Projects per year
Abstract
As the decarbonisation of heating and cooling becomes a matter of critical importance, it has been shown that flooded mines can provide a reliable source of low-carbon thermal energy production and storage when coupled with appropriate demand via an appropriate heat transfer technology. This paper summarises the potential resource represented by a long legacy of mining operations, the means heat can be extracted from (or rejected to) flooded mine workings, and then considers the risks and challenges faced by minewater geothermal energy (MWG) schemes in the planning, construction, and operational phases. A combination of site visits, interviews and literature reviews has informed concise, updated accounts for many of the minewater geothermal energy systems installed across the world, including accounts of hitherto unpublished systems. The paper has found that a number of previously reported MWG schemes are now non-operational. Key risks encountered by MWG schemes (which in some cases have led to decommissioning) include clogging of system components with mineral precipitates (e.g., ochre), uncertainty in targeting open mine voids and their hydraulic behaviour, uncertainty regarding longevity of access to minewater resource, and accumulated ongoing monitoring and maintenance burdens.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 6215 |
Number of pages | 33 |
Journal | Energies |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 19 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 29 Sept 2021 |
Keywords
- minewater
- geothermal
- low enthalpy
- heating cooling
- decarbonisation
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'A review of the performance of minewater heating and cooling systems'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 3 Finished
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Using stable isotopes to deliver new insights into mine water geothermal resources (2301.0920)
Burnside, N. (Principal Investigator)
NERC (Natural Environment Research Council)
1/02/21 → 31/01/22
Project: External Facilities/Resources
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How can optimal sites for mine water geothermal energy systems be identified and where are they in Scotland?
Burnside, N. (Principal Investigator), Banks, D. (Co-investigator), Boyce, A. J. (Co-investigator) & Walls, D. (Post Grad Student)
1/10/18 → 30/09/22
Project: Projects from Previous Employment
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Impact Acceleration Account - University of Strathclyde 2017
Bedford, T. (Principal Investigator)
EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
1/04/17 → 30/06/22
Project: Research