Geothermal reservoir heat transfer, temperature modelling and electrical power potential estimation: Gisenyi hot spring

Abstract

As the energy demand is increasing every day, the environmental pollution has been a main concern. To reduceenvironmental pollution while satisfying the energy demand, renewable energy is a good solution and attracted manyresearchers not only to produce clean energy but also to find sustainable energy solution. Among renewable energy, geothermalenergy is one of promising renewable sources and is recently given a high consideration. The tectonic position of Rwanda andvolcanism show that Rwanda may have promising geothermal resources. One of the evidences is the hot springs originatedfrom tectonic. Gisenyi hot spring is located in Northern Province nearest to the Kivu Lac on the base of volcanoes with surfacewater temperature of 71°C. In this paper, the conceptual and numerical models were made on Gisenyi hot spring based ongeological, geochemical, hydrochemistry and geophysical data to estimate the temperature profile of the spring. This paperassesses the reservoir temperature of Gisenyi hot spring by using various geothermometers along with existing data andinformation using MATLAB software. The electrical power potential using Organic Rankine Cycle and Carbon dioxide as aworking fluid have been assessed together with the optimum depth by considering the dominant mode of heat transfer.