Geothermal resource utilization - Paper and cane sugar indsutries

This paper was prepared from information developed during a study done by DSS Engineers, Inc., under contract from Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. The study was made as a specific contribution to an overall report by the United States in the area of industrial utilization of geothermal resources. This is part of an overall study in nonelectrical uses of geothermal resources for a subcommittee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Due to limited time and funds, it was initially decided to restrict the study to the geopressured zone along the northern Gulf of Mexico Coast. Also, it was to be limited mainly to considering utilizing the thermal energy of this “geoenergy” resource for process use in the pulp and paper industry and cane sugar industry. For the selected industries and resource area, the final report sets forth energy requirements, identifies specific plant and sites, includes diagrams of main processes used, describes process and equipment modifications required, describes energy-recovery systems, sets forth waste-disposal schemes and problems, and establishes the economics involved. The scope of work included considerable data collection, analysis and documentation. Detailed technical work was done concerning existing processes and modifications to effectively utilize geothermal energy. A brief survey was made of other industries to determine which of these has a high potential for utilizing geothermal energy. Presented in this paper is a summary of the findings of the study, with emphasis on how the thermal energy is extracted and utilized in the processes and on the economics involved. (13 figs., 7 tabs., 7 refs.)