Silica Scale Management: Lowering Operating Costs through Improved Scale Control, and Adding Value by Extracting Marketable By-Products

摘要

Silica scaling is a common problem in geothermal facilities. Geothermal operators need improved tools to evaluate and mitigate the impact of silica scaling. It is also proving feasible to develop technologies to economically convert silica and other dissolved elements in geothermal fluids from a problem to a resource. The benefits to a geothermal operation of controlling silica in geothermal fluids include: (1) Lower operating and maintenance costs, including mitigation costs associated with silica scaling; (2) Improved heat transfer performance; (3) Decreased costs and minimized environmental impact associated with chemical additives; (4) The addition of new revenue streams from mineral extraction, when appropriate.