Physicochemical Composition Variability and Hydraulic Conditions in a Geothermal Borehole—The Latest Study in Podhale Basin, Poland

Agnieszka Operacz, Bogusław Bielec, Barbara Tomaszewska and Michał Kaczmarczyk
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Agnieszka Operacz: Department of Sanitary Engineering and Water Management, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Land Surveying, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Mickiweicza 21 Av., 31-120 Kraków, Poland
Bogusław Bielec: Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Wybickiego 7A str., 31-261 Kraków, Poland
Barbara Tomaszewska: Department of Fossil Fuels, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30 Av., 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Michał Kaczmarczyk: Department of Fossil Fuels, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30 Av., 30-059 Kraków, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: In deep geothermal boreholes, an effect of temperature (so-called thermal lift) is observed, which results in the volumetric expansion of the fluid extracted. This process results in increased wellhead pressure values being recorded; in the absence of an appropriate correction, hydraulic properties of the reservoir layer cannot be properly determined. As an example of this effect, the Chocho?ów PIG-1 (CH PIG-1) geothermal borehole situated in Podhale Basin in Poland was used. Hydrodynamic tests including two pumping phases were carried out in the well in order to establish the basic hydraulic properties related to the determination of its operational resources (maximum water extraction value–capacity) and permissible groundwater level. Particular attention was paid to the thermal lift effect in the borehole. The conductivity, which depends on the pumping level, could be two to three times higher with temperature correction than results without any correction. The goal was to analyse the variability of the observed physiochemical properties of the exploited geothermal waters and to determine the correlation between the properties analysed and the temperature of the geothermal water. For the relationship between temperature and the observed pressure at the wellhead, the value of the correlation coefficient was negative (a negative linear relationship was determined), which means that as the temperature increases, the wellhead pressure decreases. The hydrodynamic tests carried out in the CH PIG-1 borehole and the analysis of variability of selected ions and parameters in exploited water were necessary to assess the possibility of increasing the efficiency (Q) of the CH PIG-1 borehole and to determine the water quality and its natural variability. Such information is crucial for the functioning of the recreational complex based on the use of geothermal water. A study of the phenomena affecting the exploitation of hot water from deep boreholes enables their effective exploitation and the use of resources in accordance with the expectations of investors.

Keywords: geothermal waters; hydrogeological properties; borehole thermal lift effect; physico-chemical property variability; correlation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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