Publication

Geothermal Energy and Biomass Integration in Urban Systems: a Case Study

Abstract

Heating, electricity and transportation are the three components of urban systems final energy consumption. Geothermal energy and biomass are two promising renewable energy resources that can be used for the production of heat, electricity and biofuels, thus allowing a reduction of fossil fuel consumption and of the associated greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of this paper is to assess the potential for the integration of geothermal energy combined with biomass in the energy system of a city, taking into account the consumption of fossil and renewable resources, costs and environmental impact. Several process options are available for both resources. For geothermal energy, deep aquifers and EGS (Enhanced Geothermal Systems) are considered, for both separate production of heat and electricity, and cogeneration. For biomass, besides the option of direct combustion, conversion to biofuels by a set of alternative processes (pyrolysis and gasification) is included in this study. The use of pinch analysis and optimization allows the evaluation of possible hybrid energy conversion systems integrating geothermal with biomass. The European city of Lausanne (Switzerland) is used as an example case study. The heat demand of the city is partially satisfied by a district heating network. The complete urban energy system is modeled in order to account for the potential competition and synergies between different energy carriers and technologies for the same end-uses. A set of “ad hoc” scenarios is developed with the goal of assessing the interest of geothermal and biomass within the long-term strategic energy planning of the city.

About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Graph Chatbot

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.