Stibnite Scaling in a Binary Power Plant in Turkey

Abstract

A geothermal binary cycle power plant in Germencik Turkey has shown a serious decrease in performance at the beginning of summer 2013. Increase in the differential pressure of the power planted suggested that clogging was present in the system. All heat exchanger units were opened and a black-greyish scale with a thickness varying between 1 to 4 mm was encountered in all heat exchangers. Deposits were analyzed and the results showed that they consist of %60-70 antimony and %30-40 sulfide, which led to the conclusion that stibnite was the main cause of scaling in the system. This was the first recorded stibnite scaling phenomenon in Turkey. Stibnite scaling occuring conditions, preventation and cleaning studies have been discussed in this paper.