Description:
The energy transition and progressive digitization require large amounts of mineral raw materials or metals, some of which are classified by the EU as "critical" in terms of their availability. These critical raw materials (CRM) are currently a largely unnoticed resource in geothermal fluids.
Therefore, in addition to using geothermal energy as a renewable energy source, the extraction of dissolved mineral raw materials from geothermal fluids is also proposed.
WP1: Screening, collecting and mapping of CRM in geothermal settings. We focus on the total gas content and gas composition in geothermal fluids with a focus on helium concentrations and their matrix as well as on critical elements in the rocks through which the fluid flows.
WP2: Sources of elements, their mobility and sustainability. The focus is on very specific elements such as rare earth elements (REE) or Li, Cu, Sr etc. in the rocks through which the geothermal fluids flow in order to discuss where these elements are bound, how long these elements will be present in the fluids and what concentrations can be expected. If necessary, we also record the concentrations of these elements in the scalings of the fluids that are deposited in the infrastructure for pumping the fluids in order to also use this source for the production of the elements.
WP3: Development of a membrane-based extraction method for helium from geothermal fluids. Here, gas-brine separation performance of polymer-based membranes will be tested with regard to their stability under elevated pressure and temperature conditions. Secondly, the research focusses on the helium selectivity of the membranes in a CO2-dominated matrix.
