Thu, 28 September, 2023
University of Iceland Postdoctoral Researcher, Gifty Oppong presented details of the GEOHEX project at the World Geothermal Congress (WGC) 2023.
Gifty attended the event in Beijing on 17 September to present a conference paper on the results of materials testing carried out by the University of Iceland as part of the GEOHEX project.
The GEOHEX consortium have been working together to find cost-savings and efficiency improvements for geothermal operations through the development of high-temperature and corrosion-resistant coatings for geothermal use.
The geothermal fluids from high-temperature geothermal wells that come into direct contact with materials and equipment can cause corrosion, erosion-corrosion and wear, which can result in high costs for parts replacement and a decrease in power production efficiencies.
Different chemical compositions and physical properties of the geothermal fluids create different levels of corrosion aggressiveness, as do factors such as temperature, pressure, and flow rate. As a result, the various components and equipment used in the construction of geothermal wells and the production of geothermal power can experience different corrosion attacks, as well as wear and erosion that limits their lifetime.
Gifty provided the WGC congress with an overview of the material characterisation and testing of different types of coatings developed by GEOHEX for components used in geothermal environment and drilling.
Microstructural analysis and mechanical properties of the coatings suitable for heat exchange units was also presented, as well as details of the corrosion analysis and heat transfer efficiency of the coatings when tested in simulated geothermal environments.
We would like to congratulate Gifty on her presentation and thank the World Geothermal Congress for the opportunity to share results of our work.
The GEOHEX project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Grant agreement 851917.