Chemical geothermometers and mixing models to understand the thermal aptitudes in the management of Bouhanifia and Saida geothermal resources, northwest of Algeria

Abstract

The paper aims to determine the geothermal characteristics and the mixing possibility of Bouhanifia and Saida geothermal resource because of its importance in tourist activities and energy investigations by using Geothermometry and geochemical approaches. The methodology of our work is based on physico-chemical analysis and thus is validated by the execution of plots and graphs that identify the mixing with cold water and define the geothermal behavior. Geothermal water is characterized by natural pH ranging between 5.86 and 7.03. Furthermore, by cation domination water type Cl−, Na+, Ca+ for Bouhanifia and Cl−, SO42−, Mg2+ for Saida, the Silica geothermometers give lower temperatures variation between 12 and 106 °C. On the other hand, the estimated temperature from cationic geothermometers ranges between 51 and 236 °C. The geothermal is mixed with cold water from saline and carbonated formations. Results showed that the studied geothermal water chemistry and Geothermometry are more affected by local geology and tectonic than regional perspectives. Therefore, the water is influenced by polluted shallow interactions and is classified as a low enthalpy category.