Science & Technology

Scientists aim to harness power of volcanoes

By T.K. Randall
February 18, 2017

Image: Pahoehoe Lava
Credit: Rufiyaa / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) There is a lot of heat trapped beneath the surface of the Earth - so much so in fact that finding ways to turn this mostly untapped resource in to electricity has been on the agenda for years.

At Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, researchers at the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) have been drilling down in to the depths of a volcanic system that has been dormant for over 700 years.

Last month they succeeded in reaching the edge of a magma reservoir at a depth of three miles beneath the surface where temperatures can reach up to 427 degrees Celsius.The key to harnassing volcanic geothermal energy is something called "supercritical water" which is created when water comes in to contact with the extreme temperatures of molten rock.

In a supercritical state the water is neither a liquid nor a gas and can carry up to ten times as much energy as regular steam.

"If deep supercritical wells, here and elsewhere in the world, can produce more power than conventional geothermal wells, fewer wells would be needed to produce the same power output, leading to less environmental impact and improved economics," the IDDP wrote in a statement.

Source: Live Science

Tags: Volcano, Power