Geothermal industrial heat

Figure 1. Geothermal hot spots around the world.

Geothermal industrial heat is the use of the Earth's natural thermal energy in order to provide heat to industries. There are locations on Earth that may make better use of this, due to being situated on "geothermal hot spots" (shown in Figure 1 below) where they have access to higher underground temperatures.

Temperatures above 40°C and less than 150°C are ideal for these applications, since geothermal temperatures above 150°C are better used for geothermal electricity generation. Between 90°C and 150°C is considered a "moderate" temperature range, which is most commonly used in these applications.

Uses

Essentially any industry heating need can be fulfilled by geothermal heating, as long as they do not require extremely high temperatures. Geothermal heating can substitute for fossil fuels and keep their production going year-round.

Such industries that use this heat include pulp and paper, cement, food, aquaculture, lumber, and more. For example, in the lumber and cement industries this heat is used to dry the materials. Greenhouses also commonly use this energy to provide fresh produce year-round. Light industries like dairies and mushroom growers can make benefit of the lower temperature range of geothermal heating as well.

It is hoped that this industrial heat is tapped to its full potential by developing countries in order to provide food, reduce poverty and meet growing energy needs in the future, and there are many efforts to achieve this.