Gulf Coast geopressured-geothermal program summary report compilation. Volume 3: Applied and direct uses, resource feasibility, economics

The US Department of Energy established a geopressured-geothermal energy program in the mid 1970`s as one response to America`s need to develop alternate energy resources in view of the increasing dependence on imported fossil fuel energy. This program continued for 17 years and approximately two hundred million dollars were expended for various types of research and well testing to thoroughly investigate this alternative energy source. This volume describes the following studies: Geopressured-geothermal hybrid cycle power plant: design, testing, and operation summary; Feasibility of hydraulic energy recovery from geopressured-geothermal resources: economic analysis of the Pelton turbine; Brine production as an exploration tool for water drive gas reservoirs; Study of supercritical Rankine cycles; Application of the geopressured-geothermal resource to pyrolytic conversion or decomposition/detoxification processes; Conclusions on wet air oxidation, pyrolytic conversion, decomposition/detoxification process; Co-location of medium to heavy oil reservoirs with geopressured-geothermal resources and the feasibility of oil recovery using geopressured-geothermal fluids; Economic analysis; Application of geopressured-geothermal resources to direct uses; Industrial consortium for the utilization of the geopressured-geothermal resource; Power generation; Industrial desalination, gas use and sales, pollutant removal, thermal EOR, sulfur frasching, oil and natural gas pipelining, coal desulfurization and preparation, lumber and concrete products kilning; Agriculture and aquaculture applications; Paper and cane sugar industries; Chemical processing; Environmental considerations for geopressured-geothermal development. 27 figs., 25 tabs