The Use Of An Ejector In A Geothermal Flash System

A new method of utilizing geothermal hot water resources is proposed. Rather than flashing the hot water through a throttle, it is expanded through the motive nozzle of an ejector. Its kinetic energy is used to compress steam extracted from the turbine. The technique reduces the irreversibility of the conventional flash system without adding rotating machines or heat exchangers. A first-order analysis and optimization of the system shows considerable performance improvement over a conventional flash system.