Well, hydrology, and geochemistry problems encountered in ATES systems and their solutions

Conference · Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992

OSTI ID:7186029

Jenne, E A ^[1]; Andersson, O ^[2]; Willemsen, A ^[3]

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1. Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
2. VBB VIAK AB, Malmo (Sweden)
3. IF Technology, Arnhem, (Netherlands)

In aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) systems, wells provide the interface between the energy storage and use. Efficient operational wells are, therefore, essential for the system to run at maximum (design) efficiency. Adequate test drilling to accurately predict aquifer properties is essential in the design phase; proper construction and development are crucial; and proper monitoring of performance is necessary to identify the early stages of clogging and to evaluate the adequacy of well rehabilitation. Problems related to hydrology, well, and aquifer properties include: loss of permeability resulting from gas exsolution, chemical precipitation, and dispersion and movement of fine-grained particles; loss of recoverable heat caused by excessive regional ground-water gradient, hydrodynamic mixing of injected and native ground water, buoyancy flow and heat conduction through the cap and base of the storage zone; leakage up along the well casing; and fracturing'' of a shallow upper aquiclude as a result of an injection pressure greater than the hydrostatic pressure on the aquiclude. The predominant geochemical problems encountered are precipitation of carbonates in some areas and iron plus manganese oxides in others. These precipitation problems can be anticipated, and thus avoided, via geochemical calculations. The likelihood of iron carbonate precipitation is less certain because of the lack of adequate research. Corrosion is a frequent problem. Most of the hydrochemically related clogging and corrosion problems that have been encountered in ATES systems can be predicted and avoided by appropriate design, construction, and operation of new ATF-S systems, assuming that appropriate hydrologic and geochemical modeling is carried out in advance. It is prudent to carefully consider the need for water treatment and to anticipate that there will be some increase in injection pressure and decrease of specific capacity over time.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 7186029
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-21073; CONF-920801-28; ON: DE93001300; TRN: 92-038204
• Resource Relation: Conference: 27. intersociety energy conversion engineering conference, San Diego, CA (United States), 3-7 Aug 1992
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
58 GEOSCIENCES
SEASONAL THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE
GEOCHEMISTRY
HYDROLOGY
AQUIFERS
CORROSION
DESIGN
FLUID FLOW
INJECTION WELLS
IRON CARBONATES
IRON HYDRIDES
NATURAL CONVECTION
PRECIPITATION
SCALING
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
CONVECTION
ENERGY STORAGE
ENERGY TRANSFER
HEAT STORAGE
HEAT TRANSFER
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
IRON COMPOUNDS
MASS TRANSFER
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
STORAGE
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
WELLS
250600* - Energy Storage- Thermal
360604 - Materials- Corrosion
Erosion
& Degradation
580000 - Geosciences