Computation of Gas-Liquid Equilibria in High-Saline Geothermal Fluids

Donald Jackson
1977 Proceedings of SPE International Oilfield and Geothermal Chemistry Symposium   unpublished
The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is actively engaged in the development of energy extraction processes for high-temperature, hypersaline brines, such as are found extensively in the Salton Sea Geothermal Field of California. A computer-assisted chemical modeling study of equilibria in flowing brine systems has been undertaken as part of the U program. volatile components of two-phase fluids have profound effects o n m c h important phenomena as corrosion, scale formation, environmental
more » ... and the economics of energy extraction. The principal reactions considered are those involvin& volatiles naturally present in the fluid, including Equilibria between liquid and NH3, H2S and C02. A computer code is described which performs stepwise equilibrium canputations at 1% intervals for a unit mass of fluid, between reservoir and reinjection temperatures. The data base usrni'the qualitytemperature function for the brine, the chemical cumposition, and equilibrium constants for the solubility reactions of gases and dissodation of their aqueous species. Chemical changes that take place during cooling and expansion are illustrated by References and illustrations at end of paper distribution diagrams. Although the computations were developed for application to the high-saline resource, they are not fluid or system-specific, and should be of general usefulness where a chemical composition and temperature history can be specified. H a a s , J, L. Jr., "The Effect of Salinity on the Maximum Thermal Gradient of a
doi:10.2523/6610-ms fatcat:vm5yzi3evneyxeshznda65srbu