A 3-D water/rock chemical interaction model for prediction of HDR/HWR geothermal reservoir performance

A three-dimensional (3-D) water/rock chemical interaction model has been developed to examine the effect of water/rock chemical interaction (WRCI) on the long-term performance of hot dry rock and hot wet rock (HDR/HWR) reservoirs. The model, which integrates many field observations and thus generates a fracture network very similar to the natural fracture distribution in the reservoir, can predict the influence of WRCI on the overall fractured reservoir. Factors affecting WRCI and the effect of WRCI on long-term performance of Hijiori deep reservoir (Japan) have been modelled. Simulated results show that fluid chemistry, initial rock temperature, magnitude of flow rate and well spacing have a major effect on WRCI, and for such a multi-well Hijiori geothermal system, WRCI seems to make the flow distribution tend towards uniformity. The model described deals solely with chemical interactions as a function of flow rate and temperature, and takes no account of aperture variation as a result of thermoelastic effects. It is only a partial model, though it could form an important module of a coupled model.