Tracking Sustainability Concepts in Geology and Earth Science Teaching and Learning, Keele University, UK

Sustainability of the planet is fundamental to our common future, and geologists and geoscientists are key stakeholders in this process. Better understanding of the Earth, its processes and utilisation of its resources, through successful science communication, is necessary for the effective creation of sustainability policy. Whilst the synergy between geoscience and sustainability is often obvious, the framing of the links is often neglected or downplayed within the UK Higher Education setting. This results in geoscientists lacking in familiarity with sustainability issues, including the ability to communicate geoscience issues to non-specialists effectively. Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the inclusion and embedding of sustainability issues within Geology and Geoscience modules (offered by the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, Keele University, UK) is framed in an effort to consolidate and enhance our current standing on sustainability issues. Further tracking of the emphasis and positioning of sustainability issues within these modules will enable a better articulation of the importance between geology and society

P2X receptors: epithelial ion channels and regulators of salt and water transport.

When the results from electrophysiological studies of renal epithelial cells are combined with data from in vivo tubule microperfusion experiments and immunohistochemical surveys of the nephron, the accumulated evidence suggests that ATP-gated ion channels, P2X receptors, play a specialized role in the regulation of ion and water movement across the renal tubule and are integral to electrolyte and fluid homeostasis. In this short review, we discuss the concept of P2X receptors as regulators of salt and water salvage pathways, as well as acknowledging their accepted role as ATP-gated ion channels

Thermal and Economic Analysis of Heat Exchangers as Part of a Geothermal District Heating Scheme in the Cheshire Basin, UK

Heat exchangers are vital to any geothermal system looking to use direct heat supplied via a district heat network. Attention on geothermal schemes in the UK has been growing, with minimal attention on the performance of heat exchangers. In this study, different types of heat exchangers are analysed for the Cheshire Basin as a case study, specifically the Crewe area, to establish their effectiveness and optimal heat transfer area. The results indicate that counter-current flow heat exchangers have a higher effectiveness than co-current heat exchangers. Optimisation of the heat exchange area can produce total savings of 43.06 pound million and 71.5 pound million, over a 25-year lifetime, in comparison with a fossil-fuelled district heat network using geothermal fluid input temperatures of 67 degrees C and 86 degrees C, respectively

Modelling low-enthalpy deep geothermal reservoirs in the Cheshire Basin,UK as a future renewable energy source.

Geothermal energy is considered a potential replacement for fossil fuel due to the possibility of high energy yields, geographically wide-spread resources and the ability to deliver a constant, weather independent base load of heat. Deep, hydrothermal reservoirs reside at depths of over 1 km across the UK, storing a total resource in excess of 327 EJ. This is enough energy to heat 75 million homes for 100 years (assuming 12000 kWh used per household per year). The resource is concentrated in low- to medium- enthalpy resources, with 20 % of this energy untapped in the Mesozoic Cheshire Basin, northwest England. Within the basin, the Permian Collyhurst formation retains favourable hydraulic and thermal properties at depth, and is being investigated for geothermal extraction within the central part of the basin (Crewe area, Cheshire East). A series of numerical simulations are undertaken to conduct a sensitivity analysis investigating both engineering and geological parameters with the aim of identifying the key parameters which are most in?uential in impacting the productivity in a single well development scheme. The Collyhurst formation is an aeolian- to ?uvial- sandstone body, modelled at a depth of 2.8 km, with a thickness of 700 m and an average formation temperature of ~80 ?C. High hydraulic conductivities have been recorded from outcrop studies (as high as 10 m/day). The ?nite-difference method is used to simulate heat and ?uid ?uxes, in both the reservoir and wellbore, in order to evaluate the longevity, energy potential and heat production of the resource under exploitation from a single well scheme. Key in?uential geological and engineering parameters are determined, concluding that the thermal gradient, hydraulic conductivity, production rate and the length of the well screen within the extraction bore are most signi?cant to the viability of a single well scheme. Seasonal variations in consumption are also considered in the study, highlighting that natural recharge and reduced production rates in the low demand months helps to increase well longevity and maintain the geothermal resource. The study highlights key geological and engineering risk factors when exploiting geothermal energy from hydrothermal reservoirs under a single well development scheme, such that these factors can be planned for or mitigated against when possible. The results can also be used as a guide for decision makers developing the Cheshire Basin, but also for other low- to medium- enthalpy single well geothermal schemes in sedimentary basins

The influence of granite bodies on extensional basins: insights from structural, geodynamic and thermal modelling.

Conference abstract