Alaskan Entrepreneur Touts Geothermal Energy Invention
An Alaskan entrepreneur Bernie Karl has pioneered modern technology to tap into one of Earth's oldest energy resources: hot water.
His energy-generating machine lies on a flatbed truck and can be hooked up to oil and gas wells or other heat-emitting sources to generate electricity.Karl adds a branch connection to an oil or gas pipeline, and the process begins when he "hot taps" into waste water coming through the pipes. The hot water enters the tubes of an evaporator encased in a common refrigerant found in many air conditioning systems. As the hot water passes through the evaporator, it begins to boil the refrigerant in the casing surrounding the tubes. The heat given off by the boiling refrigerant then causes an attached turbine to spin, which jump-starts a generator, producing electrical power.Next, cooling water enters from another source, recondensing the vapor refrigerant into a liquid.A pump pushes the liquid refrigerant back to the evaporator, so the cycle can start again. The difference in temperatures drives the entire "binary system." This setup works exactly the opposite of a refrigerator.
His portable geothermal generator units cost from $350,000 to $375,000, each with the potential to generate enough power for 250 average American homes per year.
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His energy-generating machine lies on a flatbed truck and can be hooked up to oil and gas wells or other heat-emitting sources to generate electricity.Karl adds a branch connection to an oil or gas pipeline, and the process begins when he "hot taps" into waste water coming through the pipes. The hot water enters the tubes of an evaporator encased in a common refrigerant found in many air conditioning systems. As the hot water passes through the evaporator, it begins to boil the refrigerant in the casing surrounding the tubes. The heat given off by the boiling refrigerant then causes an attached turbine to spin, which jump-starts a generator, producing electrical power.Next, cooling water enters from another source, recondensing the vapor refrigerant into a liquid.A pump pushes the liquid refrigerant back to the evaporator, so the cycle can start again. The difference in temperatures drives the entire "binary system." This setup works exactly the opposite of a refrigerator.
His portable geothermal generator units cost from $350,000 to $375,000, each with the potential to generate enough power for 250 average American homes per year.
see more
Labels: energy, geothermal, technology
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