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Lanxess - Technical Rubber Products Release date: June 29, 2009
Leverkusen - Geothermal energy - using heat from the Earth for electricity generation and heating - is seen as an energy source with a future. However, the holes through which the underground heat stores are tapped place major demands on tools that are wholly comparable to those encountered in exploiting oil and natural gas fields. In both cases, the rubber components of conveyors are subjected to abrasion, heat and contact with non-polar, aggressive media. Yet these challenges can now be overcome thanks to the hydrogenated nitrile rubber Therban AT from LANXESS with its excellent flow properties. This cutting-edge, extremely robust synthetic rubber therefore plays a vital role in ensuring a sustainable energy supply.
Miners have long known that it can get very hot deep underground. "Some day, this fact will help solve the world's growing energy problems," says Martin Mezger, rubber expert at Leverkusen-based specialty chemicals group LANXESS AG. Geothermal power plants are already in operation virtually all over the world, and the number is rising. Iceland already meets a significant proportion of its energy needs from this source. Energy generation from the Earth's interior remains far less prevalent elsewhere, although experts forecast significant growth rates in this area. "This is no surprise as there is an inexhaustible supply of geothermal energy and this is therefore a sustainable energy source," says Mezger. "What's more, it is available 24/7, which means it can meet baseload demand."
Geothermal energy potential can be harnessed in a variety of ways. Petrothermal systems, for instance, are based on the principle of using the heat of the Earth's crust to heat up water pumped deep into the surface. There is absolutely no need to live on a volcano to do this. The temperatures required for generating electricity can be harnessed by deep drilling even in countries which barely have such heat anomalies under their surface. "In Germany, for example, heat reservoirs with temperatures around of 150 °C can be tapped at depths of between three and five thousand meters," says Mezger.
However, the demands placed on materials for drilling of this kind are high. For example, rubber seals on the drill head need to exhibit extreme abrasion resistance at the temperatures encountered and must also have a high dynamic load-bearing capacity and good aging resistance. Another effect of the constant contact with lubricants and additives is that "traditional" rubber grades have long been eliminated from bore holes. This even applies to synthetic rubbers, which elsewhere offer optimum performance. "EPDM, for instance - which is otherwise a good choice for many applications where strength is required due to its resistance to chemicals and heat - is not an option here owing to its tendency to swell in non-polar media and its abrasion properties," explains Mezger. "Although 'traditional' nitrile rubber is oil resistant, it is not sufficiently resistant to heat or aging. Robust fluororubbers are designed more for static loads. In contrast, the polar and abrasion-resistant HNBR rubber Therban with its high dynamic strength offers exactly the right properties to ensure a long service life in drill head seals." It is a similar story for other rubber components such as the hoses through which the extremely abrasive drill cuttings are removed. Even peristaltic pumps, which convey the drilling fluid, are scarcely able to cope without robust synthetic rubbers such as Therban. They heat up very considerably due to the high dynamic loads.
High-end rubbers such as Therban have a tough job to do in geothermal drilling - a fact that also applies to seals. This is true not only for transporting boiling hot water but also for "tapping" the Earth's crust, for example in the "protectors" that keep the drill rods at a distance from the rock. "To exploit geothermal energy reservoirs, the bore hole also needs to be sealed by means of trunk-sized blow-out preventers that are made from solid rubber," says Mezger. "After all, you never know what you might encounter when drilling. Water, too, is highly pressurized at 150 °C."
The new Therban AT grades from LANXESS, which exhibit particularly high flowability thanks to Nobel prize-winning chemistry, have proven their worth for manufacturing these types of large components. "Manufacturers can therefore dispense with adding flow agents. This greatly improves the internal adhesion of the rubber when working with solid parts of this kind, thereby also further boosting the reliability of the wellbore," says Mezger.
The hydrogenated nitrile rubber Therban AT (HNBR) is produced by the LANXESS Technical Rubber Products business unit, one of the leading suppliers of specialty elastomers for the rubber processing industry.
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently around 14,600 employees in 23 countries. The company is represented at 44 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
You can find further information concerning LANXESS chemistry in our WebMagazine at http://webmagazin.lanxess.com.
All LANXESS news releases and accompanying photo, video and audio material can be found at http://press.lanxess.com.
Contact
Michael Fahrig
Spokesperson Trade and Technical Press
Tel.: +49 214 30 45041
Fax.: +49 214 30 44865
michael.fahrig@lanxess.com
Company Information:
Name: Lanxess - Technical Rubber Products
Address: 111 RIDC Park West Dr.
City: Pittsburgh
State: PA
ZIP: 15275
Country: USA
Phone: 412-809-4765
FAX: 412-809-4750
http://techcenter.lanxess.com/trp/americas/en/home/
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