| Title | Three Dimensional Modeling of Heat Extraction from Abandoned Oil Well for Application in Sugarcane Industry in Ahvaz– Southern Iran |
|---|---|
| Authors | Younes NOOROLLAHI, Hossein YOUSEFI, Meysam POURARSHAD |
| Year | 2015 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | Abandoned oil well, heat extraction, Sugar factory, Simulation, Iran |
| Abstract | AAbandoned oil and gas wells can be used as low temperature geothermal resources for heat extraction from geological formations and have valuable heat potential that avoids the cost increasing of drilling in geothermal projects. Despite the industrial sectors that receives energy with subsidized price in Iran, but the cost of consumed fuel for most of industries such as sugarcane factories still is valuable and high. Khuzestan province in southern Iran is one of the richest areas in oil and gas resources and also is prominent in cane farms and sugar industry. However; the sugar mills are lagging due to power consumption. In this study the feasibility of steam generation as low geothermal resources from an abandoned oil well is investigated using a 3D simulation technique. The bottom-hole temperature of well called DQ is 159.8°C. Heat transfer between fluid injected into the well and the surrounded hot rock was simulated. Well casing geometry for this well was considered and an exact geothermal gradient for each geological formation were applied. The simulation results were optimized for parameters such as input and output flow rates and temperatures. The results showed that, in addition to thermal gradient and mass flow rate, well casing geometry and the size of injection and extraction pipes were essential to the output heat extraction rate. The simulation results are revealed, the extracted heat from underground which is combined with a gas furnace heater, have ability to provide required steam for sugarcane factory near to Ahvaz City. In this case, the steam pressure and mass flow rate were 8 bar and 42 t/h, respectively. Also natural gas consumption and CO2 emissions are reduced 2.7*106 m3/year and 5042 t/year respectively. The average reduction of natural gas consumption is 17.3% compared to only steam boiler case. Return on Investment (ROI) in a geothermal-heater compare with steam boiler at best case with pure interest rate of 8%, occurs after 3.6 years. |