The Use of Butanols as Tracers at the Coso Geothermal Field
- Key words
- Geothermal tracers; alcohol tracers; geothermal energy; reservoir management; Coso geothermal field
- Location
- Coso, California
- Conference
- Geothermal Resources Council Transactions
- Year
- 2012
- Session
- Tracer testing; Butanol; Naphthalene sulfonates; Methanol
- Language
- English
Abstract
A tracer test was conducted within the east flank compartment at the Coso geothermal field using naphthalene sulfonate tracers in combination with methanol and three isomers of butanol (n-butanol, 2-butanol and isobutanol). Methanol and two of the three butanol isomers (n-butanol and 2-butanol) were measured in production wells and in concentrations much greater than their detection limits. The east flank compartment has temperatures at depth exceeding 275oC. In spite of significant thermal degradation, the isomers of butanol proved to be useful tracers under the thermally demanding conditions at the Coso geothermal field.
Copyright 2012, Geothermal Resources Council. Readers who download papers from this site should honour the copyright of the original authors, and may not copy or distribute the work further without the permission of the original publisher.