ESRIG-EES colloquium: Arno Holtrup and Jezabel Ramírez, MSc EES students
| When: | Tu 20-03-2018 16:00 - 17:00 |
| Where: | 5159.0010 (Energy Academy Building, Nijenborgh 6) |
Title: How much geothermal energy can be harvested by transforming an abandoned gas well into a borehole heat exchanger? Modelling the temperature and power output of a borehole heat exchanger as a function of borehole parameters.
By: Arno Holtrup, MSc EES student
Summary:
The research has focused on making a numerical model of a borehole heat exchanger and is a project commissioned by Royal HaskoningDHV (RHDHV). The idea of RHDHV was to reuse abandoned gas and oil wells by transforming them into borehole heat exchangers called STEPs, for extraction of thermal energy. The power output and temperature of the pumped water of these wells is low, but since the infrastructure of the STEP is already there, the business case is still viable albeit fragile: the demand for more clarity in the exact costs and yields is therefore important. This study has sought to provide this clarity by the means of a numerical energy model. This model has been created, and links various static input parameters, such as pipe diameters, or flow rates through dynamic properties, such as temperature changes in water flows and the surrounding soil, to an output water temperature and output power. The model has been used to model the predicted temperature output for a potential suitable STEP well, the TDV-01 well, for which a pilot is soon to initiate. The model agrees well with previous predictions made for the TDV-01 well, but has much more functionality, and includes in contrast to previous results, an accurate uncertainty description. The presentation will explain in a non-mathematical way how this model was built, how various parameters relate and what the temperature and power output are for the TDV-01 well.
Title: Low carbon strategies for the power system in Colombia 2050
By: Jezabel Alejandra Ramírez Cardoso, MSc EES student
Summary:
As the world energy demand increases, the power sector is striving to become reliable and guarantee energy security to all users. At the same time, the power sector faces pressure to reduce even further greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fulfill the agreements of the current climate policies. The case study of this research is based on the power system in Colombia due to the challenges it faces in the coming years.
Colombia has a small share of total GHG emissions due to low energy consumption and clean energy production in comparison with other Latin American countries, mainly due to the large share of electricity generation from hydropower (65.5% in 2014). Nevertheless, the Colombian power system is vulnerable due to the future demand growth and hydropower fluctuations caused by a well-known phenomenon “El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)” which triggers climatic alterations worldwide. In particular, El Niño episode disrupts the availability of water resources in Colombia, affecting the reliability on the share of hydropower; which can be reduced below 50% depending on its intensity. Thus, thermal power plants must operate to maintain the grid balance and as a consequence CO2 emissions are expected to rise.
A dynamic simulation model with scenario analysis of the strategies to decarbonize the power system in Colombia was used. Thus, the main questions to be studied were: w hat low-carbon strategies contribute to the power system reliability in Colombia 2050 and how can they improve its stability during El Niño episode?