Projects
Influence of redox conditions and organic matter in the partitioning and mobility of naturally-occurring radionuclides (NORs) in geothermal systems KU Leuven
Geothermal energy is a clean and renewable energy source being studied in Europe, with the aim to contribute to a sustained, stable supply of both electricity and heat. One type of geothermal system that exist in Europe is the hot sedimentary aquifer (HSA). The production of geothermal energy of such low enthalpy geothermal systems generally uses a doublet configuration, where the hot geothermal fluid is extracted using one or more deep ...
Binary Geothermal Combined Heat-and-Power Plants — Optimal Design and Control of Low-Temperature ORC-based Systems KU Leuven
Deep-geothermal energy is readily available all over the world as long as one is willing to drill deep enough. However, in northwest European countries, the geothermal gradient is low (~30 °C/km) which leads to high drilling costs and low geothermal source temperatures (110-150 °C). As a result, the stand-alone electrical power generation from a low-temperature geothermal energy source is not economically viable without some kind of support ...
GEOCAMB: Geothermal Energy Potential in Cambrian rocks focussing on public buildings Ghent University
While the EU is on track to meet its goal of 20% renewable energy production in 2020, Belgium's target is projected not to be reached (European Commission, 2019). To achieve the renewable energy share in the total energy use in Belgium, geothermal energy can play a substantial role in the heating sector, which counts for 48% of the total use of energy. Both shallow and deep geothermal have potential to contribute to this energy share. In ...
A new approach to assess geothermal reservoir potential: An integrated core and analogue study for the Buntsandstein Formation of the Campine Basin (NE Belgium) KU Leuven
Geothermal energy can allow Flanders to make the transition towards a sustainable and low-carbon economy, either through the production of geothermal electricity or heat. Geothermal reservoirs in Flanders are either made of siliciclastic sediments or carbonate rocks, of which the former will be investigated during this research. In general, this project focuses on siliciclastic geothermal reservoirs, which are suitable for low-temperature ...
Chemical and radiological assessment of deep brine-type geothermal groundwaters KU Leuven
Elevated activities of naturally occurring radionuclides (NORs) detected in deep geothermal groundwaters, as well as the high salt concentrations observed in these groundwaters, pose several challenges to the successful exploitation of deep geothermal energy. As a result of changing conditions in the surface installations of the geothermal power plant (temperature, pressure,…), minerals become oversaturated in the brine and will start ...
The impact of re-injection of geothermal fluids on fluid flow properties and mechanical stability in fractured/faulted limestone reservoirs. Ghent University
One of the emerging techniques for sustainable energy production is the use of geothermal energy: heat is extracted from the deep subsurface, used for heating or the production of electricity, and then re-injected in the reservoir. The goal is set out to increase the worldwide energy production from geothermal energy from 84.8 TWh in 2017 to 1400 TWh/year in 2050. Therefore, deep and typically less permeable reservoirs are more frequently ...
Fracture properties within a Lower Carboniferous carbonate geothermal reservoir in the Campine-Brabant Basin. A study based on boreholes (northern Belgium) and outcrop analogues (southern Belgium) KU Leuven
Lower Carboniferous carbonates in the Campine-Brabant Basin (northern Belgium, southern Netherlands and westernmost Germany) are a target for geothermal developments. Wells drilled into these carbonates in both Belgium and the Netherlands have proven that they are suitable as a deep geothermal reservoir. The reservoir consists of fractured and locally karstified limestones and dolostones. Since the matrix porosity of the carbonates is ...
Geothermal Technology for €conomic Cooling and Heating KU Leuven
The Drilling technology that is currently used for installation of vertical borehole heat exchangers requires capital-intensive equipment that is expensive to mobilize, leads to deteriorated working conditions and requires experienced teams of specialist operatives. Drilling operations also often require significant quantities of drinking quality water and dispose of dirty water and mud. GEOTeCH will employ a different drilling concept which ...
Mechanisms of rockmass instability in co-mining of deep mineral and geothermal energy considering spatio-temporal distribution of stress and temperature Ghent University
The high geological stress field and high temperature observed at large depth result in a complex and uncertain engineering environment for developing deep mining projects. It severely restricts the safe and efficient mining of minerals and geothermal resources. A better assessment of the temperature and stress field is thus essential. Firstly, considering the uncertainty of subsurface parameters, the distribution of the temperature field ...