Exploration of Geothermal and Lithium Recovery Potentials: A Simulation Study of a Small-Scale CO2-Saturated Brine Injection in the Leduc Aquifer in Alberta, Canada
Notice bibliographique
Résumé
Abstract Geologic sequestration of CO2 generally involves injecting supercritical CO2 into deep saline aquifers. However, large-scale CO2 sequestration projects require significant capital investment. The objective of this study is to simulate a small-scale CO2-saturated brine injection pilot in the Simonette area of the Leduc Formation to investigate the feasibility of coupling geothermal energy production and lithium recovery to leverage the injection costs. A geothermal doublet system was simulated to produce in-situ hot brine, containing 79 mg/L lithium, from the Leduc aquifer. The produced brine was cooled down after being processed at a geothermal and lithium recovery plant. The cool brine was then mixed with CO2 at surface and reinjected back into the aquifer through another well (with a downhole distance of 3 km from the producer). The operating conditions of the doublet were based on pilot data from two major lithium recovery plants in Alberta, Canada. The doublet was simulated for 40 years of injection and 200 years of shut-in using thermo-hydro-mechanical simulation to assess the feasibility of injecting and containing CO2 in the aquifer. Simulation parameters (e.g., geomechanical and petrophysical data) were based on laboratory measurements and analysis of available field and well-test data. Simulation results indicate that the doublet (with a volumetric flow rate of 1,500 Sm3/day) could recover around 650 kg/day of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) using a direct lithium extraction (DLE) method. The results also suggest that the production well could produce approximately 3.2 to 9.7 tonnes of CO2 daily. This is much lower than the amount of CO2 needed to saturate the brine after being cooled in a heat exchanger of a geothermal power plant. Nonetheless, the reinjected brine was fully saturated with CO2 to account for other sources of CO2 from nearby factories, such as Keyera’s Simonette Gas Plant. The reinjected brine could stay dissolved underground due to high reservoir pressure, despite the in-situ fluid being hotter than the reinjected brine. Furthermore, well spacing was wide enough to avoid CO2 production within the simulated timeframe. More importantly, analysis of the results indicate that the geothermal doublet could generate around 0.34 MWe, partially supporting the subsequent lithium recovery operations. The thermo-hydro-mechanical simulation output suggests the possibility of a strong undrained thermoporoelastic response in low-permeability underburden areas due to the injection of cool CO2-saturated brine, inducing significant thermal stress. Furthermore, there is a high chance of fault reactivation near the injection well within the aquifer. Although rock failure within the aquifer would not necessarily jeopardize the containment of CO2, it could potentially affect wellbore stability, particularly when there is a possibility of fluid-rock-casing interactions near the wellbore. This study provides, for the first time, practical insights into the feasibility of implementing a small-scale CO2-saturated brine injection pilot in the Leduc aquifer, while leveraging both geothermal energy and lithium recovery potential.
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Comment cette classification a été obtenuedéplier
Prédiction machine sur la base complète
Imitation des enseignantsNi prévalence calibrée, ni vérité terrain. Validation humaine à venir. Le volet Gemma est une étiquette directe du modèle pour chaque travail de la base, lue sur la notice réduite au titre. Le volet Codex est un classifieur appris des 10 348 étiquettes directes de Codex et calibré sur les taux pondérés de l'échantillon; les champs sans appui suffisant ne portent aucun appel Codex. Le mode candidate est l'union des deux volets; le consensus est leur intersection. Ces sorties portent le statut machine_predicted_unvalidated et ne sont pas des étiquettes humaines.
Scores du classifieur distillé par catégorie (deux têtes)
| Catégorie | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Métarecherche | 0,000 | 0,001 |
| Méta-épidémiologie (sens strict) | 0,001 | 0,000 |
| Méta-épidémiologie (sens large) | 0,001 | 0,001 |
| Bibliométrie | 0,001 | 0,001 |
| Études des sciences et des technologies | 0,001 | 0,001 |
| Communication savante | 0,001 | 0,000 |
| Science ouverte | 0,002 | 0,001 |
| Intégrité de la recherche | 0,002 | 0,001 |
| Charge utile insuffisante (le modèle a refusé de juger) | 0,002 | 0,000 |
Scores machine (provisoires)
Les deux têtes enseignantes du modèle étudiant, lues sur ce travail. Un score ordonne la base pour la relecture; il n'affirme jamais une catégorie, et le statut de validation accompagne chaque rangée tel quel.
Scores de référence d'un modèle non mature (critères de maturité non atteints, 7 itérations). Un score ordonne; il n'affirme jamais une catégorie.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · tel quel depuis la passe de notation : score_only signifie que le nombre peut ordonner les travaux, et qu'aucune étiquette de catégorie n'en découleClassification
machine, non validéePrédiction automatique; un appel candidat d’une seule source (Gemma direct ou Codex distillé), pas un consensus.
Le détail, modèle par modèle et score par score, se trouve en fin de page sous « Comment cette classification a été obtenue ».