Geothermal Technologies

摘要

The editors of R&D 100 Magazine have selected two projects from Sandia National Laboratory that were sponsored by the Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Program as among the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace during the past year. The first, a family of atmospheric geothermal separators known as LEAMS, was developed by Two-Phase Engineering and Research with fabrication by Drill Cool Systems Inc. and with support from the U.S. Department of Energy and Sandia National Laboratories. The second, acoustic telemetry technology, was developed at Sandia in cooperation with Extreme Engineering Ltd. of Calgary, Alberta, and with support from the U.S. Department of Energy. The R&D 100 Awards―sometimes referred to as "the Nobel Prizes of technology"―were first awarded in 1963. The LEAMS (Low Emissions, Atmospheric, Metering, Separator) technology's primary use is to safely contain and clean atmospheric vented steam of polluting solids, liquids, and noxious gases. This system is designed to be environmentally friendly, intrinsically safe, and relatively easy to transport and assemble. LEAMS has a wide operating range and can be used in drilling, well testing, and plant start-up. Currently, no atmospheric cyclone separator can perform all these functions as well using a single system.