Experimental study on the kinetics of silica polymerization during cooling of the Bouillante geothermal fluid (Guadeloupe, French West Indies)

Dixit, Christelle; Bernard, Marie-Lise; Sanjuan, Bernard; André, Laurent; Gaspard, Sarra

doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2016.08.031

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 55 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This so called "silica scaling" is common in high-enthalpy geothermal power plants around the world e.g. Iceland, New Zealand, Japan, the USA, the Lesser Antilles and El Salvador (Dixit et al, 2016;Arnórsson, 2003, 2005;Harrar et al, 1982;Meier et al, 2014;Mroczek et al, 2017;Padilla et al, 2005;Rothbaum et al, 1979;Yokoyama et al, 1993). In such systems, amorphous silica precipitation occurs in fluids characterized by a wide range of total silica concentrations (250 to 900 mg/L), temperatures (20 to 200 C), pH (7.2 to 10.2), total dissolved solid concentrations (1300 to 93'000 mg/L) and different types of geothermal power plants (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main reason for the dearth of on-site studies lies in the difficulties in accessing both fluids and silica scales during energy production, without affecting normal operations. A few studies aimed to circumvent these problems by conducting experiments in bypass systems from the main production (Carroll et al, 1998;Dixit et al, 2016;Harrar et al, 1982;Mroczek et al, 5 2017; Rothbaum et al, 1979). However, the conditions in such bypass systems are most often markedly different from inside in-work pipelines and the bypass is often less well constrained, resulting in data that are only partly applicable to the in-production systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Understanding amorphous silica scaling under well-constrained conditions inside geothermal pipelines

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Amorphous silica is a common precipitate in modern and ancient hot springs and in geothermal power plants, yet the corresponding precipitation rates and mechanisms are still highly debated, primarily due to the plethora of parameters that can affect the reactions in natural waters. Here, we report the results from a first ever industrial-scale time-resolved (1 day to 10 weeks) study of silica precipitation conducted at the Hellisheiði geothermal power plant (SW-Iceland). We show that such in-work pipelines of a geothermal power plant are ideal environments to investigate silica precipitation because the physicochemical conditions are well constrained and con-2 stantly monitored. Our results document that amorphous silica forms via two distinct precipitation modes: (1) the fast deposition of continuous botryoidal silica layers and (2) the growth of 3D fan-or ridge-shaped silica aggregates. The continuous layers grow by heterogeneous nucleation and subsequent surface controlled growth by monomer addition. In contrary, the 3D aggregates form through homogeneous nucleation of silica nano-and microparticles in solution, followed by deposition and cementation on the surface of the botryoidal layer. From the time-resolved data, silica precipitation rates of over 1 g m-2 day-1 are derived. Over time, this deposition of silica on pipelines and fluid handling equipment is detrimental to geothermal power production. Our data does not only help improve our understanding of silica precipitation from geothermal fluids, but the determined silica precipitation mechanisms and rates help improve mitigation strategies against silica scaling inside in-work geothermal power plants.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding amorphous silica scaling under well-constrained conditions inside geothermal pipelines

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The silica used to carry out this study comes from the water discharged from the Bouillante geothermal reservoir through deep wells, after phase separation. Previously, Dixit et al [15] carried out an experimental study on the kinetics of silica precipitation during cooling of the Bouillante geothermal fluid. It was observed that dissolved silica precipitated only under colloidal form during the experiments and the colloids were mainly constituted of amorphous silica.…”

Section: Preparation and Characterization Of Pei/sio 2 Compositementioning

confidence: 99%

“…So, from 600 tons of water produced per hour, more than 7 tons of silica could be extracted each day if we consider precipitation of all dissolved silica. This geothermal silica, considered as an industrial waste, is characterized by a high purity (98 %) and a high specific surface area ( 200-300 m 2 .g -1 ), properties close to those of commercial silica [15]. In view of these characteristics, this geothermal silica could be an effective and low cost alternative to carbon material for waste water treatment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…There is a twofold advantage of silica removal as it allows 1) the mitigation of the problems associated with the precipitation of amorphous silica by reducing the concentration of silica in geothermal water and 2) the commercial valorization of silica as a byproduct. The initial silica concentration is about 500 mg.L -1 at Bouillante [10,15]. So, from 600 tons of water produced per hour, more than 7 tons of silica could be extracted each day if we consider precipitation of all dissolved silica.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The valorization of raw and chemically-modified silica residues from Bouillante geothermal power plant (Guadeloupe, FWI) for the removal of methylene blue and lead from aqueous media

Dixit

Ncibi

Bernard

et al. 2020

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An efficient silica scale inhibiting strategy for geothermal systems: Combination of cationic and anionic polymers

Chen

Peng

et al. 2023

J of Applied Polymer Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cationic silica scale inhibitors are widely used, but are prone to precipitation and exhibit poor performance in geothermal systems. In this study, the cationic polymer polyethyleneimine ethoxylate (PEIE) was first found to have high silica scale inhibition efficiency. Three anionic polymers were added separately to PEIE solutions to alleviate the precipitation and scaling. The inhibition effect of PEIE alone and PEIE with anionic polymers were measured at 40 C without salt and 136.7 C with salt. Molecular dynamics simulation was used to investigate the inhibition mechanism. The results showed that PEIE exhibited good inhibition efficiency of 62% at 40 C without salt and 48% at 136.7 C with salt, while the addition of the anionic polymer acrylic acid-2-acrylamide-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AA/AMPS) to PEIE further improved to 71% and 62%. Compared with commercial inhibitors, the PEIE + AA/AMPS enhanced at least 15% scale inhibition efficiency. This is because the addition of AA/AMPS: (1) enhances the attraction of PEIE to silicic acid and inhibits the silicic acid condensation process; (2) chelates metal ions that promote condensation; and (3) enhances dispersion ability, stabilizing the colloid formed by PEIE and silicic acid. This study provides a promising new inhibitor and efficient strategy for inhibiting silica scale in geothermal systems.

show abstract

Experimental study on the kinetics of silica polymerization during cooling of the Bouillante geothermal fluid (Guadeloupe, French West Indies)

Cited by 15 publications

References 55 publications

Understanding amorphous silica scaling under well-constrained conditions inside geothermal pipelines

Understanding amorphous silica scaling under well-constrained conditions inside geothermal pipelines

The valorization of raw and chemically-modified silica residues from Bouillante geothermal power plant (Guadeloupe, FWI) for the removal of methylene blue and lead from aqueous media

An efficient silica scale inhibiting strategy for geothermal systems: Combination of cationic and anionic polymers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About