lorath_matriarchy:technology:lorath_geothermal_generator [Wandering Star Role Play]

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
====== Lorath Geothermal Generator ======

The [[species:lorath|Lorath]] during their exile underground were met with the need for a method of generating electricity as well as providing heat for comfort and utility in a clean and efficient manner. Due to this pressing need, the Lorath of the time worked to evaluate and make use of the resources at hand and determined that using a variety of geothermal devices would be the most effective and practical route to take.

This technology developed early in the Lorath age of Exile has been improved and refined extensively becoming the core, most basic, and most common source of Lorath energy technologies. Even in post-Exodus times despite the vast technological improvement that the [[:lorath_matriarchy|Lorath Matriarchy]] has achieved, these geothermal generators are among the first infrastructure built by Lorath when establishing new settlements or expanding pre-existing ones.

===== Technical Information =====

The geothermal power generation method standard in use by the Lorath is a combination of a "Binary-Cycle" type generator mated with a "Hot Dry Rock" heating method.

The "Binary-Cycle" generator in operation is a closed loop system that is designed to release as few particles into the atmosphere as possible and few systems release any at all. The generator works by drawing up heated steam from deep ground sources and routing the steam to travel through a pipe system to the generator proper. On the way to the generator, the steam travels through a pipe that passes through a holding tank containing a fluid with a lower boiling temperature than the water vapor traveling through the pipe. This second fluid is referred to as a "binary" fluid. The heat from the initially heated water vapor is passed through the binary fluid as a carrier medium to a second pipe that contains additional water. The water in the second pipe is super-heated to a flash point; the super-heated steam is then allowed to travel along the pipe and then to a turbine that is driven by the high steam pressure. Cooling as it travels, the steam passes the turbine system it cools back to a liquid state and travels through a pipe to pass back through the binary fluid for reheating, thus completing the cycle.

Initial steam production is achieved through a "Hot Dry Rock" method. This involves the drilling of a hole several kilometers down into the crust of a planet.((A simplified task when already residing in deep cavern systems)) Water is then pumped down into the hole using a high-pressure pump. As the water is pumped into the borehole it is heated to a flashpoint, this steam is then allowed to travel upward through a second pipe that travels into the binary heating system. After heating the binary fluid the cooled steam and water vapor is passed through a condenser system to cool into a liquid state before being fed back into the high-pressure pump and the process is repeated allowing the cycle to continue.

A quirk of the Lorath system is that an excessive amount of water is pumped into the borehole for heating, some of this steam is then bled off of the main generator system and allowed into a separate piping system; this system runs through a self-contained filtration system that feeds into a network of pipes built into the Lorath cavern cities, or other settlements as needed providing heat and a hot water supply to residents. This system is regulated by a series of valves ensuring even distribution.

====== Historical Notes =====
 
In the years following the reclamation of the surface of Lor, many of the old less developed caverns were converted into dedicated housing for geothermal power plants. Additionally, the pipe system that formerly only fed the cavern cities now reaches upward to the surface providing water and heat to cities on the surface. The power grid has also been expanded allow for the cities on the surface to be efficiently powered by pre-existing power plants. The construction of the geothermal power plants has continued without cessation following the reclamation of the surface of Lor, these power plants scattered throughout Lor's crust provide much of the day to day power needs for the Lorath people continuing to provide utilities for the population of the whole planet, a logical expansion beyond the initial cavern cities.

The geothermal plant system was also used in the opening days of the Lorath reclamation of the surface from the [[species:helashio|Helashio]]. The Lorath piped the heated steam from the depths to propel massive amounts of water vapor and dust into the atmosphre of Lor blocking out the sunlight, and creating a "shock and awe" effect upon the Helashio population immediately before the first Lorath attacks.