Author ORCID Identifier
Date of Graduation
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
PhD
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Geology and Geography
Committee Chair
Shikha Sharma
Committee Co-Chair
Alexandra Hakala
Committee Member
Alexandra Hakala
Committee Member
Jaime Toro
Committee Member
Amy Weislogel
Abstract
The ever-increasing demand for clean energy requires creative solutions. In the United States, unconventional energy sources such as geothermal are conventionally limited to the western half of the country. The Appalachian Basin in the Eastern United States is one such possible creative solution, although the comparatively low temperature gradient presents a significant challenge to delivering economically feasible geothermal energy. An emerging technology is enhanced geothermal systems, these are engineered reservoirs where a working fluid (typically water) is cycled between the subsurface energy source and the energy collection facility at the surface. The liquid water interacts with the geothermal reservoir rock via dissolution and precipitation reactions. As the water is returned to the surface, it is contained and handled using a network of steel pipes where it may induce corrosion through through fluid-steel interactions. These reactions and products occurring both in the reservoir and at the surface are governed many variables, but pH and Eh are particulary important. This dissertation combines geochemical fluid-rock interaction computational modeling with fluid-steel interaction experimental data to improve the collective understanding required for assessing the suitability of geothermal energy development in the largely unexplored Appalachian Basin.
Recommended Citation
Bowman, Samuel H., "FLUID-ROCK AND FLUID-STEEL INTERACTION IN GEOTHERMAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN THE APPALACHAIN BASIN" (2024). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 12512.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/12512