Chemical Control of Silica Scaling in Geothermal Systems

在地热系统中保护碳钢防止矿物结垢的一种常见方法是向工艺流体中连续注入阻垢剂。这些缓蚀剂可以通过许多不同的机制发挥作用，以减少矿物质结垢的成核和/或生长。随着温度的升高，许多阻垢剂的功能都会丧失。虽然开发热力学稳定的抑制剂是可能的，但这通常是以增加毒性和降低生物降解性为代价的。由于与工业过程中使用的化学物质相关的立法越来越严格，合成新的抑制分子被证明是极具挑战性的。最近的研究导致了一类新的化学物质的合成，这些化学物质已经显示出控制二氧化硅沉积的潜力，尽管抑制机制尚不清楚。该项目将探索利用定制的高压和高温系统评估此类阻垢分子的新方法，目的是增进对阻垢机理的了解。这一与斯伦贝谢剑桥研究中心联合开展的博士项目将专注于对新开发的地热二氧化硅阻垢剂进行评估和优化。这些新的化学成分旨在减少碳钢在苛刻的、含二氧化碳的高温含水环境中的内部二氧化硅结垢沉积，类似于地热系统中遇到的情况。

A common method for protecting carbon steel against mineral scaling in geothermal systems is the continuous injection of scale inhibitors into the process fluid. These inhibitors can function through a number of differing mechanisms in order to reduce the nucleation and/or growth of mineral scales. Towards higher temperatures, the functionality of many scaling inhibitors is lost. Although the development of thermodynamically stable inhibitors is possible, this typically comes at a price of increased toxicity and reduced bio-degradability. Due to the ever-tightening legislation associated with chemistries used for industrial processes, the synthesis of new inhibitory molecules proves extremely challenging. Recent research has resulted in the synthesis of a new class of chemistries which have shown potential for control of silica deposition, though the mechanism of inhibition remains unclear. The project will explore new methodologies for the evaluation of such inhibitory molecules using bespoke high pressure and high temperature systems, with the intention of improving the understanding of the scaling inhibition mechanisms. This joint PhD project with Schlumberger Cambridge Research Centre will focus on the evaluation and optimisation of newly developed geothermal silica scaling inhibitors. These new chemistries are designed to mitigate internal silica scaling deposition onto carbon steel in demanding, high temperature aqueous CO2-containing environments, analogous to those encountered in geothermal systems.