Kyushu Electric to test geothermal binary generation system
Japanese Kyushu Electric Poer Co. in cooperation with Kawasaki Heavy Industries will test a binary geothermal power generation system using steam from liquid with a low boiling point to turn a turbine at the Yamagawa geothermal power plant.
Reported yesterday, Japanese Kyushu Electric Poer Co. will conduct a verification test early next year on a binary power generation system using steam from liquid with a low boiling point to turn a turbine.
The test will be conducted at the utility’s Yamagawa Geothermal Power Generation Plant in Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, for two years in cooperation with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., it said.
The utility is aiming to put the system into commercial operation on many isolated islands in the Kyushu area to generate power in a more environmentally friendly manner by replacing diesel generators that use heavy oil, it said.
The system involves heating and evaporating liquids with low boiling points that can be gasified at temperatures of around 30 C, using the resulting steam to turn a turbine to generate power.
In the upcoming test, Kyushu Electric plans to use a hydrochlorofluorocarbon with a boiling point of 34 C.
The utility wants to check the cost-benefit performance of the system with an output capacity of 250 kilowatts, while examining whether it can be used on remote islands where underground hot water tends to have higher saline concentrations, it added.”
Source: Kyodo News Service