Geothermal Cooling Tower Integration for Direct Air Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Geothermal and direct air capture systems have large footprints and high capital and operational costs due to the need for large cooling towers and air contact arrays, which require substantial energy and electricity, limiting their efficiency and effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions.
Innovation Solution
Integrate direct air capture (DAC) filtration into the cooling tower process of geothermal power plants, utilizing geothermal energy to power and provide thermal energy for the DAC system, thereby reducing the need for external energy inputs and optimizing synergies between geothermal energy and DAC.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If geothermal power plants and DAC systems are operated separately with independent cooling towers and air contact arrays, then each system can function independently, but the overall energy consumption and capital costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the cooling tower of the geothermal power plant with the air contact array of the DAC system into a single integrated structure. This merging allows both systems to share common infrastructure including cooling towers, fans, and structural support, thereby reducing capital costs and operational energy consumption while maintaining functional independence of both systems
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated system structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both a cooling tower for heat rejection from the geothermal power plant and an air contact array for CO2 capture in the DAC system. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated structures and minimizes overall energy and material requirements
2Productivity
If large cooling towers and air contact arrays are used to ensure sufficient heat rejection and air processing capacity, then system performance is maintained, but the footprint and capital costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the cooling tower structure with the DAC air contact array, the patent achieves dual functionality within a single footprint. The same structural framework, fan system, and air flow paths serve both heat rejection and CO2 capture functions, thereby maintaining required productivity for both systems while significantly reducing the total land area and capital costs compared to separate installations
3Reliability
If separate cooling towers and air contact arrays are constructed for geothermal power plant and DAC system, then each system operates independently, but construction and maintenance costs constitute a large fraction of overall costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the cooling tower and air contact array into a single unified structure that serves both the geothermal power plant and DAC system. This consolidation reduces construction costs by eliminating redundant structural elements, foundations, and equipment while maintaining operational independence of both systems through separate process flows and control systems within the integrated structure
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This integration reduces the overall energy requirements and capital costs, enhances carbon capture efficiency, and provides a sustainable solution for carbon dioxide removal and storage, leveraging the zero-emission nature of geothermal energy.
Implementation Method 1
Typical air-cooled condensers utilize a plurality of cooling fans capable of passing a large volume of air over the working fluid circulating through condenser coils
Implementation Method 2
As the injected fluid travels through the geothermal reservoir, the fluid absorbs heat increasing its temperature or enthalpy
Implementation Method 3
DAC technologies use large air contact arrays to pull ambient air across a filter equipped with a chemical media or sorbent that serves to separate CO2 from the air
Implementation Method 4
CO2 is separated using chemical solutions, solid sorbents, or other tactics such as cryogenic processes
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and techniques may be used for incorporating direct air carbon dioxide capture capabilities into a working fluid condensing process of a geothermal power plant. An example technique may include causing, using fans, air to flow across condenser coils of a condensing unit, through which power cycle working fluid is circulated, and through a direct air capture (DAC) filtration component, which separates carbon from the air, capturing heat from a geothermal working fluid, and using the heat as thermal energy input to the DAC filtration component or using electrical energy generated from the geothermal power plant as electrical energy input to power the condensing unit and the DAC filtration component. The example technique may include gathering the carbon separated from the air to be injected into a geothermal reservoir or repurposed for another industrial process.