Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: An Innovative Design of Downhole In-Situ Power Generation: A Sustainable Manner of Geothermal Energy Utilization
EPA Grant Number: SU839292Title: An Innovative Design of Downhole In-Situ Power Generation: A Sustainable Manner of Geothermal Energy Utilization
Investigators: Wu, Xingru , Ji, Guomin , Wang, Huiyu , Wang, Kai , Chen, Yuxuan
Institution: University of Oklahoma
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: February 1, 2018 through January 31, 2019
Project Amount: $15,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2017) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Sustainable and Healthy Communities , P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality
Objective:
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Conclusions:
In phase I, our research led to the following conclusions:
1. Our demonstration of the design shows that downhole power generation is highly possible.
2. Applying the design on oil wells has tremendous benefits and advantages over alternatives. Compared to a geothermal well, existing wellbore and other infrastructures largely reduce capital expenditure. Compared to utilizing produced water at surface, this design improves thermal recovery efficiency by capturing in-situ heat before loss to formation.
3. The established model can capture the energy conversion efficiency accurately and is useful in guiding design improvement. The mathematical model could calculate the temperature distributions and power generation performances under various of production rates and enables the design improvements to maximum power generation.
4. This design can be also used in EGS wells and unconventional wells, which have a larger contact with reservoir formation to have better heat transfer and conversion efficiency.
Proposed Phase II Objectives and Strategies:
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.