Chapter 7

Dry-Steam Power Plants

7.1 Introduction 131

7.2 Origins and nature of dry-steam resources 132
7.3 Steam gathering system 138
7.4 Energy conversion system 138
7.4.1 Turbine expansion process 141
7.4.2 Condensing and cooling tower processes; utilization efficiency 144
7.5 Example: Optimum wellhead pressure 144
7.6 Environmental aspects of dry-steam plants 147
7.7 Equipment list for dry-steam plants 147
7.7.1 Steam supply system 147
7.7.2 Turbine-generator and controls 147
7.7.3 Condenser, gas ejection and pollution control (where needed) 147
7.7.4 Heat rejection system 147
7.7.5 Back-up systems 148
7.7.6 Noise abatement system (where required) 148
7.7.7 Condensate disposal system 148
References 148
Nomenclature for figures in Chapter 7 149
Problems 149

“A few yards further brought us into the midst of puffing geysers, or steam-jets, for
I knew not by what other name to call them. Fumes of sulphur here met our nostrils
at every step, while the rustling steam, as it spouted from a hundred cavities, completely
enveloped us . . . The whole of this violent commotion was accompanied by a tremendous
noise beneath the Earth’s surface . . ..”
John Russell Bartlett, describing The Geysers in California
1854

7.1 Introduction
Dry-steam plants were the first type of geothermal power plant to achieve commercial
status. Their history goes back 100 years to 1904 when Prince Piero Ginori Conti built
and operated a tiny steam engine using the natural steam jets that issued from the ground
at Larderello in the Tuscany region of Italy; see Fig. 7.1. Since the geofluid consisted solely
Geothermal Power Plants: Principles, Applications, Case Studies and Environmental Impact, Third Edition.
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