Main characteristics of the deep geothermal brine (5 km) at Soultz-sous-Forêts (France) determined using geochemical and tracer test data

Sanjuan, Bernard; Millot, Romain; Dezayes, Chrystel; Brach, Michel

doi:10.1016/j.crte.2009.10.009

Cited by 68 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…In fact, the Alsace region has become a remarkable site for deep geothermal projects because of its high thermal gradient (up to 100 °C/km in the uppermost part of the sedimentary cover) (Fig. 1) and by the presence of natural brines (on the order of 100 g/L) transporting heat to the surface of the Earth (Housse 1984;Schellschmidt and Schultz 1991;Carlier et al 1992;Vernoux et al 1995;Sanjuan et al 2010). As granite is a naturally radioactive rock, heat production is enhanced by the decay of radionuclides, and the abundant fluids circulating through the fractured granitic basement transport that heat.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New stratigraphic interpretation of the Soultz-sous-Forêts 30-year-old geothermal wells calibrated on the recent one from Rittershoffen (Upper Rhine Graben, France)

Aichholzer

Duringer

Orciani³

et al. 2016

Geotherm Energy

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The Soultz-sous-Forêts site (Alsace, France) is the first pilot geothermal project in the world that furnished the proof of concept of enhanced geothermal systems by producing energy from a deep-seated granite. The Alsace region, with its hundreds of previous drillings and seismic history related to both oil and potash exploitation, has been shown to have high subterranean temperatures. In the Soultz-sous-Forêts geothermal project, most attention has focused on the basement and the sedimentary cover/basement interface. Thus, the sedimentary portion of the well (approximately 1.4 km thick) has never been fully investigated. The only available data on the Soultzsous-Forêts sedimentary cover are from an old masterlog (GPK-1) with interpretations of the tops and bases of the main geological formations, and from some other less well-documented well logs (EPS-1 and GPK-2). The main challenge of this work is therefore to re-interpret the old well data to provide precise and detailed chronolithostratigraphic logs for GPK-1 and GPK-2, especially in their sedimentary portions. These new investigations of the GPK wells have been possible due to the new data collected in the recent geothermal wells at Rittershoffen (GRT-1 and GRT-2, located 6.5 km from Soultz-sous-Forêts), which are characterized by a quite complete stratigraphic succession. Both sites have been explored by deep drilling operations aiming to exploit the heat extracted from a deep granitic basement (Palaeozoic) covered by a stack of 1.4-and 2.2-km-thick sedimentary rocks (Mesozoic to Cenozoic) at Soultz-sous-Forêts and Rittershoffen, respectively. Thus, the Rittershoffen chrono-lithostratigraphic logs have been used as a baseline to interpret the sedimentary succession in GPK-1 and GPK-2. In conclusion, all the well logs are compared for stratigraphic comparisons. With approximately 1400 m of sedimentary cover at Soultz-sous-Forêts instead of 2200 m at Rittershoffen, the correlation between the two sites showed many differences exist in the sedimentary columns: layers missing due to erosion, lateral thickness variations in formations, and-above all-the occurrence of at least four major fracture zones affecting the units. In addition, a structural analysis was made to more precisely define the limits of the geological formations observed and to present more arguments for the presence of fracture zones or faults.

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Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…No matrix-porosity aquifer is known in the Soultz sedimentary sequence. The only existing aquifer is controlled by the vertical natural fracture system in which very saline brines have been sampled (Sanjuan et al 2010).…”

Section: Terminologymentioning

confidence: 99%

New stratigraphic interpretation of the Soultz-sous-Forêts 30-year-old geothermal wells calibrated on the recent one from Rittershoffen (Upper Rhine Graben, France)

Aichholzer

Duringer

Orciani³

et al. 2016

Geotherm Energy

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“…(1) Fluid-chemical analyses reveal equilibrium condition with a sedimentary environment of high salinity at temperatures around 250°C (Aquilina et al 1997;Sanjuan et al 2010). Geologically, such condition is observed on the eastern side of the URG, only.…”

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confidence: 98%

Possible natural fluid pathways from gravity pseudo-tomography in the geothermal fields of Northern Alsace (Upper Rhine Graben)

et al. 2014

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Background: This study aims on investigating the regional flow field of the Soultz and adjacent geothermal fields located on the western side of the central Upper Rhine Graben and thus to provide insight into the origin of the 70% of the geothermal fluid coming from the regional inflow in the deep reservoir of the Soultz site. In an integrative approach, we consolidate conceptual models on fluid flow in the central Upper Rhine Graben. Methods: Based on a 3D geological model and a new 3D temperature interpolation, we tackle the relation between tectonic structures and the occurrence of advection/ convection along favourably oriented fault zones. Using sequential Butterworth filters, we study the distribution of negative residual anomalies in a pseudo-tomography down to a depth of about 6 to 8 km. Results: We derived N-S-striking V-shaped negative anomalies that are consistent with the orientation of fault zones revealing major temperature anomalies to their east.

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“…An artificial fluid that reproduces the major hydrochemistry of Soultz-sous-Forêts was prepared according to the geothermal fluid composition described in Sanjuan et al (2010). The pH value of the solution is in the range of 5.3-5.5.…”

Section: Fluid Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow-through experiments on the interaction of sandstone with Ba-rich fluids at geothermal conditions

et al. 2017

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Main characteristics of the deep geothermal brine (5 km) at Soultz-sous-Forêts (France) determined using geochemical and tracer test data

Cited by 68 publications

References 26 publications

New stratigraphic interpretation of the Soultz-sous-Forêts 30-year-old geothermal wells calibrated on the recent one from Rittershoffen (Upper Rhine Graben, France)

New stratigraphic interpretation of the Soultz-sous-Forêts 30-year-old geothermal wells calibrated on the recent one from Rittershoffen (Upper Rhine Graben, France)

Possible natural fluid pathways from gravity pseudo-tomography in the geothermal fields of Northern Alsace (Upper Rhine Graben)

Flow-through experiments on the interaction of sandstone with Ba-rich fluids at geothermal conditions

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