A team from the Chair of Technical Thermodynamics at the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg and the company DBI Gas- und Umwelttechnik GmbH are currently researching how mine water from the former Lugau-Oelsnitz coalfield in north-western Saxony can be used to supply heat. The idea is to heat the mine water with heat pumps and use it to supply heating and cooling to municipalities.
Professor Tobias Fieback explains the principle as follows: "A heat pump works in a similar way to a domestic refrigerator, only according to the reverse principle. Heat is absorbed from the mine water, a refrigerant is then compressed by the supply of electrical energy and brought to a higher pressure and temperature level. Once the heat has been dissipated into the building, the refrigerant is expanded again and heat can be absorbed from the environment again."
The mine water is reformed every hour and can be fed back into the mine after thermal use to generate even higher amounts of energy. Various measurements and tests are currently being carried out as part of the "MareEn" research project and the heat requirements for various properties with different types of use are being calculated.
Source and further information: tu-freiberg.de
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