The interest in the usage of geothermal energy has increased exponentially during the past few decades and researchers internationally are currently focusing on improving the harvesting methods and promoting it due to its many benefits, compared to traditional energy sources. Corrosion and scaling are two of the most severe problems occurring when harvesting geothermal energy. Scaling takes place due to the variety of anions and cations that the majority of the geothermal reservoir waters contain, and are prone to both precipitation and deposition when subjected to dramatic changes in temperature and pressure, causing failures to several parts of the plant. One of the most commonly occurring scales in such systems is aluminum silicate, a persistent deposit whose structure, as it is formed in geothermal waters, differs completely from its geological counterparts. In this work we focus on revealing the true nature of the so-called “aluminum silicate”, performing a series of synthesis experiments under various conditions that take into account aluminum and silicate concentrations, solution pH and temperature. Complete physicochemical characterization of the aluminum and silicate precipitates reveals that it is a precipitate that shares several characteristics with amorphous silica.

在过去的几十年中，人们对地热能的利用兴趣成倍增长，与传统能源相比，国际研究人员目前正致力于改进收割方法并促进其发展。腐蚀和结垢是收获地热能时最严重的两个问题。结垢是由于大多数地热储层水中所含的阴离子和阳离子种类繁多，并且在温度和压力发生剧烈变化时易于沉淀和沉积，从而导致工厂的多个部分发生故障。这种系统中最常见的水垢之一是硅酸铝，一种持久性沉积物，其结构是在地热水中形成的，与地质学完全不同。在这项工作中，我们着重于揭示所谓的“硅酸铝”的真实性质，并在各种条件下进行了一系列合成实验，其中考虑了铝和硅酸盐的浓度，溶液的pH值和温度。铝和硅酸盐沉淀物的完整理化特性表明，它是与无定形二氧化硅具有多种特性的沉淀物。