Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Geology (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Geosciences

Advisor/Mentor

Liner, Christopher

Committee Member

Shaw, John

Second Committee Member

Befus, Kevin

Third Committee Member

McGilvery, T.

Keywords

Arkansas; Brines; Co-generation; Geothermal; Lafayette County; Smackover

Abstract

The Smackover formation in south Arkansas is a known reservoir for brines with high temperature and salinity. Recently, Smackover formation brines in Lafayette County, Arkansas are a target for lithium extraction. A county-wide dataset of Bottomhole Temperatures (BHT) is used to estimate a lower bound geothermal gradient of 36 C/km and a reservoir temperature of 116 C at an approximate depth of 2725 m. The high temperatures make the brines a candidate for geothermal power co-generation. Geothermal power co-generation can be achieved by implementing an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plant. The Southwest Arkansas Lithium project anticipates a total of 54.1 MW of operational power. Deterministic estimations indicate approximately 10 MW of co-generated power from brine production. Uncertainty estimations using Montecarlo simulation for 10,000 trials suggest a P5 = 8.92 MW, P50 = 12.41 MW and a P95 = 16.68 MW. At P50 = 12.41 MW of co-generated power, the implementation of geothermal energy could offset 99 GWh/year, representing 22.3% of the total electricity needs for the Southwest Arkansas Lithium project.

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