothermal brine, wherein the enthalpy of a first portion of the natural geothermal brine is increased by the heated injection fluid to create a hot zone in the geothermal reservoir with the increased enthalpy geothermal brine contained within boundaries of the hot zone; storing the heat provided by the heated injection fluid primarily within the increased enthalpy geothermal brine in the hot zone, wherein the increased enthalpy geothermal brine stores both the heat provided by the heated injection fluid and a first portion of the natural geothermal heat; maintaining a temperature differential between the hot zone created in the geothermal reservoir and a colder geothermal heat recovery zone of the geothermal reservoir fluidly connected with the hot zone, wherein the geothermal heat recovery zone contains a second portion of the natural geothermal brine not heated by the heated injection fluid and stores a second portion of the natural geothermal heat within the second portion of the natural geothermal brine; and containing heat provided by the heated injection fluid within the hot zone using at least one of the following methods:
interrupting or reversing an outward migration of heated fluids from the hot zone by recovering at least one of the increased enthalpy brine and the heated injection fluid from the hot zone via one or more hot zone production wells, wherein the hot zone production wells are configured to operate independently from the injection wells and are capable of producing the recovered fluid without requiring a simultaneous addition of fluid to the geothermal reservoir,periodically reversing the outward migration of the heated fluids from the hot zone by converting the injection wells into hot zone production wells and using the converted hot zone production wells to recover at least one of the increased enthalpy brine and the heated injection fluid from the hot zone, wherein the converted hot zone production wells are capable of producing the recovered fluid without requiring a simultaneous addition of fluid to the geothermal reservoir, andusing one or more fresh geothermal brine production wells located outside the boundaries of the hot zone to create an inward flow of the natural geothermal brine toward the hot zone from a surrounding portion of the geothermal reservoir, and using the hot zone production wells located at a periphery of the hot zone to create an outward flow of at least one of the increased enthalpy brine and the heated injection fluid from the injection wells toward the periphery of the hot zone.