Managing Water in an Increasingly Demanding Power Market

摘要

Jncreasing demand, evolving energy sources and environmental drivers are shifting the global power landscape. With growing populations in emerging markets, like Asia and Pacific, comes growing demand for power and new installations. The shifting global energy landscape means the global water landscape is also shifting, as water is used to propel the turbines that run the generators that produce power for communities around the world. The power generation industry relies on quality water to complete the processes necessary to generate electricity. Thermal cycle plants also require large amounts of water for steam, cooling and condensing. In the U.S. alone, the National Renewable Energy Lab notes that electricity production from fossil fuels and nuclear energy requires 190,000 million gallons of water per day, accounting for 39 percent of all freshwater withdrawals. These demands for water are shaping the shift in water treatment in power generation from freshwater sourcing to waste-water treatment and reuse. For example, strong environmental drivers in China and the U.S. are increasing flue gas desul-phurization (FGD) and minimum liquid discharge (MLD) applications. Typically the upgrades to advanced water treatment are done in phases, starting with the lower hanging fruits such as increasing the cooling tower cycles or treating the cooling tower blowdown for a reuse.