A review of mineral precipitation and effective scale inhibition methods at geothermal power plants in West Anatolia (Turkey)

The importance of long-term well management in geothermal power systems using fuzzy control: A Western Anatolia (Turkey) case study

“…The fluids consist of highly mineralized hot water, steam and non-condensable elements, and when total pressure is measured as lower than P gas + P liquid , the boiling process begins, and some minerals in the fluids after the release of dissolved gases such as calcite and aluminosilicates precipitate in boreholes ( Fig. 6 [ 10 ]). Geothermal reservoirs have dynamic thermodynamic conditions and require continuous hydrogeochemical monitoring, and to solve mineral precipitation problems, chemical inhibition systems are used in each wellhead in a geothermal field.…”

“…The sustainability of geothermal power plants generally depends on steam quality and the harmony of geothermal fluid and equipment, in addition to geothermal fluid production. Mineral scaling due to the pressure and temperature of geothermal fluids and corrosion due to high non-condensable gas effects are the main operational problems for equipment at the power plant [ 10 ].…”

“…Calcite scaling is the dominant precipitation at production wells under gas release depths, while silica scaling is dominant in re-injection lines due to the drop in temperature values. Calcite and silica solubility are inconsistent with the geothermal system and require chemical and physical monitoring during the chemical inhibitor applications at pressure and temperature drop points [ 10 ].…”

“…The ORC is also widely used, while flash cycle technologies are used at only a few geothermal fields, such as Kızıldere (Denizli city), Germencik (Aydın city) and Alaşehir (Manisa city), in Turkey ( Fig. 1 b; [ 10 ].

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Fig. 1 a Numbers of geothermal power plants in the world (modified after [ 10 ]. b Numbers of geothermal power plants in Turkey in 2020.

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