An Experimental Study on Bio-Clogging in Porous Media during Geothermal Water Reinjection

To study the mechanism of bio-clogging in a porous medium during the reinjection of geothermal water and to improve reinjection efficiency, an indoor one-dimensional reinjection experiment was conducted based on the geological model of the geothermal reinjection demonstration project in Dezhou City. The biological process of porous media clogging was investigated by analyzing the variation of permeability within the medium, the main indexes of nutrient salts, and the content of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). High-throughput sequencing, based on 16S rRNA, was used to analyze the characteristics and succession of microbial communities during the reinjection of geothermal water. The results of the study show that significant bio-clogging occurs during the reinjection of geothermal water, with an increase in the heterogeneity of the thermal reservoir medium, and a decrease in permeability. The extent of clogging gradually reduces with an increase in seepage path. Thus, thermal reservoir clogging is more serious closer to the water inlet. With an increase in the duration of reinjection, the permeability of the porous medium undergoes three stages: “rapid”, “decline-slow”, and “decrease-stable”. The results show that the richness and diversity of the bacterial community increase and decrease, respectively, during the reinjection process. Bacterial community succession occurs, and the bacterial communities mainly include the Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla. Pseudomonas and Devosia are respectively the dominant bacteria in the early and late stages of geothermal water reinjection.

Permeability and setting time of bio-mediated soil under various medium concentrations

The bio-clogging using bacteria can be an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional grouting methods for seepage control.However,it remains unclear to date how the dilute concentration of bacterium and medium during field installation can affect the setting time of bacterium and its correlation with permeability reduction.In this study,the setting time of bacterium and its effectiveness in permeability reduction were addressed through experimental and theoretical investigations.A series of sand column was cultivated using different concentrations of Leuconostoc mesenteroides and culture medium.The distribution and composition of the bacterial product(i.e.dextran)were observed by refractometer,scanning electron microscope(SEM),and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS).Soil permeability was recorded using a constant head test.The results revealed that bacterium was effective to produce dextran at the setting time of about 5 d after installation.This dextran can reduce the permeability of bio-mediated soil by two orders of magnitude,even without culture medium supply.In general,the dextran production decreased proportionally with increase of bacterium and medium concentration.However,at 50%bacterium and medium concentration by weight,it still has a significant influence on permeability reduction with similar setting time,compared to 100%concentration.