Utilization of excess steam through dry steam cycle at Kamojang geothermal power plant

We present the investigation of the electricity generation by utilizing the working fluid from the excess steam at Kamojang geothermal power plant which currently discharged to the atmosphere despite its thermal energy potential due to the vapor-domination of the steam. To produce accurate results, a model validated with real data of Kamojang plant will be employed in this study. Constraint of the model calculation is set based on the regime of allowable condenser pressure and cooling water temperature. Optimization of the system is carried out by investigating the most excellent gas removal system (GRS) of the non-condensable gasses (NCGs) based on real data operation. The GRS configurations will be developed from one-stage and two-stage of both liquid ring vacuum pump (LRVP) and steam ejector, and the hybrid system. We found that a one-stage LRVP is the best GRS among others, while it can produce an electric power of 15.94 MW from the 28.45 kg/s of working fluid. Considering the zero cost of the discharged excess steam, the installation of the plant will support the plant capacity and the surrounding area.