Qualtra Geothermal Power Plant: Life Cycle, Exergo-Economic, and Exergo-Environmental Preliminary Assessment

Claudio Zuffi, Pietro Ungar, Daniele Fiaschi, Giampaolo Manfrida () and Fausto Batini
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Claudio Zuffi: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy
Pietro Ungar: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy
Daniele Fiaschi: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy
Giampaolo Manfrida: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy
Fausto Batini: MagmaEnergy Italia SrL, 52100 Arezzo, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Qualtra, an innovative 10 MW geothermal power plant proposal, employs a closed-loop design to mitigate emissions, ensuring no direct release into the atmosphere. A thorough assessment utilizing energy and exergy analysis, life cycle assessment (LCA), exergo-economic analysis, and exergo environmental analysis (EevA) was conducted. The LCA results, utilizing the ReCiPe 2016 midpoint methodology, encompass all the spectrum of environmental indicators provided. The technology implemented makes it possible to avoid direct atmospheric emissions from the Qualtra plant, so the environmental impact is mainly due to indirect emissions over the life cycle. The result obtained for the global warming potential indicator is about 6.6 g CO 2 eq/kWh, notably lower compared to other conventional systems. Contribution analysis reveals that the construction phase dominates, accounting for over 90% of the impact for almost all LCA midpoint categories, excluding stratospheric ozone depletion, which is dominated by the impact from the operation and maintenance phase, at about 87%. Endpoint indicators were assessed to estimate the single score value using normalization and weighting at the component level. The resulting single score is then used in an Exergo-Environmental Analysis (EEvA), highlighting the well system as the most impactful contributor, constituting approximately 45% of the total impact. Other substantial contributions to the environmental impact include the condenser (21%), the turbine (17%), and the HEGeo (14%). The exergo-economic analysis assesses cost distribution across major plant components, projecting an electricity cost of about 9.4 c€/kWh.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; exergy; exergoeconomics; exergo-envitronmental; geothermal power plant; closed loop (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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