| Title | Solids Control for High Salinity Geothermal Brines |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hill, J. H.; Otto, C. H., Jr.; Morris, C. J. |
| Year | 1977 |
| Conference | Geothermal Resources Council Transactions |
| Keywords | Power plants; Injection; Reinjection; Salton Sea; Imperial Valley; California; USA |
| Abstract | Solids which precipitate when high salinity geothermal brines are cooled can cause extensive erosion and plugging to occur in power plant components. During reinjection of spent brine, they ma also cause plugging of the formation adjacent to the reinjection wells. This report describes work done to characterize these solids and control their production by acidifying the brine to a pH <4.5. At this time, control by acidification seems to offer an attractive alternative to conventional methods (filtering, settling, etc.) for removing suspended solids from spent brine prior to reinjection. |