Brine in Geothermal Energy Systems
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "H: Geo-Energy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 7155
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Since the beginning of the 20th century, geothermal energy has been used to apply heat to produce electrical power and district heating. The rapid growth of the world’s energy use together with concerns about climate change have put a new focus on possibilities for geothermal energy as a renewable energy source.
However, scaling problems have limited the growth of new geothermal plants. Typically, high-saline water from heat reservoirs from about 1500 m or more below ground is pumped to the geothermal plant. Through a heat exchanger, district heating systems benefit from the heat and are often scaled up with the help of heat pumps. An electricity power unit can use high-temperature brine. If the salinity in the brine is high, a SaltPower unit can improve the sustainability of the installation.
The scaling problems principally arise in reinjection wells. Often, they are a result of the oxidation of Fe(II) from the brine. Another possibility is a decrease in permeability due to the interaction between the reinjected brine and the reservoir, resulting in the loosening of small clay-containing cements that decrease the amounts of connected porosities in the sandstone reservoir. In other cases, lead can precipitate in the reinjection well. In addition, silicates often cause scaling problems.
These problems seem to increase if the geothermal plant stops operating during summer time. Starting it up again often results in a decrease in permeability. An injection of chemicals can often help the situation. This Special Issue of the international journal Energies (Energies is an SSCI and SCIE journal with a 2019 IF = 2.702) aims to cover all aspects of “Brines in Geothermal Energy Systems”. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- the origin of brine in a reservoir;
- interactions between brine and the solid formation;
- porosity and permeability changes;
- aspects of the flow of brine in a reservoir and the interaction of reinjected brine with original brine in the reservoir;
- pumping issues;
- precipitation of brine compounds in the geothermal plant or its production and reinjection wells; and
- chemicals for the treatment of scaling and scale inhibitors.
Papers selected for this Special Issue will be subject to a rigorous peer-review procedure with the aim of the rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.
I invite you to submit an original research paper or a review article to this Special Issue. I look forward to receiving your research.
Prof. Dr. Erik Gydesen Søgaard
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- identification of brine compounds from geothermal reservoirs
- changes in brine content with temperature
- scaling of brine compounds as a function of temperature, pressure, or flow
- brine in interaction with formation brine
- brine in interaction with a solid heat reservoir
- solutions to scaling problems
- chemicals in the geothermal industry
- SaltPower
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