Analysis and assessment of a geothermal based cogeneration system and lithium extraction

This paper presents the thermodynamic analyses for a double flash-binary based integrated geothermal power plant which consists of two steam turbines and one expander in the organic Rankine cycle that uses ammonia as the working fluid and a lithium extraction sub system. The main useful outputs of the plant are electricity, heat for floor heating and lithium carbonate (Li2CO3). The aim of this study is to assess the overall system performance energetically and exergetically. Based on the results obtained from this study, the overall energy and exergy efficiencies are 58.41% and 66.63%, respectively. The present results also show that the Li2CO3 is produced at the rate of 9.52 x 10(-3) kg/s. In addition, the effects of changing several important operating parameters and ambient conditions on the energy and exergy efficiencies and the performance of the subsystems are investigated.