Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2000

Kyushu - Tohoku, Japan, May 28 - June 10, 2000

SILICEOUS SCALING ASPECTS OF GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION USING

BINARY CYCLE HEAT RECOVERY

Moshe Grassiani
ORMAT International, Inc., Sparks NV

Keywords: Power, Silica, Binary-Cycle, Geothermal-Brine. After a short review of the silica problem sometimes encountered
in production wells, this paper will concentrate on the silica
ABSTRACT scaling aspects of separated brine handling, with special
emphasis on power production from such brines as illustrated by
Siliceous scaling potential of geothermal brines has long been an some case histories.
obstacle to the efficient energy recovery from some geothermal
resources. In classical flash geosteam plants, the brine for The earliest designs of power plants using two phase fluids were
disposal is separated at a temperature high enough to avoid hampered by scale formation (CORSI, 1987), from single phase
“silica oversaturation” which might lead to scaling on further fluids (reinjection pipelines), from flashing fluids (wells,
cooling if additional power is generated by heat recovery. separators, and two-phase pipelines), and by steam carryover
deposition, which is not covered in this paper. Scaling from
Recent binary cycle heat recovery experience involved cases of single phase fluids, largely tied to the liquid phase (“spent
brine cooling leading to “silica oversaturation” which did not brine”), was frequently associated with siliceous species
cause extensive fouling in the plant heat exchanger. This paper deposited as amorphous or semi-amorphous silica or silicates.
presents some case histories of these successful applications. Empirical silica saturation curves and equations derived from
laboratory research on pure and saline waters at different
Although kinetics of siliceous precipitation was overlooked in the temperatures (up to about 350ºC), served as guidelines for the
past, it is now approached through various design and/or definition of silica “supersaturation” (FOURNIER et al. 1983)
operational approaches in order to minimize fouling. (FOURNIER et al. 1977), and hence, for the determination of the
temperature limit for brine disposal
INTRODUCTION
The development of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC or
Deposition and related phenomena were considered a major “binary”) technology for geothermal power plant applications at
constraint on the development of geothermal energy worldwide the beginning of the 1980’s was limited to those cases where
(GUDMUNDSSON 1983). Among the different minerals silica scaling would not be expected, such as in medium to low
susceptible to deposition, silica and calcite are the most common enthalpy sources. At East-Mesa, California, pumped geothermal
and the most difficult to remove. However, while calcite has been brines produced light iron carbonate and iron sulfide scales
mostly troublesome for production well management, silica is (GRASSIANI 1988) reducing carbon-steel corrosion, while iron
considered “dangerous” for reinjection wells and some parts of silicate was scarcely present on cooling at temperatures less than
the surface conduits transporting the brine. The scaling problem 90ºC. At the same time, scientists and developers started to
is inherent to most liquid dominated geothermal resources. become more confident about the site specific nature of silica
Generally as aquifer temperatures rise, scaling problems would deposition and about the importance of the kinetics of such
be expected to occur along the extraction system. deposition. An increased understanding might permit further use
of spent thermal brines issuing from moderate- to high-enthalpy,
In steam operating geothermal power plants, silica deposition by two-phase geothermal resources. The interest shifted from Silica
steam carryover may become very troublesome. Even in small Index (actual concentration), to “supersaturation (concentration
concentrations, silica affects steam turbines, valves, and ratio), to “induction” (or incubation) period, to “polymerization”
separators. This aspect is, however, beyond the scope of this (which is a major prerequisite to colloidal, amorphous silica
paper. generation and further massive deposition). Induction periods
may vary from several minutes to several hours and in many
The prospect of silica deposition after separation of two phase cases are long enough to permit normal flow and heat transfer
geofluids inspired a conservative approach to the design of inside the critical heat exchanger of the binary plant unit.
geothermal power plants. The result of this approach was the Furthermore, design and operational experience has evolved in
determination of the lowest operational temperatures which recent years to a point where scaling is handled on a routine
placed severe restrictions on the power capacity output. basis.

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Experimental work at various locations worldwide was originally However, these fast silica deposition cases created anxiety among
intended to deal with the problem of managing silica bearing geothermal power plant designers on the further use of the hot
brines and their eventual disposal (e.g. plugging of reinjection separated brine. They choose to observe the barrier of the
wells). It lead ultimately to the costly on-line treatment of supersaturation point (derived from literature as mentioned
separated brines, resulting, for example, in silica removal from above) even though in many other cases the scaling kinetics
hypersaline brines at the Salton Sea plants. The emergence of permitted the use of brines. Increasing the heat-to-power ratio
brine convective heat recovery technology has added to the after the first separation, by use of a second flash, produced lower
incentive of investigating other practical solutions and for steam pressure, higher supersaturation values, increased mineral
developing more understanding (RIMSTIDT et al. 1978) on the concentration in the brine, and a rise in the pH due to the pressure
practical rate of deposition. drop of some acidic dissolved gases (CO2 and H2O). All of these
factors increase polymerization faster than if the brine were
EXCEPTIONAL FAST SILICA SCALING CASES cooled without flashing.

In some cases, steam operating power plants were first built on BRINE PH EFFECT ON SILICA DEPOSITION KINETICS
known “problematic” sites where silica scaling appeared before
or right after the first flash separation. The following two The strong relationship between pH and precipitation rate of
examples summarize such cases. amorphous silica from a “supersaturated” solution was observed
in quite a few cases. At the Fushima field in Kyushu, Japan,
Silica (among other species) has been encountered in scaling (Akaku, 1990) it was observed that even though the acidic water
events of some production wells in the Cerro Prieto I plant discharged from well C (pH=3.9) has the highest silica
(Mexico), specifically in the production lines (MERCADO et al. concentration, it generated relatively small amounts of silica-rich
1989). Further reports on other wells confirmed the phenomenon scale. The neutral pH water, however, containing only moderate
of “major abundance of amorphous silicates” (HURTADO et al. amounts of silica (from well F), continuously precipitated
1983). The scaling in the production line (which includes calcite amorphous silica from both upstream and downstream sections of
and sulfides) was found to have “an enormous impact on the cost the test equipment. It was concluded that in the Fushima waters,
of power generation”. Due to the eventual decrease of steam the pH controls the precipitation rate of amorphous silica more
production, following scaling, and the decrease of availability, than the degree of supersaturation.
following maintenance, the plant required additional wells at an
increased cost. Furthermore the cost of well maintenance, At Svartsengi (Iceland), early tests (GUDMUNDSSON 1983)
including descaling, is significant and there is the serious risk of carried out on spent brine, did not show any polymerisation “for
well collapse during such operations. Most of the brine at Cerro at least 60-80 minutes” for values of pH ≤ 5.5 (the natural pH of
Prieto is disposed of in ponds, where partial “cold” injection has the brine was 7.8 at 20ºC). The titration results (in a test of added
been considered. acid and caustic as 0.1 N to cover a pH range of 2 to 10.7)
indicated “that reducing the brine pH to prevent
The former Milos (Greece) power plant (DELLIOU, 1989) had deposition/polymerisation may be practical”. Later tests at 80ºC
severe silica scaling occurring in the flash/separation and brine (GUDMUNDSSON et al. 1984) were carried out on a mixture of
transmission systems at the designed 8 bars separator pressure brine (630 ppm silica) 80% and steam condensate 20% with
The silica concentration was 1150 ppm. resultant pH = 6.7 and silica content of 490 ppm.

In other cases, high silica deposition rates lead to expensive The degree of polymerization was tested by measuring the
engineering solutions of separating the silica before brine residual monomeric silica versus time. The test clearly showed
handling (Salton Sea Projects). High rates of silica deposition the beneficial effect of both dilution and pH decrease (from 7.8 to
played a part in the decision to put a stop to further development 6.7) on the rate of silica polymerization. At the original brine
in the Assal Field in Djibouti, where at different pressures, conditions, double flashed to vacuum (70-75ºC), polymerization
different scales occurred. was rapid, while after dilution, it became slow enough to keep the
monomeric silica in solution for 60 minutes.
The record shows that even for the rapid silica scaling conditions
in the wellfields upstream of the classic geothermal power plants, In New Zealand, silica scaling tests were performed at the
engineering solutions were adopted (provided economic Broadlands field (BROWN et al. 1983) using “doubly flashed”
incentives were attractive) to overcome the problem of silica 100ºC separated brine with an initial monomeric silica content of
deposition in spent brine handling. Ponding, like in the about 810 ppm. Here too, the polymerization rate was measured
Svartsengi plant (Iceland) turned out to be beneficial by creating using monomeric silica decrease titration. “Oversaturation” was
a tourist resort, in spite of the intense H2S smell. determined to range from 2.2 to 2.5. Rapid polymerization was
observed at pH = 6 while at pH = 5 nearly no polymerization

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occurred for up to 200 minutes. Nevertheless since acidification silica created at the hot flash stage. A general view of the
“only delays silica deposition”, the authors do not recommend ORMAT Mak-Ban plant is presented on Figure 1.
reinjection of such treated brine because of the risk that “some
silica must precipitate in the well”. THE LOS AZUFRES (MEXICO) CASE HISTORY

By the end of 1989, a field silica scaling test on hot (180°C) spent Although they have similar silica content (900 to 1150 ppm), the
reinjection brine (860 ppm SiO2) was attempted at the Mak-Ban, brines produced at Los Azufres generate fewer deposits than
Philippines geothermal power plant in preparation for the future those produced at Cerro Prieto, the largest geothermal field in
installation of an ORC heat recovery repowering system using Mexico.This phenomenon was attributed to the lower salinity and
that brine. This joint study (ORMAT, Inc., PGI, and NPC) was higher boron content at Los Azufres (MERCADO 1984). Some
carried out on a steam reinjection line bypass going through a preliminary fouling tests (carried in a pilot heat exchanger with
pilot heat exchanger where it was cooled to a temperature of 160ºC inlet brine temperature, exiting at about 90 - 100ºC) made
40°C.At the initial stage, with no acid addition, the first by the IIC in cooperation with the CFE, lead to the conclusion
amorphous silica scale appeared on the stagnant part of heat “that it might be economically feasible to design heat exchangers
exchanger inlet, suggesting that some silica was already in exploiting the thermal energy of geothermal fluids similar to the
suspension at 180ºC. The carbon steel tubes were first fouled by ones produced by Los Azufres” (HERNANDEZ-GALAN 1989).
corrosion products and then by the buildup of powdery white
silica at the cooler end of the tubes. Corrosion coupons were also As of 1993, two OECs, each producing 1.5 MWe, were installed
put into the pipe connected to the heat exchanger (cooled with at two distinct locations on the separated brine of the Los Azufres
water). Further tests with acid injection, described elsewhere geothermal power plant. The OEC inlet temperature is 174°C
(GALLUP 1996), showed that a slight acidification (using HCl or and the outlet temperature is 108°C. At the outlet temperature,
H2SO4) reduced the scaling rate by an order of magnitude and the silica supersaturation index is at least 2. Only once-a-year
can delay polymerization at convective cooling, preventing maintenance with standard acid cleaning is required to maintain
further scaling in the reinjection pipes. the normal power production of the units. An air-cooled OEC
module (1.5 MWe) is shown in Figure 2.
THE MAK-BAN (PHILIPPINES) CASE HISTORY
ROTOKAWA (NZ) CASE HISTORY
About 70 km from Manila, the Bulalo field produced about 300
MWe of geothermal power using a conventional steam plant; the The Rotokawa 24 MWe net capacity geothermal power plant
separated brine was injected back into the reservoir at a using ORMAT combined cycle unit technology (OCCU) was a
temperature of about 180°C (Gallup, 1996). A proposal to turnkey project supplied by the ORMAT group at the end of
repower the plant with an extra 16 MWe, using the heat of the 1997. With this technology, both the steam and the brine are used
spent brine flowing through a binary cycle (Organic Rankine for power generation. Steam is separated from the brine at 23 bar
Cycle) was cautiously evaluated because of the risk of excessive and processed through a 14MWe back pressure steam turbine.
silica scaling. Following a test scheme (mentioned previously) The steam exits this turbine at about 1.5 bar and is further
for the application of pH modification, the plant was constructed condensed and cooled in two binary units of 5MWe power output
and commissioned in 1994. It is operated by ORMAT, Inc., each. The separated brine, rich in silica (about 1000 ppm at
under a BTO with the Philippine power agency separation pressure), is processed into a third binary unit (brine
OEC of 5MWe), where it cools from 219°C to 150°C. The
On cooling the brine throughout the plant heat exchangers from a supersaturation silica index at this stage would be already about
slightly silica oversaturated condition at 173-180ºC to 137-140ºC, 1.6, however, kinetics show that the induction period for
the saturation index rises to about 1.7. As a result of the earlier polymerization is long enough to avoid scaling in the heat
conclusions drawn from the pH modification study, an acid exchanger. Mixing the brine with the steam condensate from the
injection system was installed by the brine supplier (PGI) at the OCCUs would result in a supersaturation S.I. of about 1.4 at an
brine inlet of the power plant, where in-situ continuous pH injection temperature of about 130°C. One year after startup of
control (to 5.5 ± 0.5) is performed. The Mak-Ban geopower operations, no silica related problems have been encountered
bottoming cycle using air cooled ORMAT® Energy Converters
(OECs) was the first in the world to introduce acid treatment in THE KAWERAU (NZ) FIELD BINARY PLANTS CASE
order to prevent (eventually by reduction of the silica polarization HISTORY
rate) silica scaling by reducing the pH from 6.3 to about 5.5.
Special design precautions were made in order to manage the The first TOI #1 (Tarawera ORMAT Installation) 2.6 MWe
problem of over-effective scale control (leading to corrosion) or plant, comprised of two air-cooled OEC modular units, has
the problem of partial lack of brine supply leading to decreased operated since 1990 with a separated brine at about 180°C. The
flow velocity, fouling, and the subsequent adhesion of suspended brine, at about 700 ppm silica content, was previously disposed

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of in the Tarawera River. It is now mostly reinjected at FOURNIER R.O. & MARSHAL W.L. 1983. Calculation of
approximately 120°C (S.I. ranges from 1.4 to 1.5). Surprisingly, amorphous silica solubilities at 25º to 300ºC. Geochimica et
no silica scaling has been reported forming in the heat exchangers Cosmochimica Acta, 47: 587-596.
or injection wells (Gallup, 1996).
FOURNIER R.O. & ROWE J.J. 1977. The solubility of
TG2 is another binary plant of 3.4 MWe using an air-cooled dual amorphous silica in water at high temperatures and high
OEC. Brine is convectively cooled from about 172°C to about pressures. American Mineralogist, 62: 1056.
85°C (S.I. = 2). This plant has been operated by the Bay of GALLUP D.L. 1996. Combination flash-bottoming cycle
Plenty Utility since late 1993. The heat exchangers require geothermal power generation: a case history. Geothermal
cleaning only once every two years. Resources Council Bulletin. July: 264-270.

CONCLUSIONS GUDMUNDSSON J.S. 1983. Silica deposition from geothermal

brine at Svartsengi, Iceland. Proc. Intern. Symposium on solving
Experience has been gained in recent years with handling of and corrosion and scaling problems in geothermal systems, 72: 87
heat extraction from silica supersaturated brines. In some cases, NACE.
when properly designed, the induction time for polymerization is
long enough for the brine to flow through the critical heat GUDMUNDSSON J.S., HAUKSSON T., THORHALLSON S.,
recovery part of the ORC power unit and to eventual disposal ALBERTSON A. & THOROLFSSON G. 1984. Injection and
without serious scaling. In others, a total heat-to-power, tailor- tracer testing in Svartsengi field Iceland. 6th NZ. Workshop
made design for both brine and steam (like the one used at Auckland NZ November 7-9.
Rotokawa, NZ) has been successful in controlling silica scaling
and allow smooth operation. Even for fast-scaling brines, a HERNANDEZ-GALAN J.L. & PLAUCHU A.L. 1989.
suitable design can minimize adherence of silica colloids to Determination of fouling factors for shell and tube type heat
metallic walls, while suitable operation can delay further exchangers exposed to Los Azufres geothermal fluids.
polymerization of monomeric silica on cooling. Case histories Geothermics, 18: 121-128.
of some ORMAT designed and built geothermal power plants,
where silica “supersaturated” brines are used at reasonable HURTADO R., HOLGUIN S., IZQUIRDO G., GAMINO H.,
operating costs, were presented. BERMEJO F., GARIBADI F. 1983. Downhole scale
characterization at Cerro Prieto geothermal field. Proc. Intern.
REFERENCES Symposium on solving corrosion and scaling problems in
geothermal systems. 165: 176 NACE.
AKAKU K. 1990 Geothermal study of mineral precipitation from
geothermal waters at Fushime field, Kyushu, Japan. Geothermics, MERCADO S., BERNEJO F., HURTADO R., TERRAZAS B.
19: 455-467. & HERNANDEZ L. 1989. Scale incidence on production pipes
of Cerro Prieto geothermal wells. Geothermics, 18: 225-232.
BROWN K.L. & McDOWELL G.D. 1987. pH control of silica
scaling. Proc. 5th NZ Geothermal Workshop 157-161. RIMSTIDT J.D. & BARNES H.L. 1978. Experiments for rapid
assessment of the scaling properties of geothermal fluids.
CORSI R. 1987. Scaling and corrosion in geothermal equipment: Geothermal Resources Council, Transactions, 2: 567-569
problems and preventive measures. Geothermics, 15: 839-856.

DELLIOU E.E. 1989. Milos demonstration project. European

Geothermal Update. Proceedings of 4th Intern. Seminar, 652-660.
Kluwer Academic Publ.

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Figure 1 – 15.73 MWe Modular ORMAT Power in Mak-Ban Figure 2 – One of the 2 OEC 1.5 MWe air-cooled modules
(Philippines) repowering the Los Azufres geopower plant

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