Hydrogeological properties of hyper-saline geothermal brine and application of inhibiting siliceous scale via pH modification

Abstract

Scaling is a major obstacle in harnessing of geothermal energy from the geothermal resources. This paper presents a case study for inhibition of metal silicate scaling using formic acid, harvesting more energy in particular case of Tuzla Geothermal Field (TGF), located on Biga Peninsula, in the northwestern of Turkey. TGF is 5. km far from Aegean Sea and 80. km south of Çanakkale. Geothermal fluid of TGF has high salinity (EC. > 91. mS/cm) and medium temperature (reservoir temperature is 173. °C). The acidification of high-salinity brine to mitigate silicate scaling is examined. Results of the study showed that a compromise between scaling and corrosion is achieved by reducing pH of brine to <6 using 55. ppm formic acid.