Indirect Methods for Validating Shallow Geothermal Potential Using Advanced Laboratory Measurements from a Regional to Local Scale—A Case Study from Poland

Marek Hajto, Anna Przelaskowska, Grzegorz Machowski, Katarzyna Drabik and Gabriel Ząbek
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Marek Hajto: Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30 Av., 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Anna Przelaskowska: Oil and Gas Institute—National Research Institute, Lubicz Str. 25A, 31-503 Kraków, Poland
Grzegorz Machowski: Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30 Av., 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Katarzyna Drabik: Oil and Gas Institute—National Research Institute, Lubicz Str. 25A, 31-503 Kraków, Poland
Gabriel Ząbek: 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 20, 1-32

Abstract: This paper presents a broad overview of laboratory methods for measuring thermal properties and petrophysical parameters of carbonate rocks, and analytical methods for interpreting the obtained data. The investigation was conducted on carbonate rock samples from the Kraków region of Poland in the context of shallow geothermal potential assessment. The measurement techniques used included standard macroscopic examinations; petrophysical investigations (porosity, density); analysis of mineral composition thermal conductivity (TC) and specific heat measurements; and advanced investigations with the use of computed tomography (CT). Various mathematical models, such as layer model, geometric mean, and spherical and non-spherical inclusion models, were applied to calculate thermal conductivity based on mineralogy and porosity. The aim of this paper was to indicate the optimal set of laboratory measurements of carbonate rock samples ensuring sufficient characterization of petrophysical and thermal rock properties. This concerns both the parameters directly characterizing the geothermal potential (thermal conductivity) and other petrophysical parameters, e.g., porosity and mineral composition. Determining the quantitative relationship between these parameters can be of key importance in the case of a shortage of archival thermal conductivity data, which, unlike other petrophysical measurements, are not commonly collected. The results clearly show that the best correlations between calculated and measured TC values exist for the subgroup of samples of porosity higher than 4%. TC evaluation based on porosity and mineral composition correlation models gives satisfactory results compared with direct TC measurements. The methods and results can be used to update the existing 3D parametric models and geothermal potential maps, and for the preliminary assessment of geothermal potential in the surrounding area.

Keywords: rock petrophysical properties; thermal conductivity; laboratory methods; mathematical models; shallow geothermal potential; heat pump (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 complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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