Engineering and economic feasibility of utilizing geothermal heat from the Heber reservoir for industrial processing purposes at Valley Nitrogen Producers Inc. , El Centro agricultural chemical plant. Final report

• Main Authors: Sherwood, P. B., Newman, K. L.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: WESTEC Services, Inc., San Diego, Calif. (USA) 1977
• Subjects: Flashed Steam Systems; Urea; Geothermal Fields; Organic Compounds; Feasibility Studies; Ammonium Nitrates; Cost Benefit Analysis; Nitric Acid; Amides; Heat; Economic Analysis; 15 Geothermal Energy; Comparative Evaluations; Ammonium Compounds; 150800 > Geothermal Power Plants; Fertilizer Industry; Financing; Nitrogen Compounds; Hydrogen Compounds; Economics; Industry; Process Heat; Geothermal Power Plants; Power Plants; Steam Generators; Vapor Generators Geothermal Legacy 151000* > Geothermal Energy > Direct Energy Utilization; Oxygen Compounds; Steam; Geothermal Process Heat; Flowsheets; Hydrides; Nitrates; Geothermal Legacy; Energy; Inorganic Acids; Heber Geothermal Field; Ammonia; Engineering; Binary-Fluid Systems; Industrial Plants; Tables; Information; Carbonic Acid Derivatives; Organic Nitrogen Compounds; Boilers; Production; Thermal Power Plants; Nitrogen Hydrides; Diagrams; Pacific; Carbonic acid
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2172/5012171; https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1053582/

The engineering and economic feasibility of utilizing geothermal heat from the Heber KGRA for industrial processing purposes at the Valley Nitrogen Producers, Inc. El Centro, California agricultural chemical plant was investigated. The analysis proceeds through the preliminary economics to determine the restraints imposed by geothermal modification size on internal rates of return, and through the energy utilization evaluation to determine the best method for substituting geothermal energy for existing fossil fuel energy. Finally, several geothermal utilization schemes were analyzed for detailed cost-benefit evaluation. An economically viable plan for implementing geothermal energy in the VNP Plant was identified and the final conclusions and recommendations were made based on these detailed cost-benefit analyses. Costs associated with geothermal energy production and implementation were formulated utilizing a modified Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories' ''GEOCOST'' program.