Development of Models to Simulate Tracer Tests for Characterization of Enhanced Geothermal Systems

Abstract

A recent report found that power and heat produced from enhanced (or engineered) geothermal systems (EGSs) could have a major impact on the U.S energy production capability while having a minimal impact on the environment. EGS resources differ from high-grade hydrothermal resources in that they lack sufficient temperature distribution, permeability/porosity, fluid saturation, or recharge of reservoir fluids. Therefore, quantitative characterization of temperature distributions and the surface area available for heat transfer in EGS is necessary for the design and commercial development of the geothermal energy of a potential EGS site. The goal of this project is to provide integrated tracer and tracer interpretation tools to facilitate this characterization. This project was initially focused on tracer development with the application of perfluorinated tracer (PFT) compounds, non-reactive tracers used in numerous applications from atmospheric transport to underground leak detection, to geothermal systems, and evaluation of encapsulated PFTs that would release tracers at targeted reservoir temperatures. After the 2011 midyear review and subsequent discussions with the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technology Program (GTP), emphasis was shifted to interpretive tool development, testing, and validation. Subsurface modeling capabilities are an important component of this project for both the design of suitable tracers and the interpretation of data from in situ tracer tests, be they single- or multi-well tests. The purpose of this report is to describe the results of the tracer and model development for simulating and conducting tracer tests for characterizing EGS parameters.