Geothermal on the rise: chemical treatment and market trends
What are the main issues you can face during geothermal power generation? Why is chemical treatment so important for geothermal plants?
Communications Office
In recent years, the global energy market has been undergoing significant changes. Driven by several factors, including geopolitical instability and growing climate concerns, the renewable power market is experiencing a fast growth. Among these, geothermal is on the rise.
Geothermal stands out as a reliable source with the potential to contribute significantly to a more sustainable and, according to the latest reports, the global installed capacity hit 16,355 MW in 2023 with a growth rate around 5% for the next 3 years (source: ThinkGeoEnergy).
Geothermal power plant chemical treatment
Scale and corrosion inhibition is critical in operating effectively geothermal plants for power generation and heat production. Indeed, these phenomena are often responsible for loss of system efficiency and premature equipment failure or replacement.
Geothermal systems can be affected by several types of inorganic scale: calcite, amorphous silica, metal silicates, stibnite and NORMs.
Chemical inhibition is recognized as the most cost-effective method of preventing scale deposition among all the technologies currently available in the market. It ensures high plant performance and reduces the risk of costly and unplanned systems shutdowns.
Geogard®: Italmatch Chemicals portfolio for Geothermal applications
Italmatch is committed to supporting the development of the geothermal industry and the transition to a decarbonized economy.
Thanks to its long-term experience and technical capabilities in the field of scale and corrosion inhibitors, our Advanced Water Solutions business unit has developed the Geogard® portfolio, a set of products able to support geothermal operators in the prevention of scaling and corrosion in even the most severe conditions.
Our Geogard® range currently consists of 11 products. Out of these, in our quest for continuous improvement and to meet the evolving needs of our customers, 7 have been developed and marketed in the last three years.
- Geogard® CA: High performance products designed for Calcite scaling control at temperatures up to 150° C
- Geogard® ACA: High performance products designed for Calcite scaling control at temperatures up to 150° C, designed for warm-humid environments to avoid microbiological growth
- Geogard® SX: High performance scale inhibitor designed for Silica scale control at temperatures higher than 250° C
- Geogard® SB: High performing stibnite inhibitor
- Geogard® HCA: Formulation to provide excellent calcite scale inhibition at high temperatures above 250° C
- Geogard® HCA2: Formulation to provide excellent calcite scale inhibition at high temperatures above 250° C
- Geogard® SX2: Amorphous silica inhibitor designed for geothermal brines containing more than 400ppm of silica
- Geogard® SX3: Amorphous silica control specifically designed for geothermal brines containing highly charged cations (Al3+, Fe3+ )
- Geogard® SB2: High performing and cost-effective new generation stibnite inhibitor
- Geogard® CI: High performing film-forming corrosion inhibitor
- Geogard® N: Formulation to inhibit the precipitation of inorganic salts which can contain NORM’s materials (e.g. Radium-226/Radium-228)
Want to learn more about Geogard®?
Fill out the form below to get in touch with one of our Geothermal experts!
