Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Liquefied Petroleum Gas – N-Butane, N-Pentane, ISO-Butane (secondary working fluids)

How it works in geothermal energy conversion applications…

• The geothermal fluid is extracted from an underground reservoir and flows from the wellhead through pipelines to heat exchangers.
• Inside the heat exchangers, the geothermal fluid heats and vaporizes a secondary working fluid, an organic fluid with a low boiling point.
• The organic vapors drive a turbine and then are condensed in a condenser, which is cooled by air or water.
• The turbine rotates the generator.
• The condensed fluid is recycled back into the heat exchangers by a pump, completing the cycle within the closed system.
• The cooled geothermal fluid is re-injected into the reservoir.

A Hycomp Oil-Free compressor package designed specifically for handling liquefied petroleum gas vapors permits safe handling and storage of these organic vapors during maintenance of the process system. Gas pressures and temperatures are monitored in multiple locations throughout the compressor package to ensure that the gas is kept in vapor state to prevent compressor damage from any condition that might permit the formation of liquid. The stored vapor can then be recycled back into the process system when the plant is restarted, thus preventing loss of secondary working fluid.