Project Milestone Reached

A major milestone for the Missouri S&T’s geothermal project will be reached early next week as the power plant boiler #5 will be shut down and all steam production will cease permanently. Heat recovery chillers in all three regional plants have been started, and heat is being provided to six buildings on campus. Over the past month, a majority of the chilled water supply used for air conditioning on campus has been provided by the geothermal system. Commissioning of the regional plant equipment will continue throughout the summer.

Remaining connections to the hot water distribution will take place over the semester break and will include McNutt Hall, Straumanis James Hall, and Butler Carlton Civil Engineering Building. Also, hot water boilers in Toomey Hall will be installed and several HVAC renovation projects will be completed this summer. These projects include HVAC renovations in the Physics Building, Fulton Hall, Bullman Multi-Purpose Building, and Student Recreation Center. Once these are complete the geothermal system will be fully implemented.

When completed, the geothermal energy system is estimated to cut annual energy usage by 50%, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25,000 tons per year, and cut water usage by eight million gallons per year. Many parking and landscape improvements continue, the most recently completed being the landscaping improvements in the north mall area. Also occurring over the summer, parking lot 5 expansion north of Emerson Hall will be constructed.

Your continued patience is appreciated for any inconvenience caused from this phase of the project implementation as we move towards completion and a more energy efficient campus.

Temporary Access to Computer Science Building

Due to geothermal construction & weather conditions, see below the temporary access path to Computer Science Building and access to South campus from North parking lots. Thank you for your continued patience as we transition to a greener campus.

Entrance Map

Missouri S&T Geothermal Energy System Featured on KY3 Today

The geothermal energy system was featured on KY3 this morning. To see the video, go here.

Frequently Asked Questions

We’ve had several questions asked regarding the geothermal energy system, so here are a few answers to those questions. We’ll post a few more on our blog as we receive more questions.

How many wells are there?
What is the average, maximum, and minimum well depth?
What is the temperature of the water in the pipes?
Has this ever been done before at a university?
Were there any experts outside of Physical Facilities consulted before the project started?
Will the mall between V.H. McNutt Hall and the Curtis Laws Wilson Library be a new parking lot?
How does a screw type heat recovery chiller work?
Will the geothermal system provide heat or only cooling?

How many wells are there?

645 wells have been installed for the three geothermal plants under construction.

What is the average, maximum, and minimum well depth?

The wells range in depth from 420 to 440 feet.

What is the temperature of the water in the pipes?

The groundwater temperature in this area is approximately 60°F. As the year progresses from predominantly cooling season to heating season, the temperature of the water circulating in the closed geothermal loop and well piping will vary from 90°F to 100°F in the early fall to 40°F to 45°F in the spring.

Has this ever been done before at a university?

Ground source heat pump technology has been around for many years, but only one other university has completed a project of this scale.

Were there any experts outside of Physical Facilities consulted before the project started?

McClure Engineering offered consulting while Physical Facilities was evaluating feasibility.

Will the mall between V.H. McNutt Hall and the Curtis Laws Wilson Library be a new parking lot?

No. This area will be restored to a landscaped pedestrian area.

How does a screw type heat recovery chiller work?

A heat recovery chiller operates on the basis of a refrigeration cycle: the same basic cycle that is used for refrigerators, air conditioners, and heat pumps you find in your homes. It is designed to provide both useful cooling and useful heating energy from the machine. The work or energy put into the machine through the compressor is used to simply transfer heat from evaporator to the condenser, which makes it a more efficient use of energy than combusing fuel for heat.

As seen in the diagram below, the refrigerate, R-134a in our chiller, is first compressed using a screw-type compressor. This hot gas is then condensed to a liquid as it travels in a circuit through the condenser, and heat is transferred to the water flowing through the condenser tube bundle.

The pressure and temperature of the refrigerant is reduced as it flows through the throttling valve. The refrigerant next passes through the evaporator where heat is transferred from the water flowing through the evaporator tube bundle back to the refrigerant. Then the cycle repeats as the refrigerant goes back to the compressor. The refrigerant is confined inside of the heat pump chiller for the entire process.

Will the geothermal system provide heat or only cooling?

The heat recovery chiller coupled with the geothermal well fields can be operated to provide heating water only, cooling water only, or can simultaneously provide heating and cooling water, if required.

Heating Water Production

Water from the campus heating water return lines flows through the condenser of the heat recovery chiller, where it is heated to a nominal 120 degrees Fahrenheit for distribution back to campus. The heat transferred from water flowing in the evaporator of the chiller, which has been circulated through the geothermal loop, warms as it circulates through the well fields.

Chilled Water Production

Water from the campus chilled water return lines flows through the evaporator of the heat recovery chiller, where it is cooled to a nominal 44 degrees Fahrenheit for distribution back to campus. The heat is transferred to water flowing in the condenser of the chiller, which has been circulated through the geothermal loop, cools as it circulates through the well fields.

Simultaneous Heating and Chilled Water Production

Water from the campus heating water return lines flows through the condenser of the heat recovery chiller, where it is heated to a nominal 120 degrees Fahrenheit for distribution back to campus. The heat is transferred from water flowing in the evaporator of the chiller, which in this case is water from the campus chilled water return lines through the evaporator of the heat recovery chiller, where it is cooled to a nominal 44 degrees Fahrenheit for distribution back to campus. Geothermal loop water is mixed as necessary through one of the tube bundles to balance the loads on the chiller.

The geothermal system will provide heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.

Alternate Routes from Lot M36 and M19

Due to construction on the geothermal energy project, alternate routes may have to be taken to buildings from parking lots M19 and M36. Please see the following map below for alternate routes.

We appreciate your patience during this period as we move towards a more energy efficient campus.

Trenching Continues

The geothermal project is moving along well, although construction has experienced some delays due the rainy spring weather. Over the past weeks, trenching has largely been focused on the northwest mall area. As progress continues, trenching will begin South of Computer Science Building and continue South to Fulton Hall and Physics Building. To see a complete schedule of upcoming work, visit geothermal.mst.edu.

Trenching will continue through the summer and into the the fall. Please contact Fred Stone (Fred.Stone@mst.edu) with any questions or concerns you have regarding geothermal activity.

Lot 11 Opening Postponed

Lot 11 construction has been delayed, but will be opened by December 21. Please contact Design & Construction Management with any questions at 341-4252.

Geothermal Well Drilling Complete

This month marked a major milestone for the geothermal energy system project with the last well being drilled in lot 36 on October 18th. Paving was completed in Lot 8 and put in service early last week for
parking and the schedule of the well drilling and parking lot
replacement continues to track well. Circuit piping in lot 36 will continue until its completion date of mid-November. Additionally, it appears lot 36 is ahead of schedule and will be back in service near the end of December (weather permitting). Lot 11 remains on schedule to be back in service by the third week of November.

Our primary goals for the next two months is to complete all geothermal piping and have both parking lots 11 and 36 back in service before winter.

North Lots Complete

Overall, the well drilling and geothermal header project continues to progress well. Well drilling exceeds 60% completion for the project, the north street crossings have been completed and circuit and header piping back to the Straumanis Plant is nearly complete.

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Circuit piping has been completed in all of the north lots and is well underway in well field 1, north of the Civil Engineering building. Paving in Lots #35, #29, #14 & #6 has been completed and parking opened to the campus. Lot #19 has been turned over to the University for parking lot reconstruction and the drive to the McNutt dock has been placed and has reopened to traffic.

Circuit piping has been completed in Lot #8, which will allow for the northern portion of Lot #8 to be reconstructed for additional parking in the north campus area. Drilling of the 195 wells in Lot #11 is now complete.

Lot #8 is scheduled to be back in service the week of September 17 and lot #36 will be taken out of service the same week.

Progress Continues With Drilling and Piping

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Well drilling has continued at a rapid pace with Durbin Geothermal keeping more than four drill rigs on site. Focus has now been directed to the circuit piping in the well fields and header piping back to the geothermal plants to allow the northeast parking lots to be placed back in service as soon as possible.

Drilling has been complete in all the north parking lots and drilling is more than 30 percent complete in lot 11. Work continues on the 16th Street crossing Northwest of Emerson Electric.

Well circuit piping is complete in Lots #35 and #27 and should be complete in Lots #14 and #6 by the end of this week. Circuit piping in Lot #8 can be completed after the headers are completed into Straumanis-James Hall.

Well drilling has reached a milestone with more than 50% of the wells drilled for the project as of this week. The focus shifts in parking area L, as repaving of parking lots 35, 27, 14 and 6 is targeted to be complete by August 20th, the first day of classes.

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