(54c) A Combined Cost Model to Evaluate the Economic Impact of Degraded Water Use in Thermoelectric Cooling Loops
AIChE Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety
2012
2012 Spring Meeting & 8th Global Congress on Process Safety
Environmental Division
Water Reuse and Treatment in the Chemical and Energy Industries
Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 9:00am to 9:30am
The thermoelectric power industry in the U.S. uses a large amount of freshwater. The large water demand is increasingly a problem, especially for new power plant development, as the availability of freshwater diminishes in the United States. Reusing non-traditional water sources, such as treated municipal wastewater, provides one option to mitigate freshwater usage in the thermoelectric power industry. This paper presents the development of an integrated costing model to assess the implications of degraded water use, including treatment requirements and the impact of increased tube scaling in the main condenser. A case study of various treatment scenarios is provided for three plants in regions of differing water availability, to provide insight into the ramifications and benefits of degraded water use as makeup to thermoelectric recirculating cooling loops.