GEOTHERMAL RESEARCH PROGRAM BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY

BACKGROUND

• •

BNL has been involved in the DOE Geothermal Program since early 1970’s.

BNL’s contributions are primarily in two major areas:

–

Engineering materials for handling corrosive environments and cements for well completion.

–

Treatment of brines and residues for removal of toxic elements and recovery of metals and minerals.

RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM STRUCTURE

Coatings and Liners Elastomers ESR&T Non-Destructive Testing Silica Recovery from Brines Drilling & Completion Acid Resistant Cements Structural Response Analysis for Well Cements

RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM GOALS

•

Support programmatic goals of reducing the overall cost of geothermal energy by:

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Reducing power plant capital and O&M costs

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Reducing well completion costs

–

Ensuring the integrity and prolonging the life of geothermal wells

–

Using brine as a resource to extract commercially viable products and offset power production costs.

OBJECTIVES

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Meet the need for high performance, cost effective materials technology in geothermal applications.

•

Improve the economics of geothermal power through recovery of valuable commodities from brines.

WORK SCOPE

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Synthesis of new materials

–

Better use of existing materials

–

Experimental characterization of material properties

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Improved techniques for monitoring material performance and assessing integrity of equipment

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Computational analysis to predict response behavior of complex systems

–

Development of new processes for treating brines to recover metals and silica

–

Field validation in collaboration with industry partners and technology transfer

ORGANIZATION

GEOTHERMAL RESEARCH MATERIALS FOR GEOTHERMAL APPLICATIONS ADVANCED PROCESSES FOR BRINES Materials Engineering and Analysis Materials Chemistry

STAFF

•

Dr. Marita Berndt (Program Leader, Point of Contact)

•

Dave Elling

•

Dr. Mow Lin

•

Dr. Mike Philippacopoulos

•

Dr. Toshi Sugama

• • • • • • • • • • •

RECENT AND CURRENT PROJECTS: Materials

Heat exchanger liners Protective coatings for variety of applications High temperature polymeric elastomers Clad and thermal sprayed NiCrMo alloys Thermally conductive grouts for use with geothermal heat pumps Remediation of deformed well casing Prevention of microbiological attack of concrete in cooling towers Carbonation resistant cements Structural response analysis of well cements Lost circulation control materials Non-destructive testing of piping

• • • • • •

RECENT AND CURRENT PROJECTS: Advanced Processes for Geothermal Brines

Removal of toxic metals including radionuclides from geothermal sludge.

Conversion of geothermal wastes into valuable product: silica fillers Develop biochemical anti-fouling agents to improve cooling tower operations Develop a process for treating catalyst wastes from H 2 S abatement Heavy isotopes to characterize reservoir conditions High quality silica recovery from low-salinity geothermal brines

HARD AT WORK IN THE LAB

FROM THE LAB TO THE REAL WORLD

SILICA RECOVERY PILOT PLANT TESTED AT DIXIE VALLEY SITE

Injection line and 1µ filter cell unit Pump units for chemical injection and mixing stages

COLLABORATORS AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PARTNERS

RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• • • • • • •

PPS-based liners for corrosion and scale control in HX tubes.

Zinc phosphate primer for protection of steel substrates.

Acid resistant cements.

Mix 111 thermally conductive grout for GHPs.

Coatings for control of MIC in cooling towers.

Modelling response of wells to various loads.

Recovery of 99.9% pure silica from low salinity brines by precipitation.

AWARDS

• • • •

1996 Discovery Award by Discovery Magazine

•

Twice the National Awards for Environmental Sustainability for “Advanced Biochemical Processes for Geothermal Brines” by The National Awards Council.

•

1999 award from Eastern Heating and Cooling Council for Mix 111 GHP grout.

ASHRAE 2000 Crosby Field Award (Best Paper) and ASHRAE 2000 Poster Presentation Award for research on GHP grouts with S.P. Kavanaugh, UA. 2000 R&D 100 award for “ThermaLock ® ” calcium phosphate cement with Halliburton and Unocal.

2001 R&D 100 award for silica recovery process with Caithness.

MORE AWARDS AND PATENTS

• •

2001 GRC Best Paper Award for paper on PPS coatings.

2002 R&D 100 award for “CurraLon ® ” PPS coating for HX tubes with NREL, Bob Curran & Sons and Ticona.

• •

2003 Federal Lab Consortium Tech Transfer award.

Biochemical Solubilization of Metals from Residual Geothermal Brines and Sludges. U.S. Patent No. 5,366,891. Issued 11/22/94 to Premuzic, E.T. and Lin, M.

•

Conversion of Geothermal Brines and Sludges to Commercial Products. ( Four U. S. patents pending) to Premuzic, E.T. and Lin, M.

FY03 PROJECTS

Project Area PI

Non-Destructive Testing and Piping Integrity Assessment Heat Exchanger Liners High-Performance Coatings High-Temperature Elastomers Processes for Brines and Residues Acid Resistant Cements Structural Response Analysis for Well Cements

Total

ESR&T ESR&T Berndt and Philippacopoulos Sugama ESR&T ESR&T ESR&T D&C D&C Sugama Sugama Lin Sugama Philippacopoulos and Berndt

2.9 FTE Funding ($K)

215 115 90 20 90 150 60

750

SPENDING

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FY03 spending to date (2/03) : $306K.

•

Remaining FY03 funds: $444K.

•

Achievement of objectives has been hindered by low funding levels, especially projects funded at <$100K.

•

Restoration of funding to $1200K would enable greater impact and timely application of our research to geothermal industry.

FUTURE PLANS: Materials I

• • • • • • •

Design electrostatic powder coating apparatus for applying high temperature polymer composites and nanocomposites on HX tubes.

Coating process technology for air cooled condensers.

Room temperature-curable high temperature polymer coatings stable at >300 o C.

Organometallic polymer coatings (<3



m).

Continue field evaluation of coatings and liners.

Field evaluation of polymeric elastomers for bearings, gaskets and O-rings.

Synthesis and field monitoring of alkali-activated, non-calcium phosphate and nanocomposite well cements.

FUTURE PLANS: Materials II

•

Enhance plant reliability through advanced NDT methods applicable to piping and other systems and components.

• •

Apply the results from NDT to integrity assessment/fitness for service evaluations.

Investigate innovative methods for evaluating equipment integrity specific to geothermal conditions.

•

Develop and evaluate specific composites for in-situ repair and life extension of corroded geothermal piping systems.

FUTURE PLANS: Materials III

• • • •

Investigate cementitious liners for piping and well heads with improved durability.

Quantify direct and indirect costs of corrosion and scaling in the geothermal power industry. Focus on cements, selection tools and performance analysis for future innovative well completion technologies.

Optimize the wellbore structural integrity for operational, tectonic and other loads.

FUTURE PLANS:

Advanced Processes for Geothermal Brines

• • •

Continue work on co-production of high quality silica from low-salinity geothermal brines.

Recovery of lithium, cesium and rubidium from geothermal resources. Co-production of advanced materials from geothermal resources.

Integrating Experimental Work and Numerical Modelling to Improve Well Integrity

2000 1000 0 -1000 1.0

t=4 min 1.5

r/a Microfibres Perlite Standard 2.0

-5 -10 5 0 -15 -20 -25 1.00

1.35

r/r o Er=Ec Er=Ec/10 Er=10Ec

s   s   s

o /2 1.70

SUMMARY

•

BNL successfully combines a wide range of capabilities that benefit the utilization of geothermal energy.

•

Materials technologies and recovery of metals and minerals from brines and residues are highly valued, supported and used by industry.

•

Future development of innovative drilling and completion concepts and continued improvement in plant economics and conversion efficiency requires BNL’s expertise.