Modeling debrining of an energy storage salt cavern considering the effects of temperature

Abstract

Debrining is one of the most important steps in the construction of a salt cavern. The debrining inner tubing may be blocked by salt deposits because the brine temperature drops during debrining. However, most previous studies have ignored the effects of salt deposits on debrining. In this paper, a novel debrining model of a gas storage salt cavern to predict the debrining parameters and salt deposit growth based on the crystallization kinetics and heat transfer principle is built. A finite difference program is developed to solve this model. The model is validated by debrining monitoring data. The effects of debrining rate on debrining parameters are analyzed. The results show that the brine and gas temperature increase gradually with debrining time and ultimately approaches a constant value. If the debrining rate is increased from 20 to 80 m3/h, the salt deposits growth rate at the wellhead is decreased by 53.48%, and the total debrining time can be reduced by 77.3%, and the backflushing frequency can be decreased from 1.17 to 3.29 days/time. It is suggested that the debrining rate of Jintan UGS salt cavern increased to more than 80 m3/h and the backflushing frequency decreased to 3.29 days/time.