Energy, economic and environmental analysis of opened natural healing water source

Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Veveří 331/95, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic

^* Corresponding author: denis.micek@gmail.com

Abstract

European´s low carbon economy is the main target in the way of the reducing greenhouse gases at the Earth´s atmosphere. The most promising way is in maximal usage of renewable sources of energy such as geothermal energy, which was in the year 2010 only 1 GWh at the Slovak republic. The paper refers to the detailed analyzation of the opened natural healing water system in the historical spa town Piešťany as one of the most perspective sources of the renewable energy in the Slovak republic primary used for healing procedures. Analysis is based on experimental measurement and numerical simulation of graphite block heat exchanger Korobon which was constructed in the year 1965 and resists highly mineralized water. The main function of this heat exchanger is to cool down the hot natural healing water with average temperature 60 °C to the 37 °C. The biggest impact is in the designing of new heat exchanger with the same quality properties as current one in accordance with the innovation of obsolete energy management at historical spa town. Such as solution allows us to save 5578 cubic meters of ground gas daily, necessary to be used for the same heat generation.