Types of power plants

• Dry Steam (Geyser) Plants

  1. the steam is directly piped to the power plant from underground wells
  2. Direct to the turbine-generator unit
  3. The steam eliminates the need to burn fossil fuels to run the turbine

  • these plants emit only excess steam and minor amounts of gasses
• Flash Steam Power plants

  1. take high-pressure hot water from deep inside earth and convert it to steam to drive generator turbines
  2. when the steam cools, it condenses to water and is injected back into the ground to be used again
• Binary Cycle Power plants

  • water from geothermal sources is instead pumped into a heat exchanger where a second liquid, such as isobutene or pentane is heated
  • they use secondary loop (binary) - which contains a fluid with a low boiling point, such as pentane or butane