PwrCor, Inc. Collaborates with Smu Geothermal Laboratories to Pursue an Unexploited Geothermal Application
June 12, 2019 at 08:48 am EDT
Share
PwrCor, Inc. announced that SMU Geothermal Laboratories has completed a significant industry research project that was instrumental in assessing the potential of PwrCor’s proprietary technology to generate electricity from wasted ultra-low-grade heat (150°F to 250°F) discarded by existing geothermal power facilities. Geothermal production facilities typically return large quantities of ultra-low-grade heat, in the form of spent hot water, into injection wells after the higher heat is used in electricity production. This spent hot water represents fuel to PwrCor’s heat-to-power conversion technology that currently operates within a hot input temperature range between 150° and 250° F. This application of PwrCor technology is commonly referred to as a bottoming cycle and represents a simple, low risk, and low cost point of entry to the geothermal market. PwrCor technology is also uniquely applicable to several other geothermal applications including abandoned geothermal wells, hot springs, new low temperature geothermal plants, as well as existing and abandoned oil and gas wells which typically abound with geothermal energy. SMU’s research team compiled available information such as ambient air temperature, injection temperature, and injection flow rate to quantify the total thermal energy within the spent geothermal fluids already being produced, but not utilized, by 31 of 73 U.S. based geothermal sites for which data were available. These 31 sites represent approximately 2,900 MWe or 78% of U.S. currently installed geothermal electricity capacity. New calculations indicate an additional 427 MWe, or approximately 15%, can be derived from the spent geothermal fluids utilizing the PwrCor bottoming cycle technology. An additional 100 MWe of output can be conservatively imputed from the remaining installed capacity for which there was insufficient available data.
PwrCor, Inc. (PwrCor) is a cleantech energy technology company. The Company is developing advanced, novel solutions in the waste-heat-to-energy, geothermal, clean water, hydrogen production, and other markets. With its heat conversion technology, it is able to produce cost-effective mechanical or electric power from wasted heat-from low-grade heat in the 250 to 400 F range down to ultra-low temperatures in the 140 to 250 F range. PwrCor technology can be used to convert low levels of heat from any source, including industrial, geothermal, or solar, into sufficient mechanical power to drive reverse osmosis equipment wherever there is access to water, including sea water, without even having to produce electricity. PwrCor technology is also positioned to facilitate the Energy Transition initiative by creating power from heat generated in the production of Hydrogen and Ammonia, as well as from fuel cells, thereby reducing cost of operations.
PWRCOR, INC. 