Direct utilization status and power generation potential of low-medium temperature hydrothermal geothermal resources in Tianjin, China: A review

The objective of this paper is to introduce the resource reserves, utilization status, power generation potentials, problems and outlooks of development of low-medium hydrothermal geothermal resource in China, especially in Tianjin. Tianjin is one of the earliest and biggest cities in China to utilize the geothermal resource, and the geothermal resource of Tianjin is featured as low-medium hydrothermal geothermal resources. Data of utilization of geothermal resource in Tianjin is taken in this paper by years from 2001 to 2014, and by utilization patterns which including space heating, domestic hot water, bathing and agriculture. A case study of the geothermal power generation in Tianjin is proposed and analyzed to reveal the feasibility of power generation by the methods of optimization and grey relational analysis. Besides, a 500 kW grade geothermal power plant will be built in Tianjin in 2016. At last, Outlooks are proposed to achieve the sustainable exploitation and development of low-medium temperature hydrothermal geothermal resource in the view of underground and above-ground, such as strengthening the injection, monitoring, and exploitation of geothermal resources; enhancing hydrothermal geothermal power generation and absorption refrigeration technologies, and exploring the potential applications of multiple energy system based on the principle of temperature matching.