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Development of Novel Silica Scale Inhibitors for Geothermal Brine

Geothermal energy is a cost-effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly solution to produce electricity using the energy resources available underground. Binary plants are becoming more popular as it helps extract the most enthalpy. In binary plants, brine is cooled to its lowest possible temperature to maximize energy extraction.

Product Number: 51323-19377-SG
Author: Aarthi Narayanan, Nugraha Yohannes Arifpin, Dinesh Mantri
Publication Date: 2023
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00

Over the past few years, geothermal energy production received significant attention as it is one of the renewable sources of energy and adds negligible greenhouse gases to the environment. Despite the advantages of geothermal-based energy production, it is fraught with many challenges due to its complex brine chemistry. Silica scaling is one of the most critical challenges driven by high silica concentration found in several geological settings around the world with lower outlet temperatures. With higher Silica scaling potential, there is the tendency to form a deposit on heat exchangers and clog the wells, minimizing the throughput of the brine and consequently lowering the energy production. Typically, silica deposition is mitigated using chemicals (e.g. acidifying the brine) and mechanical methods. However, increased energy demand has galvanized the Geothermal industry to minimize silica deposition, warranting significant effort to develop novel silica inhibitors. This paper discusses the causes and challenges of silica scaling in the geothermal industry and outlines the development of novel Silica scale inhibitors to mitigate scaling and enable increased energy production.

Over the past few years, geothermal energy production received significant attention as it is one of the renewable sources of energy and adds negligible greenhouse gases to the environment. Despite the advantages of geothermal-based energy production, it is fraught with many challenges due to its complex brine chemistry. Silica scaling is one of the most critical challenges driven by high silica concentration found in several geological settings around the world with lower outlet temperatures. With higher Silica scaling potential, there is the tendency to form a deposit on heat exchangers and clog the wells, minimizing the throughput of the brine and consequently lowering the energy production. Typically, silica deposition is mitigated using chemicals (e.g. acidifying the brine) and mechanical methods. However, increased energy demand has galvanized the Geothermal industry to minimize silica deposition, warranting significant effort to develop novel silica inhibitors. This paper discusses the causes and challenges of silica scaling in the geothermal industry and outlines the development of novel Silica scale inhibitors to mitigate scaling and enable increased energy production.