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Abandoned mines could heat your home

By | May 4, 2012, 9:06 AM PDT

Abandoned underground mines — typically viewed as a safety risk and environmental scourge — could be given a new life heating homes in nearby communities.

Heat naturally emits from the surrounding rock in underground mines. Researchers at McGill University in Canada are looking in the potential of capturing that heat and using it as a geothermal energy source for homes, according to information provided by the American Institute of Physics via Newswise. They estimate up to one million Canadians could take advantage of so-called mine geothermal energy.

Abandoned mines might not be the kind of disruptive innovation that will forever change how the world stays warm. But it could be beneficial to communities, especially densely populated areas, located near otherwise useless abandoned mines.

The researchers calculated that each kilometer of a typical deep underground mine could produce 150 kilowatts of heat, enough to warm five to 10 Canadian households during off-peak times.

Tapping geothermal energy in abandoned mines isn’t totally new. A number of communities in Canada and Europe already use geothermal energy from closed mines. This research team is aiming to bring the unconventional heat source mainstream by developing a general model that could be used by engineers to predict the geothermal energy potential of other underground mines. The team outlined its findings in a paper accepted for publication in theAmerican Institute of Physics’ Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.

Researchers analyzed the heat flow through mine tunnels flooded with water. The hot water could be pumped to the surface, the heat extracted and the cool water returned to the ground. To sustain the geothermal energy system, heat cannot be removed faster than it can be replenished by the surrounding rock.

[Via: Newswise]

Photo: Flickr user Esprit de sel, CC 2.0

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Kirsten Korosec

About Kirsten Korosec

Kirsten Korosec is a contributing editor for SmartPlanet.

Kirsten Korosec

Kirsten Korosec

Contributing Editor

Kirsten Korosec has written for Technology Review, Marketing News, The Hill, BNET and Bloomberg News. She holds a degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. She is based in Tucson, Arizona.

Follow her on Twitter.

Kirsten Korosec

Kirsten Korosec

Kirsten does not have financial holdings that would influence how or what she covers.

She writes for SmartPlanet and is not an employee of CBS.

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