Scenario: A geothermal power facility instituted a flash-crystallization process designed to prevent amorphous silica scaling in its deep reinjection wells by precipitating dissolved silica into microscopic, suspended particles before the spent geothermal brine enters the injection boreholes. Pipeline flow tests verified that these suspended micro-particles do not adhere to interior pipe surfaces. Nevertheless, during the two years following the deployment of this process, the rate of severe flow blockages caused by mineral accumulation in the facility's reinjection wells increased markedly.
Statement: The finding that the suspended silica micro-particles rapidly aggregate with ambient clay platelets upon entering the subterranean rock formation to form dense mineral plugs in rock fissures, if true, helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy described in the scenario.
Cevap: Cevap