Lab at Hanford develops new Biphasic Fluid to increase heat recovery
Capturing as much energy as possible from heat sources is critical in electricity generation, moreso with geothermal which is a low temperature source (compared to natural gas or nuclear). Emanating from the nanotech research underway, a new liquid that has good expansion and contraction characteristics at lower temperatures is now heading to bench testing to be completed by 2009.
From ANI news feed
When exposed to heat brought to the surface from water circulating in moderately hot, underground rock, the thermal-cycling of the biphasic fluid will power a turbine to generate electricity. To aid in efficiency, scientists have added nanostructured metal-organic heat carriers, or MOHCs, which boost the power generation capacity to near that of a conventional steam cycle.