Assessment of geothermal potential of Campanian volcanoes (Southern Italy): from drilling exploration to numerical simulation

摘要

We analyze here the data related to geothermal exploration of Campanian volcanoes (Campi Flegrei caldera and Ischia Island), in order to assess the geothermal potential of these areas and the sustainability of the geothermal resource for electric production. A numerical simulation is also performed, to evaluate the possible disturbance on temperature and pressure filed, in the shallow geothermal reservoir of Campi Flegrei and Ischia Island, related to heat withdrawal for electric production of small geothermal power plant size (5MWe). Such analysis is performed by using numerical simulations based on a well-known thermofluid-dynamical code (TOUGH2). Obtained results show that such geothermal exploitation generates a perturbation of temperature and pressure field which, however, is confined in a relative small volume around the well. At shallow level (0-100m) the exploitation does not produce any appreciable disturbance, and can be made compatible with local spa industry. The results are crucial in the assessment of geothermal exploitation sustainability of the area.