# US 11,905,856 B2 · Geothermal district heating power system

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- Number: US 11,905,856 B2
- Document ID: US11905856B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/624,282
- Filed: 2020-07-02
- Published: 2022-08-18
- Granted: 2024-02-20
- Earliest claimed: 2019-07-03
- Assignees: Ormat Technologies, Inc.
- Applicants: Ormat Technologies, Inc.
- Inventors: Dan Batscha
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11905856B2

## CPC

- F01K 25/08: using special vapours
- F24D 3/18: using heat pumps
- F01K 11/02: the engines being turbines
- F01K 17/02: for heating purposes, e.g. industrial, domestic (F01K17/06 takes precedence; domestic- or space-heating systems, e.g. central-heating systems, in general F24D1/00, F24D3/00, F24D9/00)
- F03G 4/035: {of the Organic Rankine Cycle [ORC] type or the Kalina Cycle type}
- F24D 10/00: District heating systems
- F24T 50/00: Geothermal systems (for producing mechanical power from geothermal energy F03G4/00)
- F24D 2200/11: Geothermal energy
- F24D 2200/126: Absorption type heat pumps
- Y02B 10/40: Geothermal heat-pumps
- Y02B 30/12: Hot water central heating systems using heat pumps
- Y02E 20/14: Combined heat and power generation [CHP]
- F01K: STEAM ENGINE PLANTS; STEAM ACCUMULATORS; ENGINE PLANTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ENGINES USING SPECIAL WORKING FLUIDS OR CYCLES (gas-turbine or jet-propulsion plants F02; nuclear power plants, engine arrangements therein G21D)
- F24D: DOMESTIC- OR SPACE-HEATING SYSTEMS, e.g. CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEMS; DOMESTIC HOT-WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; ELEMENTS OR COMPONENTS THEREFOR (using steam or condensate extracted or exhausted from steam engine plants for heating purposes F01K17/02)
- F03G: SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS; MECHANICAL-POWER PRODUCING DEVICES OR MECHANISMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR OR USING ENERGY SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (arrangements in connection with power supply in vehicles from force of nature B60K16/00; electric propulsion with power supply in vehicles from force of nature B60L8/00)
- F24T: GEOTHERMAL COLLECTORS; GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

## Abstract

A geothermal district heating (DH) system includes a plurality of DH conduits each of the conduits extending to a corresponding heat consumer; means for delivering a DH-usable fluid through said plurality of DH conduits; a fluid circuit through which a geothermal fluid is flowable; and at least two heat exchangers, each of the heat exchangers configured to transfer heat directly or indirectly from the geothermal fluid to said DH-usable fluid with a total heat influx provided by the at least two heat exchangers to said DH-usable fluid that is sufficiently high to raise a temperature of the DH-usable fluid to a predetermined DH-usable temperature without need for any supplemental fossil fuel derived waste heat to be transferred to said DH-usable fluid.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A geothermal district heating (DH) system, comprising:
a) a plurality of DH conduits, each of said conduits extending to a corresponding heat consumer;
b) a fluid circuit through which a geothermal fluid is flowable;
c) at least two heat exchangers, each of said heat exchangers configured to transfer heat directly or indirectly from said geothermal fluid to a first supply of DH-usable water and to a second supply of additional DH-usable water with a total heat influx provided by said at least two heat exchangers to said DH-usable water and to said additional DH-usable water that is sufficiently high to raise a temperature of said DH-usable water and said additional DH-usable water to a predetermined DH-usable temperature without need for any supplemental fossil fuel derived waste heat to be transferred to said DH-usable water and said additional DH-usable water,
wherein a first of the at least two heat exchangers is a vaporizer for vaporizing an organic motive fluid circulating in an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) type power plant,
wherein a second of the at least two heat exchangers is a heat exchanger by which said organic motive fluid at a temperature less than its temperature upon exiting said vaporizer transfers heat to said DH-usable water,
wherein a third of the at least two heat exchangers is a water-water heat exchanger by which said DH-usable water at a temperature greater than its temperature prior to being received in said second heat exchanger transfers heat to said additional DH-usable water; and
d) means for delivering said additional DH-usable water through said plurality of DH conduits.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein a fourth of the at least two heat exchangers is a heat exchanger by which heat depleted geothermal fluid transfers heat to, and raises the temperature of the DH-usable water exiting the second heat exchanger.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The system according to claim 2, wherein the DH-usable water exiting the fourth heat exchanger transfers heat to the additional DH-usable water.

### Claim 4

A geothermal cogeneration system, comprising:
a) a fluid circuit through which a geothermal fluid is flowable;
b) a power-producing section by which an organic motive fluid circulating in an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is vaporized by the geothermal fluid, and is caused to expand in a turbine of the ORC to produce power; and
c) a heat-producing section through which a liquid serially flows so as to be heated in a first heat exchanger by discharge of the organic turbine and is additionally heated in a second heat exchanger by heat depleted geothermal fluid.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The system according to claim 4, wherein the first heat exchanger is configured to condense the organic motive fluid.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The system according to claim 5, wherein the power-producing section further comprises a recuperator which is configured to receive the organic turbine discharge in a first port and the organic fluid condensate in a second port, and to discharge recuperated organic fluid heated by the organic turbine discharge via a third port so as to be in heat exchange relation with the geothermal fluid circuit and the heat depleted organic turbine discharge via a fourth port to the first heat exchanger.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The system according to claim 6, wherein the recuperated organic fluid discharged from the third port is additionally heated by heat depleted geothermal fluid being at a temperature greater than the temperature of the heat depleted geothermal fluid introduced to the second heat exchanger.

### Claim 8 (depends on 4)

The system according to claim 4, wherein the power-producing section comprises a high-pressure organic turbine and a low-pressure organic turbine, and the liquid flowing in the heat-producing section is heated in the first heat exchanger by discharge of the high-pressure turbine.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The system according to claim 8, wherein the power-producing section further comprises a low-pressure condenser for condensing the organic motive fluid discharged from the low-pressure organic turbine.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The system according to claim 9, wherein the power-producing section further comprises a low-pressure recuperator which is configured to receive the low-pressure organic turbine discharge in a first port and the low-pressure organic fluid condensate in a second port, and to discharge recuperated low-pressure organic fluid heated by the low-pressure organic turbine discharge via a third port so as to be in heat exchange relation the geothermal fluid circuit and the heat depleted low-pressure organic turbine discharge via a fourth port to the low-pressure condenser.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The system according to claim 10, wherein the recuperated low-pressure organic fluid discharged from the third port is additionally heated by heat depleted geothermal fluid being at a temperature greater than the temperature of the heat depleted geothermal fluid introduced to the second heat exchanger.

### Claim 12 (depends on 4)

The system according to claim 4, wherein the heat depleted geothermal fluid exiting the second heat exchanger is reinjected into an injection well.

### Claim 13 (depends on 4)

The system according to claim 4, wherein the heat-producing section is associated with a district heating (DH) system that comprises a plurality of DH conduits such that each of said conduits extends to a corresponding heat consumer.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The system according to claim 13, further comprising a third heat exchanger by which the liquid exiting the second heat exchanger transfers heat to an additional liquid, wherein the additional liquid is flowable through the plurality of DH conduits.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The system according to claim 14, wherein the additional liquid is heated to a sufficiently high heat consumer usable temperature of at least 60° C.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The system according to claim 14, further comprising a feed pump configured to recirculate heat depleted liquid exiting the third heat exchanger to an inlet port of the geothermal cogeneration system which is in liquid communication with the first heat exchanger, in order to be reheated for additional use in the district heating system.

### Claim 17 (depends on 14)

The system according to claim 14, wherein both the liquid and the additional liquid is water and the third heat exchanger is a water-water heat exchanger.

### Claim 18 (depends on 13)

The system according to claim 13, wherein a total heat influx provided by the first and second heat exchangers to the liquid flowing in the heat-producing section is sufficiently high to raise a temperature of the liquid to a predetermined DH-usable temperature without need for any supplemental fossil fuel derived waste heat to be transferred to the liquid.

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein the DH-usable water exiting the second heat exchanger transfers heat to the additional DH-usable fluid.

### Claim 20 (depends on 7)

The system according to claim 7, further comprising a vaporizer to which the recuperated organic fluid that is additionally heated by the heat depleted geothermal fluid being at a temperature greater than the temperature of the heat depleted geothermal fluid introduced to the second heat exchanger is supplied and vaporized.