Geothermics, Vol. 21, No. 5/6, pp. 985-990, 1992. Printed in Great Britain.

0375-6505/92 $5.00 + 0.00 Pergamon Press Ltd

© 1993 CNR.

T H E P A S T , T H E P R E S E N T A N D T H E F U T U R E U T I L I Z A T I O N O F G E O T H E R M A I ~ E N E R G Y IN X I O N G C O U N T Y , H E B E I P R O V I N C E ,

PEOPLEk5 R E P U B L I C O F C H I N A

WANG LI A N D WEI HONG-CHANG

l)epartment of Civil Engineering, Agrictdtural Universi~ of Hebei, Baoding, Hebei, attd Xiottg County Geothermal Bureau, Hebei, P.R. of China

Abstract -- This paper describes the basic situation at Xiong County geothermal field, Hebei Province, China, based on a wealth of actual material. The paper then goes on to expound the distribution of the geothermal wells and the chemical composition of the geothermal water in this field, to give the geothermal utilization level of the past, the present, and to advance the future development plan --- to make the Xiong County Town the first "Geothermal City" in China.

INTRODU CTIO N

Xiong County is located in the middle plain of Hebei Province, south of Beijing and between the cities of Tianjing and Baoding. It thus occupies a central position with respect to these major cities. In the southern part of the County is Bai Yang Lake, and Daqing

R i v e r f o l l o w s the southern boundary o f the County (Fig. 1). Its

i ~ 100 km t total surface area is 524 km 2 and the population abou t 300 ,000 . T h e average energy supply

BeijingCity is about 395 kg/yr of standard coal per per- son, which is below the average level of the whole country. There- fore, the energy supply

County' is seriously deficient. geothermal field Rich r e se rves o f

Baoding , ~ .... . - geo thermal water are

a qin ~ ~ . . . / i: Bo See D g distributed over an area

o f 300 km 2 in the Bai Yang Lake A' western part of Xiong

C o u n t y . T h e geo- ~: thermal water reserves

amount to 10 billion m 3 Fig 1 The location of the Xiong County geothermal field, at a depth of 500-1200

m in the ear th ' s crust. Their temperature is in the range 58-86°C, the surface temperature gradient is 30-115

985

986 Wang Li and Wei Hong-Chang

°C/kin, and the flowrate per well is in the range 500-2700 m)/day. 'l 'he quality of the hot water is excellent and classifies as CI -HCO-Na type water. In the porous upper layer of late Ter t iary age, mineral water for drinking is somet imes found (see table 3). The geothermal water is stored in the fissured carst of carbonate rocks of early Tert iary age (Chen Me-xiang, 1988). It is used for space heating, bathing, medical t reatment and recuperat ion, some product ions in industry, agriculture, aquaculture, and for various public needs. A total of 13 geothermal wells are in use in the County with a total heat output of 3 1.2 MWth (above 14°C).

PAST G E O T H E R M A L U T I L I Z A T I O N IN XIONG COUNTY

The beginning of Xiong County geothermal utilization was linked to the petroleum explorat ion in the County. When the first geothermal well was drilled by the national Branch of the Pet roleum and the Geophys ica l Explorat ion Depar tment in 1973, the prelude to Xiong County geothermal utilization was opened. People began to build very simple bathrooms for using the hot water. Soon thereafter small greenhouses heated by geothermal water were built to grow vegetables for winter use. By the end of the 1970"s there were 4 geothermal wells in the County supplying 2,121 m 3 per day of hot water, which covered 1,900 m 2 of the direct space heating area using geothermal water.

T H E PRESENT U T I L I Z A T I O N OF G E O T H E R M A L ENERGY IN XIONG COUNTY

Since 1985 the geothermal deve lopment in Xiong County has been included in the "No. 7 Five Years Plan" for national science and technology. With co-operation between the National Geology and Mineral Department, and the National Petroleum Department, 9 wells have been drilled bringing the total number of geothermal wells in Xiong County to

Table 1. General inlormation on geothermal wells and their use in Xiong County.

Well Drilled Depth Temperature Flow rate Utilization number year.month m °C m3/h

RX I 1987.1 I 1052.1 7() 44.0 Homes, business

RX2 1988.(/5 811.6 54.5 57.9 Homes

RX3 1986.(11 301.3 26 69.0

RX5 1989.11 1168.7 65 26.0 Homes, agriculture

RX6 1988.10 527.9 73 112.7 Agriculture

RX7 1989.1(~ 1016.6 68 37.~ Homes

RX8 1986.01 585.7 55 18.4 Industries

RX9 1986.07 8188 80 25.2 Agriculture

RXI() 199(I. 10 1180.{) 83 5(I.~) Homes

Qianniu 1 1973.(/2 534.4 73 33.7 Agriculture, business, homes

Qianniu 3 1973.06 l()lgJ) 71 23.6 Business, homes

Xiong 3 1977.02 1283.11 86 20.0 Agriculture, business, homes

Ba 26 1977.05 1~124.0 66 11.1 Industries

Geothermal Energy: Past, Present and Future 987

13, and supplying 11,026 m 3 of hot water per day, that is 5.2 times that of the 1970"s (Table 1 and Fig. 2).

By the end of the 1980"s, the geothermal utilization in Xiong County involved many fields, such as agriculture, industries, business, scientific research and public needs.

1. Agriculture: A prototype vegetable and non-staple food production facility based on geothermal heating has been built, which includes geothermal greenhouses, open shelters, aquaculture, chicken hatching, and so on. The total heating area is 48,450 m 2, i.e. 53% of the total geothermal heating area of the County,

2. Industries: Two leather factories and two natural mineral water factories havc becn built, comprising some 2,596 m z floor area and 3% of the total geothermal heating area of the County.

3. Business: Two hot spring hotels with superior aecomodat ion have been built, comprising 80 apartments and other accommodation. In addition, 4 geothermal bathhouses have also been finished. The total floor area is 7,037 m ~-, or 7.8% of the total geothermal heating area of the County.

4. Scientific research: Three earthquake and 5 geothermal water monitoring stations have been established.

Table 2. Utihzation ol geothermal ~ater in Xlong Count 5, Hebei Province.

Fields of Specific uses Wells used utilization

lndustr 3 Mineral water factor 3, Qiannu 1, RXS, Ba26 leather factory

Agriculture Grooving xegetables, RX6, Qianniu 1, aquaculture, hatching of Xiong 3, RX9 chicken

Business Hot spring hotels, bathing Qiannui 1, Qianniu 3, Xiong 3, RXI

L.i~ ing Schools, go~ ernment RX 1, RX5, RXI0, buildings, staff dormitories RX7, l~X2, Qianniu

1, Qianniu 3, Xiong 3

Scicntific Earthquake monitoring, Xiong 101, Dian 6-3, research geothermal monitoring Qianniu 3, RX2,

RX3, RXI, Qianniu 1

Total

Number Heating area of wells m 2

3 2596.5

5 48455.9

4 7(1376

8 31878.7

89968.7

5. Public needs: Two schools that use geothermal water for space heating have been built. The County ' s government bnildings and their staff dormitories are also heated by the geothermal water. The total area for public utilization is 31,879 m 2, or 35% of the total geothermal heating area of the County (see table 2).

In May of 1988 the government of Hebei Province and the Department of Geology and and Minerals with the approval of the State Council decided, that the Xiong County geothermal field would be declared the only "proto type field for moderate and low tempera ture comprehens ive geothermal ut i l izat ion" in China. The aim is to gain experience in geothermal exploration and utilization that can be used as a guide for further

988 Wang Li and Wei Hong-Chang

scientific development and ntilization of moderate- low temperature geothermal resources in China, which can again stimulate development of the local economy, and enhance the people's material, ethical, and cultural wellbeing.

From 1985 to 1990 the national Branches of Geology and Minerals Department have completed an exploration project of the geothermal field in Niutuozhen, Hebei Province, which covered the Xiong County. Among the aspects that have been scientifically evaluated are: general information on the size of the field, the geothermal potential, the

/ /

LEGEND

LOCATION OF COUNTY TOWN GEOTHERMAL WELL

'l 1. RX9

; 2. RX8

'~ 3. RX7 i 4. QIANNIU 1

J 5. BA26

6. RX6

. / . ~ 7. RX5 • / 8. QIANNIU 3 - 7

/ 9. RX3 /

10. RX2 11. RX1 12. RXl0 13. XIONG 3

O PETROLEUM EXPLORATION WELL WITH GEOTHERMAL PROSPECTS ~ ~ FAULTED ZONE

ISOLINES OF DEPTH TO BEDROCK, M

. . . . . . COUNTY BOUNDARY 10km

Fig. 2. Distribution of geothermal ~ells in the Xiong Count 3 ((7hen Mc-xiang,lOgI4~

geothe.rmal reservoir characteristics, and so on (Chen Me-xiang, 1988). The national Branches of the Department of Agriculture have made a series of scientific studies on the vegetable production in greenhouses in winter, aquaculture, hatching and raising of chicken in factories, mushroom production, and so on, based on the use of geothermal water. The national Branch of the Environmental Protection Department has initiated a special research programme into the environmental protection and waste water treatment technologies, and the biological effect of the geothermal water. The chemical composition of the geothermal water in the County has been analyzed (see table 3). The above studies in three different fields have already produced a series of scientific reports on the national level. Many of the results have brought about obvious benefits to the people (Huang Shang-yao et al., 1986).

Geothermal Energy: Past, Present and Future 989

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F[q 'L!RE PI,ANS t:C)R GE(J ' iHIzRMAI. I .qII~IZAII()N IN XI()NG (T()I.~NI'~

According to the characteristics of tile geothermal resources and the requirements of economic development, the ft, ture geothermal utilization in Xiong Connty will be divided between three areas of the County. that is the southern part, the central part. and the northern part.

1. Southern part: Based on the geothermal resources of the Bai Yang Lake region and surroundings having a surface area of 366 kin-', the Bai Yang Lake t tot Spring l 'own ~.ill be constructed. It will include a tourist and holiday village, a medical treatment and recuperation center, and business and culture fields. The facilities will be partly' finished in 1995, and will be managed according to international practice. At that time a direct road to Beijing will have been constructed as well as an airport . Tonri~ts from Hong Kong can reach the area by air in 3 hours, from Beijing in 15 minutes. The total planned area of the above facilities is 3.3 km:.

2. Central part: Water from 4 geolhermal wells will be used for a central ized geothermal space heating system in the Xiong County Town. This will make the Town the first "Geothermal City" in China using modern exploitat ion methods and giving due regard to environmental considerations.

3. Northcrn part: Geothermal industries and agricultural regions will bc located here, including vegetable growing, hatching of chicken, aquaculture, production of mineral water and some other manufacturing industries. This area will be intended as a reference project for the whole County for further vegetable and non-staple food production, to stimulate economic development , and to turn the whole County into one of the far- suburban production bases around the 13eijing and Tianjing metropolitan areas.

REFERENCES

Chen Me-xiang (1988) North China Geothelmics, Scientilic Press (in Chinese) Huang Shang-3ao et al, (1986) Volcam), Hot Spring and Geothermal Encrg 3, Gcologia Press (in

Chinese).