Water Systems in Power Plants An Overview

Introduction Water is a basic requirement for steam generating power plants and its availability and quality are primary considerations in siting major steam-generating facilities. Water is used for multiple purposes in power plant processes. Water systems deals with supply / receipt of water, treatment of water to provide the required quality of water to various process in the plant, distribution of water in the plant, collection / treatment and disposal of wastewater generated in the plant. Duly considering the functions of water systems as enumerated above, the water system is covered under the following sub systems: Raw Water System Cooling Water System Water Treatment Plant Service Water System Potable Water System Fire Protection System Effluent Treatment / Disposal system

Key functions of each system and their importance are as follows. Raw Water System This forms the lifeline of the plant as it meets the raw water requirement. This system covers drawal of water from the source (rivers / lakes / sea / aquifers), transportation from source to the plant site, storage at plant site and pre treatment. This system has to ensure continuous availability of raw water for uninterrupted operation of the plant even in the event of nonavailability of water from the source. Further, proper pre-treatment of raw water is to be provided to meet the quality requirement of the various processes in the plant. Key factors to be addressed by raw water system are: Adequate storage to take care of interruptions in raw water supply from source. Reliability of water supply system Treatment to ensure water free of turbidity / suspended solids, colloidal silica and organics.

Typical raw water requirement for power plants is given in Table - 1 and water balance is given in Fig. 1.

Cooling Water Systems Almost all plants, be it a Thermal Power Plant or an Industrial Plant, require water cooling of lubricants, primary coolant of process equipment and steam turbine condensers. The cooling water (CW) system has to ensure supply of requisite quantity of cooling water for all coolers, at required temperature and dissipation of the heat absorbed. The cooling water system should also address the following: Suitable treatment for prevention of corrosion / scaling in the coolers / heat exchangers Minimise water loss in the form of system blowdown and utilisation of this blowdown for other services Impact on environment and compliance with regulations Water Treatment System In Thermal Power Plant / Industrial Plant, De-Mineralised (DM) water would be required for steam generator (SG) make up and some times soft water would be required for process requirement and cooling tower makeup. For this purpose, where fresh (raw) water of good quality is available [with a total dissolved solids less than 300 ppm (parts per million)], a DM plant will be provided for producing DM water and a softening plant will be provided for producing soft water. DM plant and softening plant will consist of ion exchange units. Where fresh water quality is not good, a Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant upstream of DM plant will be provided. In coastal stations where fresh water availability is scarce, generation of fresh water from sea water through thermal desalination or RO membrane process will have to be considered. Proper operation / performance of DM plant is very important for the entire plant operation as any deterioration in the make up DM water quality will lead to deterioration of steam quality which may ultimately result in shutting down of the plant. Service and Potable Water System In a plant, water is required for drinking and other miscellaneous purposes such as toilets, gardening, washing, air conditioning / ventilation system etc. These requirements are intermittent and fluctuating. The system normally consists of a pumping system and a storage tank at a suitable elevation to meet the fluctuating demand and a proper piping distribution system to ensure availability of required flow at all consumer points. Fire Protection System A plant is associated with risk of fire. It is therefore essential to provide suitable fire protection system for fighting / extinguishing the fire and to prevent / minimise damage of equipment / structure. Furthermore, a well designed fire protection system as per norms of Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC) / Loss Prevention Association (LPA) will enable the plant owners to obtain suitable discount on the insurance premium. The fire protection system has to address the following: Nature of fire hazard and probability of fire occurrence Accessibility which will dictate need for manual or automatic systems Type of system to be provided such as hydrant system, high / medium velocity water spray system, gas-flooding system, portable extinguishers.

Effluent Treatment System Any plant generates wastewater, which cannot be discharged directly to drains or streams outside plant boundary due to its inferior quality. Sources of power plant effluent are mainly CW blow down, regeneration effluent from WT plant, plant drains and coal pile run off water. Effluent treatment deals with collection of plant effluents and treatment of the same to make the wastewater suitable for either reuse in the plant or discharge outside plant boundary. This system assumes very great importance in light of the present stringent pollution regulations and greater emphasis on zero discharge concepts / water conservation Conclusion There has been a gradual depletion of natural resources of water due to growing industrial demands. This could cause a severe water shortage in the future if left unattended. This has promoted experts world wide to focus their attention towards efficient use of water and wastewater management. Further, a steady decline has been observed in the quality of natural water supplies while on the other hand there has been an increase in the demand for water of ultra pure quality. Therefore it is necessary to critically review various water treatment processes available so as to select the most optimal technology that would be cost effective, efficient and environmentally friendly.

Published: TCE World July 2005