| Title | Mineralogy and Fluid Inclusion Gas Chemistry of Production Well Mineral Scale Deposits at the Dixie Valley Geothermal Field, USA |
|---|---|
| Authors | McLin, K.S., Moore, J.N., Park, J., Norman, D.I. |
| Year | 2008 |
| Conference | Stanford Geothermal Workshop |
| Keywords | scale, fluid inclusions, Dixie Valley |
| Abstract | Mineral scale deposits that formed on tubing inserted into Dixie Valley production well 28-33 were sampled at 44 intervals from inside the well head to 1227 meters depth. The scale minerals form concentric bands around the tubing. X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy indicate that they consist predominantly of calcite and minor quartz and smectite. Fluid inclusion gases trapped in the scale minerals were released by crushing and analyzed by quadrupole mass spectrometry. The compositions of the fluids inclusions are have been compared to analyses of the production fluids reported by Goff et al (2002). The data indicate that the fluid inclusions contain lower CO2/CH4 ratios than the production fluids. This difference is interpreted to reflect the early trapping of highly volatile gaseous species in the fluid inclusions. |