| Abstract |
Indonesia, located along the Ring of Fire, is endowed with huge geothermal potential that has yet to be fully converted - into power to spur national development. The invention of the geothermal mini back-pressure turbine is expected to allow us to tap unused steam and waste heat scattered around steam fields and geothermal power plants (GPPs). Among the potential sources that may be used to power the mini turbine are: ex exploration well, lowdischarge steam from a large production well, underutilized high-discharge production well, and wet steam geothermal field. The government is expected to capitalize this opportunity by ordering big GPP players either to utilze the tiny steam potentials scattered within their areas or to let smaller players who have expertise in mini steam turbines to convert the disposed or waste steam into electricity at a small scale. If this can be realized, it indicates that the geothermal development is duable and is able to generate power wihin limited time frame despite its small scale. The benefits of the GPP mini turbine are as follows: „h For captive use such as lighting of offices, base camps, and roads, particularly in new GPP development areas where no PLN grid is available. The use of diesel genset will increase operation costs. „h For power construction. The GPP mini turbine¡¦s power output which ranges around 500 KW can be used for rock breaking, rotating batching plant, welding machine, lighting, and other power construction activities. „h Prime mover of the reinjection pump for brine water to reinjection wells. „h CSR for the surrounding community in the form of power supply to be used as lighting and providing power for small industry activities such as sewing, rice milling, etc. „h The availability of small-scale GPP will help developer to anticipate the delay or cancellation of the development of the bigger GPP due to the procrastination in the permit issuance or permit loss. „h Use as a test-well right in which the steam produced by both exploration and production wells can be directly used and the operator of test well can monitor and record the performance as well as the characteristics of the new well. When it enters commercial operation, the test-well has been clean, is supported with comprehensive data, and can provide optimum benefits. „h GPP mini-turbine is compact and mobile, easily moved between sites. So far, the back pressure turbine is considered to be the most optimal tool for steam utilization, where the worn steam with more than 1 atmosphere pressure is straightly disposed into the air. The advantages of the back-pressure turbine include its simplicity of construction, mobility, low-cost fabrication and installation, and flexibility and lack of sensitivity to the quality of steam. This turbine can either process the dry steam directly or process it by using steam cleaner or simple separator. For the wet steam, the use of a separator or flasher is mandatory. |