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Thermal effects on microbial composition and microbiologically induced corrosion and mineral precipitation affecting operation of a geothermal plant in a deep saline aquifer

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Abstract

The microbial diversity of a deep saline aquifer used for geothermal heat storage in the North German Basin was investigated. Genetic fingerprinting analyses revealed distinct microbial communities in fluids produced from the cold and warm side of the aquifer. Direct cell counting and quantification of 16S rRNA genes and dissimilatory sulfite reductase (dsrA) genes by real-time PCR proved different population sizes in fluids, showing higher abundance of bacteria and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) in cold fluids compared with warm fluids. The operation-dependent temperature increase at the warm well probably enhanced organic matter availability, favoring the growth of fermentative bacteria and SRB in the topside facility after the reduction of fluid temperature. In the cold well, SRB predominated and probably accounted for corrosion damage to the submersible well pump and iron sulfide precipitates in the near wellbore area and topside facility filters. This corresponded to lower sulfate content in fluids produced from the cold well as well as higher content of hydrogen gas that was probably released from corrosion, and maybe favored growth of hydrogenotrophic SRB. This study reflects the high influence of microbial populations for geothermal plant operation, because microbiologically induced precipitative and corrosive processes adversely affect plant reliability.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the public utilities of the city Neubrandenburg providing access to the topside facility of the heat store. In addition, we thank AMODIA Bioservice GmbH (Braunschweig, Germany) for SSCP analyses and MicroPro GmbH (Gommern, Germany) for MPN counting. In addition, we thank Rickard Lindner for the analyses of the SRB diversity using dsrB gene fragments. We are thankful to Alexandra Vetter and Andrea Vieth-Hillebrand for the DOC measurements and the analyses of the dissolved organic acids in the fluid samples. This work was supported by Federal Ministry of the Environment, Natural Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU, grant No. 0327634).

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  1. Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, International Centre for Geothermal Research ICGR, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Stephanie Lerm, Anke Westphal, Rona Miethling-Graff, Mashal Alawi & Hilke Würdemann

  2. Boden Wasser Gesundheit GbR. (BWG), 17041, Neubrandenburg, Germany

    Andrea Seibt

  3. Geothermie Neubrandenburg (GTN), 17041, Neubrandenburg, Germany

    Markus Wolfgramm

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  1. Stephanie Lerm
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  2. Anke Westphal
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Correspondence to Hilke Würdemann.

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Communicated by A. Oren.

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Lerm, S., Westphal, A., Miethling-Graff, R. et al. Thermal effects on microbial composition and microbiologically induced corrosion and mineral precipitation affecting operation of a geothermal plant in a deep saline aquifer. Extremophiles 17, 311–327 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-013-0518-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-013-0518-8

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