Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Friday November 03 2017, @09:35AM   Printer-friendly
from the yum-lava-cake dept.

Could the Horn of Africa one day be powered by volcanoes?

Ethiopia tends to conjure images of sprawling dusty deserts, bustling streets in Addis Ababa or the precipitous cliffs of the Simien Mountains – possibly with a distance runner bounding along in the background. Yet the country is also one of the most volcanically active on Earth, thanks to Africa's Great Rift Valley, which runs right through its heart.

Rifting is the geological process that rips tectonic plates apart, roughly at the speed your fingernails grow. In Ethiopia this has enabled magma to force its way to the surface, and there are over 60 known volcanoes. Many have undergone colossal eruptions in the past, leaving behind immense craters that pepper the rift floor. Some volcanoes are still active today. Visit them and you find bubbling mud ponds, hot springs and scores of steaming vents.

This steam has been used by locals for washing and bathing, but underlying this is a much bigger opportunity. The surface activity suggests extremely hot fluids deep below, perhaps up to 300°C–400°C. Drill down and it should be possible access this high temperature steam, which could drive large turbines and produce huge amounts of power. This matters greatly in a country where 77% of the population has no access to electricity, one of the lowest levels in Africa.

Geothermal power has recently become a serious proposition thanks to geophysical surveys suggesting that some volcanoes could yield a gigawatt of power. That's the equivalent of several million solar panels or 500 wind turbines from each. The total untapped resource is estimated to be in the region of 10GW.

Why not? It works great for Iceland.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by rts008 on Friday November 03 2017, @07:53PM

    by rts008 (3001) on Friday November 03 2017, @07:53PM (#591836)

    Fractional distillation added to the process for pure water?

    This subject is not in any area of expertise I possess, but it seems possible. I can imagine there might be waste disposal/recycling issues, but it sounds feasible to me.

    I don't know for sure, but it seems doable.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2