The GEOPRO project aims to improve the accuracy and consistency of key thermodynamic and kinetic input data, and the accuracy of the respective Equations of State (and relevant constitutive equations) specifically in order to develop a verified set of robust, user friendly, flexible and accessible tools to optimize sustainable geothermal reservoir management, power and heat production and reinjection strategies.
Key to understanding the chemical and physical properties of geothermal fluids
The chemical and physical properties of the geothermal fluids are a key control factor, determining the heat-carrying potential for energy transfer over the life of the well. An enhanced understanding of the properties of these fluids is therefore important to optimise site developments and operation. Additionally, the future for exploration, prediction and utilisation of novel geothermal technologies – namely enhanced geothermal systems and supercritical resources – is intimately tied to understanding the physical and chemical properties of the reservoir fluids.
Project GEOPRO, is designed to generate targeted advances in the understanding and modelling of geofluid characteristics, to support geothermal users by:
- Supporting improved design efficiency – knowledge-based design of wellbore, pipework, heat exchangers;
- For optimal conversion of the primary energy into electrical power;
- Enabling knowledge-based design activities for best control of the constraining fluid phenomena (such as scale formation, outgassing, cavitation during changes in temperature and pressure), maximising uptime and operational effectiveness of the plant;
- Providing underpinning knowledge for the future exploration and exploitation of supercritical systems through improved “vectors to ore” arising from the ability to better use fluid chemistry to predict deep subterranean conditions.
“The overarching GEOPRO concept is a suite of knowledge-based Decision Support System (DSS) tools, informed with the relevant information from the flow assurance, reservoir model, reaction kinetics& Equation of State (EoS) and knowledge database, to produce reliable lifecycle estimates for performance, operational costs, environmental impacts and risk” – GEOPRO CONSORTIUM
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