Daniela B. Meier
Brief Overview of Research Project and Major Accomplishments Expected
Amorphous silica is one of the biggest scaling challenges in geothermal systems. Silica is abundant in many geothermal waters. The solubility of silica decreases upon cooling and tenacious scales tend to form along the flow path, requiring costly maintenance and/or replacement of equipment. One of the methods applied to mitigate silica scaling in geothermal systems is the use of inhibitors. It has been shown that organic and inorganic additives reduce the precipitation of silica under geothermal conditions. So far, no study has looked at the effect of these additives on the mechanism of silica scaling. Therefore, the aim of this study is to quantify the inhibitory effects of additives on the polymerization and formation of silica nanoparticles.
I will use a flow-through geothermal simulator to experimentally follow the nucleation and growth of silica nanoparticles forming from supersaturated solutions. The experiments will be repeated at different temperatures and in the presence of various additives. The nucleation of nanoparticles is induced by heating the supersaturated silica solution to about 230°C, simulating the conditions of a geothermal fluid in the subsurface. The solution is then rapidly cooled, initializing silica polymerization, mimicking what happens in a geothermal system when the fluid emerges at Earth’s surface. The polymerization and formation of silica nanoparticles will be monitored in-situ and real-time through small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) to identify changes in the mechanism of silica nanoparticle formation. This data will be complemented through aqueous analyses of the changes in monomeric silica over time and detailed conventional and cryo-imaging of the particles formed.
This study will enhance and quantitatively assess our understanding of silica scale formation in the presence of additives. Hopefully, this will lead to the development of new inhibitors to mitigate scaling for geothermal systems in the future.
Posters
The effect of a protein (lysozyme) on the mechanism of amorphous silica precipitation. To view the poster, please click here.
Technical Reports
Eichinger FL, Meier DB, Waber HN (2015).
Matrix pore water in Olkiluoto bedrock from drilling OL-KR54 and OL-KR55 – Chemical and isotopic characterisation and evaluation of contamination by drilling fluid.
Working Report 2014-66, Posiva Oy, Eurajoki, Finland.
Eichinger FL, Meier DB, Hämmerli J, Diamond LW (2011).
Stable Isotope Signatures of Gases Liberated from Fluid Inclusions in Bedrock at Olkiluoto.
Working Report 2010-88, Posiva Oy, Eurajoki, Finland.
Abstracts
van den Heuvel DB, Gunnlaugsson E, Gunnarsson I, Stawski TM, Peacock CL, Benning LG
Silica scaling depending on SiO2 speciation in geothermal waters.
Goldschmidt, Yokohama, Japan, 26 June-1 July 2016 (Poster presentation requested).
Gibbons J, Sharp Z, van den Heuvel, DB, Benning LG.
Triple oxygen isotope silica-water fractionation as a single mineral thermometer from a hydrothermal plant Hellisheiði, Iceland.
Goldschmidt, Yokohama, Japan, 26 June-1 July 2016 (Poster presentation requested).
Meier DB, Gunnlaugsson E, Gunnarsson I, Peacock CL, Benning LG.
Passivation of metal surfaces against corrosion by silica scaling.
41th Annual Stanford Geothermal Workshop, Stanford, USA, 22-24 February 2016 (Oral presentation requested).
Meier DB, Stawski TM, Peacock CL, Benning LG.
Lysozyme controls the character of biomimetic silica composites.
Goldschmidt, Prague, Czech Republic, 16-21 August 2015 (Oral presentation).
Meier DB, Gunnlaugsson E, Gunnarsson I, Peacock CL, Benning LG.
Bildung von amorphen SiO2 Ausfällungen im Geothermalkraftwerk Hellisheiði (SW-Island).
Workshop Fluid-Material-Gesteins-Wechselwirkungen in salinaren Thermalwässern, Potsdam, Germany, 9 April 2015 (Oral presentation)
Meier DB, Gunnlaugsson E, Gunnarsson I, Wijayathunga N, Peacock CL, Benning LG.
Characterisation of silica precipitates on the tube sheet of a geothermal heat exchanger: a case study form the Hellisheiði geothermal power station.
European Geothermal PhD Day, Delft, Netherlands, 25 - 28 February 2015 (Oral and poster presentation)
Meier DB, Gunnlaugsson E, Gunnarsson I, Jamtveit B, Peacock CL, Benning LG.
Micostructures and compositions of silica rich precipitates at the Hellisheiði geothermal power plant.
Clay Minerals & Environmental Mineralogy Groups' Research in Progress Meeting, Durham, United Kingdom, 25 September 2014 (Oral presentation).
Meier DB, Gunnlaugsson E, Gunnarsson I, Wijayathunga N, Peacock CL, Benning LG.
Silica precipitation inside a geothermal heat exchanger reduces production of thermal energy: case study from the Hellisheiði geothermal power plant.
International Carbon Conference, Reykjavik, Iceland, 24 - 29 August 2014 (Poster presentation)
Meier DB, Gunnlaugsson E, Gunnarsson I, Jamtveit B, Peacock CL, Benning LG.
A detailed study of precipitates from a geothermal power plant: Microstructures and compositions of silica rich scales at Hellisheiði power station, Iceland.
European Geothermal PhD Day, Darmstadt, Germany, 31 March – 2 April 2014 (Oral and poster presentation).
Jamtveit, B, Hawkins, C, Benning, LG, Meier, DB, Hammer, O, Angheluta, L.
Precipitation patterns during channel flow.
Fall Meeting AGU, San Francisco, USA, 9-13 December 2013 (Oral presentation)
DANIELA B. MEIER, TOMASZ M. STAWSK, CAROLINE L. PEACOCK AND LIANE G. BENNING
Lysozyme controls the character of biomimetic silica composites
http://goldschmidt.info/2015/uploads/abstracts/finalPDFs/2091.pdf
Daniela Meier, D.J. Tobler , C.L. Peacock and L.G. Benning (2013)
Protein-silica interactions: The effect of lysozyme on the structure of amorphous silica
Mineralogical Magazine, Volume 77, Number 5, July 2013 , pp. 1661-1817(157)
http://goldschmidt.info/2013/abstracts/finalPDFs/1732.pdf
DOI:10.1180/minmag.2013.077.5.13
Meier DB, Gunnlaugsson E, Gunnarsson I, Wijayathunga N, Peacock CL, Benning LG
Silica precipitation inside a geothermal heat exchanger reduces production of thermal energy: case study from the Hellisheiði geothermal power plant
International Carbon Conference 2014
Meier DB, Gunnlaugsson E, Gunnarsson I, Jamtveit B, Peacock CL, Benning LG
Micostructures and compositions of silica rich precipitates at the Hellisheiði geothermal power plant.
Clay Minerals & Environmental Mineralogy Groups' Research in Progress Meeting, Durham, United Kingdom, 2014
Journal articles:
van den Heuvel DB, Stawski TM, Tobler DJ, Peacock CL, Benning LG
Formation Mechanisms of Biomimetic Silica-Lysozyme Composites
(in review with Advanced Functional Materials since March 2016).
Hawkins C, Meier DB, Angheleuta L, Benning LG, Jamtveit B
Aggregation of silica particles during pipeline flow.
(in review with Environmental Science and Technology since February 2016).
Meier, D. B., Waber, H. N., Gimmi, T., Eichinger, F., & Diamond, L. W. (2015).
Reconstruction of in-situ porosity and porewater compositions of low-permeability crystalline rocks: Magnitude of artefacts induced by drilling and sample recovery.
Journal of contaminant hydrology, 183, 55-71.
Rasmussen B, Krapez B, Meier DB (2014).
Replacement origin for hematite in 2.5 Ga banded iron formation: Evidence for post-depositional oxidation of iron-bearing minerals.
Geological Society of America Bulletin, 126 (3-4), 438-446.
Alt-Epping P, Diamond LW, Häring MO, Ladner F, Meier DB (2013).
Prediction of water–rock interaction and porosity evolution in a granitoid-hosted enhanced geothermal system, using constraints from the 5km Basel-1 well.
Applied Geochemistry, 38, 121-133.
Rasmussen B, Meier DB, Krapez B (2013).
Iron silicate microgranules as precursor sediments to 2.5-billion-year-old banded iron formations.
Geology, 41 (4), 435-438.
Meier, D.B. ; Gunnlaugsson, E. ; Gunnarsson, I. ; Jamtveit, B. ; Peacock, C.L. ; Benning, L.G.
Microstructural and chemical variation in silica-rich precipitates at the Hellisheiði geothermal power plant
Mineralogical Magazine, 78 (6), 1381-1389, January 2015
http://minmag.geoscienceworld.org/content/78/6/1381.short
http://minmag.geoscienceworld.org/content/78/6.toc
Meier DB, Stawski TM, Tobler DJ, Peacock CL, Benning LG
Characteristics of biomimetic silica-lysozyme composites formed via co-precipitation and adsorption of variable lysozyme concentrations: indications for the mechanism of silica-protein interaction.
(in preparation for Advanced Functional Materials)
Hawkins C, Meier DB, Angheleuta L, Benning LG, Jamtveit B
Aggregation of silica particles during pipeline flow.
(in review with Geochemica et Cosmochemica Acta).
