Water Reuse and Recycle in the U.S. Steam Electric Generating Industry - An Assessment of Current Practice and Potential for Future Applications

摘要

The study assesses the current and future potential for wastewater reuse and recycle by the steam electric generating industry in the United States. Fifty-three power plants employing one or more of the following reuse/recycle measures were identified by a literature search and interviews with reuse/recycle experts--cascading higher quality wastewaters to lower quality uses, recirculating ash sluice water, using cooling tower makeup or sidestream softening, treating and reclaiming wastewaters, using dry cooling systems, and using municipal effluents as plant intake water. Detailed case studies were performed on eight of the 53 plants surveyed.