PhD in Chemical control of silica scaling and corrosion in geothermal systems

School/Faculty: Mechanical Engineering 

Eligibility: UK Only 

Funding: School of Mechanical Engineering Studentship, in collaboration with SLB, providing the award of full academic fees, together with a tax-free maintenance grant at the standard UKRI rate of £20,780 per year for 3.5 years.  

Lead Supervisor’s full name & email address 

Dr Joshua Owen: j.j.owen@leeds.ac.uk 

Co-supervisor’s full name & email address 

Professor Richard Barker: r.j.barker@leeds.ac.uk 

Project summary 

Silica scaling is commonly found on the surfaces of carbon steel pipelines in the geothermal energy industry. Currently, there is a lack of understanding about the role silica scale plays on corrosion of the underlying steel once a deposit layer has formed. A common method for protecting carbon steel against mineral scaling and corrosion in aqueous CO2-containing environments (such as geothermal systems) is the continuous injection of chemical inhibitors into the process fluid. These inhibitors can function through a number of differing mechanisms in order to reduce the nucleation and/or growth of mineral scales and mitigate corrosion. Towards higher temperatures, the functionality of many chemical inhibitors is lost. Although the development of thermodynamically stable inhibitors is possible, this typically comes at a price of increased toxicity and reduced bio-degradability. 

Due to the ever-tightening legislation associated with chemistries used for industrial processes, the synthesis of new inhibitory molecules proves extremely challenging. Recent research has resulted in the synthesis of a new class of chemistries which have shown potential for control of silica deposition, though the mechanism of inhibition remains unclear. The project will explore new methodologies for the evaluation of such inhibitory molecules for scale and corrosion inhibition using bespoke high pressure and high temperature systems, with the intention of improving the understanding of the inhibition mechanisms. 

Please state your entry requirements plus any necessary or desired background 

A first class or an upper second class British Bachelors Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate discipline. 

Subject Area 

Mechanical engineering, materials science 

Keywords

Corrosion, corrosion inhibition, electrochemistry, geothermal energy

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