New patent awarded on removal of silica from geothermal brine
Hudson Ranch I geothermal power plant, March 2012, Salton Sea, California/ U.S. (source: EnergySource)
Alexander Richter
17 May 2017
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has awarded a patent on the extraction of silica from geothermal brine of geothermal operations.
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has issued a new patent on “treated geothermal brine compositions with reduced concentrations of iron and silica”.
The patent was filed for in February 2014, by inventors Stephen Harrison and John Burba, III who were then employed by Simbol Inc. in California, in the U.S.
This invention generally relates to treated brine compositions with reduced concentrations of silica and iron. These brine compositions can be utilized for preventing scale buildup in geothermal power plants and for improving infectivity of geothermal and other brines.
Certain embodiments of the invention also relate to the geothermal brine compositions from which silica has been selectively removed. More particularly, certain embodiments of the invention also relate to geothermal brine compositions from which silica and/or iron have been selectively removed. Further embodiments relate to treated brine compositions with reduced concentrations of silica and iron that may also be used for recovery of these metals, including lithium, zinc, manganese, and potassium.
For the full description see the complete Patent Filing, linked below.
Source: U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
