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  3. geothermal plants generally use hightemperature highpressure steam from within the...

Question: geothermal plants generally use hightemperature highpressure steam from within the...

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Geothermal plants generally use high-temperature, high-pressure steam from within the Earth to drive a power cycle. The most common form uses vapor dominated hydrothermal sources, whose peak fluid temperature and pressure are approximately 205°C and 8 bar, respectively. You may assume that the surrounding atmosphere is at a temperature of 22°C. a. Assuming this fluid is used as a heat source in a power cycle, what is the maximum efficiency, nmax, that this plant may achieve? b. We would like to generate 50 MW of power with this plant. What is the minimum rate of heat, Cou (in MW), that we must output to the atmosphere with this cycle? c. Consider using this plant to replace a natural gas power plant, which generates its heat input through methane combustion (55 MJ/kg) Based on current fuel prices, natural gas costs approximately $3 per million BTU What is the minimum amount of money this geothermal plant would save per year due to reduced fuel costs? (Reminder: 1 BTU 1055 J.)

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