Power Plant Cooling System Overview for

Researchers and Technology Developers

3002001915
Power Plant Cooling System Overview for
Researchers and Technology Developers

3002001915
May 2013

Contributors
John L. Tsou, John L. Tsou Consulting Services
John Maulbetsch, Maulbetsch Consulting
Jessica Shi, EPRI

ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE

3420 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304-1338 PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303-0813 USA
800.313.3774 650.855.2121 [email protected] www.epri.com
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 CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................1-1
1.1 Objective ......................................................................................................................1-1
1.2 Innovation Opportunities...............................................................................................1-1
2 COOLING SYSTEM TYPES .................................................................................................2-1
2.1 Once-Through Cooling .................................................................................................2-1
2.2 Closed-Cycle Wet Cooling ............................................................................................2-3
2.3 Cooling Pond................................................................................................................2-5
2.4 Dry Cooling ..................................................................................................................2-6
2.5 Hybrid Cooling ..............................................................................................................2-7
3 COST, PERFORMANCE, AND DESIGN DATA FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF COOLING
SYSTEMS................................................................................................................................3-1
4 APPROACHES TO WATER USE REDUCTION ...................................................................4-1
4.1 Modifications to Wet Cooling Towers............................................................................4-1
4.2 Use of Dry Cooling and Hybrid Cooling ........................................................................4-2
4.3 Improvements in Plant Efficiency ..................................................................................4-3
4.4 Other Sources of Water ................................................................................................4-3

iii
 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1-1 Innovation Opportunities to Dramatically Reduce Steam Power Plant Water
Withdrawal and Consumption ..................................................................................................1-2
Figure 1-2 Effect of Steam Condensation Temperatures on Power Production ........................1-3
Figure 2-1 Once-Through Cooling ............................................................................................2-2
Figure 2-2 Wet Cooling Tower .................................................................................................2-4
Figure 2-3 Wet Cooling Tower Designs ....................................................................................2-5
Figure 2-4 Direct Dry Cooling ...................................................................................................2-6
Figure 2-5 Hybrid Cooling ........................................................................................................2-7
Figure 4-1 Cooling Tower Makeup Water Flow Rate Versus Cycles of Concentration..............4-1
Figure 4-2 Inlet Spray for Enhanced Dry Cooling .....................................................................4-2
Figure 4-3 U.S. Department of Energy Projection for Nonagricultural Water Consumption ......4-3
Figure 4-4 San Juan Generating Station Water System Integration for Recycling and
Recovery..................................................................................................................................4-4

v
 LIST OF TABLES
Table 3-1 Base-Case Cooling System Design Specification.....................................................3-1
Table 3-2 Cost and Design Point Comparison for Various Types of Cooling Systems for a
500-MWe, Coal-Fired Steam Power Plant................................................................................3-1
Table 3-3 Dimensional Data for Various Types of Cooling Systems for a 500-MWe Coal-
Fired Power Plant ....................................................................................................................3-2
Table 3-4 Once-Through Cooling (Water-Cooled, Shell-and-Tube Steam Condenser) Design
Parameters for a 500-MWe Power Plant ..................................................................................3-2
Table 3-5 Closed-Cycle Wet Cooling (Condenser and Mechanical-Draft Cooling Tower)
Design Parameters for a 500-MWe Power Plant ......................................................................3-3
Table 3-6 Dry Cooling (Air-Cooled Condenser) Design Parameters for a 500-MWe Power
Plant ........................................................................................................................................3-4

vii
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Objective
Thermoelectric power plants traditionally have required large volumes of water to condense
steam from the turbine exhaust. EPRI is seeking proposals for early-stage, high-risk concepts
with game-changing potential for reducing water withdrawal and consumption at existing power
plants and facilitating the siting of new fossil, nuclear, biomass, geothermal, and concentrating
solar thermal power generators.
This paper was prepared for researchers and technology developers, with the following
objectives:
Provide educational information and design and performance data for power plant cooling
systems
Support initial feasibility assessment of advanced concepts and technologies for power
industry applications

Proposals submitted to EPRI for funding consideration are expected to include first-order
energy and water balance assessments addressing flow rate, pressure, temperature, and other
key parameters at the inlet and exit of each component in a system-level diagram.

1.2 Innovation Opportunities

About 90% of power plant water withdrawal and consumption is for cooling steam exiting the
turbine. Accordingly, to address the root cause of water use, EPRI is focusing on cooling system
innovations. The four balloons in Figure 1-1 identify high-impact research and development
(R&D) opportunities to dramatically reduce power plant water requirements.

1-1
 Boiler
Flue Gas
Steam 340F
1000F 4,060,000 lb/hr
500 MW
Evaporation Generator
5,000 gpm
and
Condense Drift Loss
Vapor 2.5 gpm
Turbine
Cooling
Tower Steam
Fan 2,500,000 lb/hr

Drift Utilize Waste Heat

Eliminator (60% Wasted.
Mainly from Steam
Use Less Water Condensation
Fill
System)
for Cooling P=0.5-.7 in H2O
Boiler
Air Warm Water Ash
TWB = 75F Air 102F
15-30 M acfm 250,000 gpm Condenser Improve Cycle
Efficiency

Makeup Water Blowdown Water

6,253 gpm 1,250 gpm Water
Cold Water 109F
82F (2.5 Hg)

Figure 1-1
Innovation Opportunities to Dramatically Reduce Steam Power Plant Water Withdrawal and
Consumption

As shown in Figure 1-1, at least 60% of the heat energy input to existing thermoelectric power
plants is lost to the ambient environment. Steam condensation systems account for the majority
of losses, releasing large amounts of potentially recoverable waste heat at about 102F (39C).
As a point of reference, note that the recoverable flue gas waste heat from a 500-MWe coal-fired
plant is estimated to be about 50 MW at 340F (171C).
Figure 1-2 shows the Rankine cycle on a temperature-entropy diagram for a steam power plant.
The solid red lines are for a coal-fired power plant; the large-dash red lines are for a nuclear
plant. The condensed steam is pressurized with a pump from Point 1 to Point 2 and is then heated
up in a boiler to reach from Point 2 to Point 3. From Point 3 to Point 4, the superheated steam
expands through multiple stages of a turbine to generate power. From Point 4 to Point 1, the
steam from the turbine exhaust is condensed into water by a steam condenser to complete the
cycle.

1-2
 T-S Rankine Cycle Diagram for Steam

600
3
500
Coal-Fired Power Plant
Temperature (C)

400

T-S Diagram f or
300
Pure Water

200
2 Nuclear Power
100 Plant
1 4
0
0 2 4 6 8 10

Entropy (kJ/kgK)

Figure 1-2
Effect of Steam Condensation Temperatures on Power Production

The area encompassed by the red lines represents the amount of power produced: The larger the
area, the more power generated. Due to its much higher superheat steam temperature, the coal-
fired plant is more efficient than the nuclear plant, in terms of the conversion of primary heat
energy to electricity. As indicated by the regions shaded in green, reducing the steam
condensation temperature (or steam turbine back-pressure) increases the area within the red
lines. EPRIs preliminary first-order estimates show that cooling innovations resulting in a 15C
reduction of the steam-condensing temperature, from 50C to 35C, would result in 5% more
power production. At an electricity price of $0.05/kWh, this is equivalent to $11M more annual
revenue for a 500-MW power plant.

1-3
2
COOLING SYSTEM TYPES
Cooling system technologies, which differ greatly in the amounts of water withdrawn and
consumed, include the following:
Once-through cooling 1
Closed-cycle wet cooling
Cooling pond
Dry cooling
Hybrid cooling

At present, about 43% of U.S. thermoelectric generating capacity is served by once-through

systems, 42% by closed-cycle systems, 1% by dry cooling systems, and the remainder by cooling
ponds. Regulatory requirements in several states are forcing existing plants to switch from once-
through to closed-cycle systems with wet cooling towers, and plants in many areas of the country
are facing water constraints that result in production losses and are leading to increased interest
in hybrid or dry cooling system retrofits. For new U.S. plants, permitting and public acceptance
issues have almost eliminated once-through cooling from consideration and have created
significant challenges to the use of current closed-cycle wet cooling technology. Many new
plants are required to use dry cooling only.

2.1 Once-Through Cooling

Once-through cooling systems withdraw cold water from and return heated water to a natural
water body such as a lake, a river, or the ocean. As shown in Figure 2-1, the water is pumped
through the tubes of a steam condenser.

1
Program on Technology Innovation: New Concepts of Water Conservation Cooling and Water Treatment
Technologies. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2012. 1025642.

2-1
Figure 2-1
Once-Through Cooling

As steam condenses on the outside of the tubes, the heat of condensation is absorbed by the
water flowing through the tubes. The water exiting the condenser, warmed by 15F to 30F
depending on system design, is returned to the original source. The amount withdrawn varies
from 25,000 to 50,000 gallons/MWh. Although none of the water is consumed within the plant,
some consumptive loss results from enhanced evaporation from the surface of the receiving
water due to the heated water discharge. The loss due to this enhanced evaporation is not well
known and is expected to be site-specific, but it has been variously estimated as 0.5% to 2% of
the withdrawn amount or 100 to 400 gallons/MWh.
The biggest drawback of once-through systems is that heated discharges may degrade the
receiving water body. The thermal pollution is most significant when the source of the water is a
river or other body with limited volume. Since the power plant requires a large quantity of
cooling water, it can become a significant percentage of the total water flow. Even after the hot
discharge water is blended with cold water, it can still increase the overall water temperature.

2-2
Increase in water temperature will reduce dissolved oxygen in the water. This could be harmful
to marine life.
Another drawback of the once-through system is fish impingement, especially small fish and
aquatic organisms in the larvae stage. Power plants often use travelling water screens at the
intake to prevent debris from entering the cooling system. The impact of fish to the screen can
sometimes cause injury or mortality.
Microfouling is the accumulation of deposits on the inside surface of the surface condenser tube.
Microfouling consists of organic deposits/scaling, biofouling materials, etc. The deposits
decrease the heat transfer rate. In order to control microfouling, power plants add chemicals such
as chlorine in the cooling water. The residual chemicals in the cooling water will be discharged
into the source water. This could also be harmful to marine life.
U.S. power plants using once-through cooling need a Clean Water Act 316(a) variance
demonstrating that the degree of harm done to the environment is no greater than what would
result from a closed-cycle system.

2.2 Closed-Cycle Wet Cooling

Closed-cycle wet cooling (Figure 2-2) is similar to once-through cooling in that cold water flows
through the tubes of a steam condenser and steam condenses on the outside of the tubes.
However, the heated water leaving the condenser, instead of being returned to the source, is
pumped to a cooling device such as a cooling tower, cooling pond, or cooling canal, where it is
cooled by evaporation of a small portion of the water to the atmosphere. The cooled water is then
recirculated in a closed cycle to the condenser tube inlets. The circulating water can be cooled to
within 5F to 10F of the ambient wet-bulb temperature at design conditions.

2-3
Figure 2-2
Wet Cooling Tower

Wet cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer thermal energy from heated cooling
water to the atmosphere. They transfer thermal energy through both sensible heat transfer to the
ambient air and evaporation to near the wet-bulb air temperature.
As ambient air is drawn past a flow of water, a small portion of the water evaporates, and the
energy required to evaporate that portion of the water is taken from the remaining mass of water,
thus reducing its temperature. Approximately 970 Btu of thermal energy is absorbed for each
pound of water evaporated. Evaporation results in saturated air conditions, lowering the
temperature of the cooling water to a value close to wet-bulb air temperature. To achieve better
performance, the heated cooling water is sprayed to a medium, called fill, to increase the surface
area and the time of contact between the air and water flow. Splash fill consists of material
placed to interrupt the water flow causing splashing. Film fill is composed of thin sheets of
material (usually PVC) upon which the water flows.
With respect to drawing air through the tower, there are two types of cooling towers: natural
draft and mechanical draft (Figure 2-3). Natural draft cooling towers utilize buoyancy via a tall
chimney. Warm, moist air naturally rises due to the density differential compared to the dry,
cooler outside air. Warm moist air is less dense than drier air at the same pressure. This moist air

2-4
buoyancy produces an upward current of air through the tower. Hyperbolic towers have become
the design standard for all natural draft cooling towers due to their structural strength and
minimum usage of material. The hyperbolic shape also aids in accelerating air flow through the
tower and thus increases efficiency. Mechanical draft towers use motor-driven fans to force or
draw air through the towers. Induced draft towers employ a fan at the top that pulls air up
through the tower. Forced draft towers use a blower-type of fan at the bottom, which forces the
air into the tower.

Figure 2-3
Wet Cooling Tower Designs

Since a cooling tower uses air to cool water, it does not cause thermal pollution of the source
water. However, it does consume water. The water is lost in the cooling tower through
evaporation, blowdown, and drift loss. Evaporation loss is directly related to heat load.
Blowdown is used to control the concentration of the dissolved minerals in the circulating water.
If the makeup water contains higher minerals content, then the blowdown volume will be higher.
Generally, the cycles of concentration are maintained between 3 to 7. The drift is water droplets
carried out by the exiting air. Modern drift eliminators can reduce the drift loss to at least
0.0005% of the circulating water flow.
Cooling towers also use a number of chemicals such as biocide to control biofouling, scale
inhibitor to control scaling, and corrosion inhibitor to control corrosion. The blowdown may also
contain these chemicals.

2.3 Cooling Pond

A cooling pond is a man-made body of water primarily formed for the purpose of supplying
cooling water to a nearby power plant. Cooling ponds are used where sufficient land is available,
as an alternative to a cooling tower or a once-through cooling system drawing on a natural water
body. The pond receives thermal energy in the heated water from the plants surface condensers,
and the energy is dissipated mainly through evaporation. The pond must be of sufficient size to
provide continuous cooling. Makeup water is added to the pond system to replace the water lost
through evaporation.

2-5
2.4 Dry Cooling
Dry cooling systems can be either of the direct type (Figure 2-4), in which turbine exhaust steam
is condensed in an air-cooled condenser (ACC); or of the indirect type, in which the steam is
condensed in a conventional water-cooled condenser (as in the case of once-through or closed-
cycle cooling) and the heated condenser cooling water is then recirculated to an air-cooled heat
exchanger before being returned to the water-cooled condenser. In the direct system, the steam is
condensed in the ACC in finned tube bundles (galvanized steel tubes with aluminum fins) as
diagrammed in Figure 2-4.
The water either withdrawn or consumed for cooling in either case is zero. A small amount of
water is typically used to clean the air-side surfaces of the air-cooled condenser or heat
exchanger once or twice a year.

Figure 2-4
Direct Dry Cooling

The condensing temperature, in the case of direct dry cooling, or the cold water temperature, in
the case of indirect dry cooling, is limited by the ambient temperature, which is always higher
than the ambient wet-bulb temperature. Although dry cooling achieves significant water savings,
the capital and operating costs are much higher than they are for closed-cycle wet cooling, and
the physical footprint is larger. Also, plant performance is reduced in the hotter times of the year
when the steam-condensing temperature (and hence the turbine exhaust pressure) is substantially
higher than it would be with wet cooling.
Another indirect dry cooling system is the so-called Heller System, which uses a direct contact
condenser instead of a steam surface condenser. The turbine exhaust steam is in direct contact

2-6
with the cold water spray, and no condenser tubes are used. The resultant hot condensate and
water mixture are pumped to an external air-cooled heat exchanger. The air-cooled heat
exchanger can be either mechanical draft, natural draft or fan-assisted natural draft type. The
direct contact condenser has the advantage of lower terminal temperature difference (TTD,
which is the temperature difference between the saturation steam temperature and the cooling
water outlet temperature) and thus lower turbine back-pressure.

2.5 Hybrid Cooling

Hybrid cooling systems have both dry and wet cooling elements that are used individually or
together to achieve the best features of each; that is, the wet cooling performance on the hottest
days of the year and the water conservation capability of dry cooling at other times. The wet and
dry components can be arranged in series or parallel as separate structures or integrated into a
single tower. The dry elements can be either direct or indirect types, as is the case for all-dry
cooling. The most common configuration to date has been parallel, separate structures with
direct dry cooling (Figure 2-5).

Figure 2-5
Hybrid Cooling

The drawback to hybrid cooling is that significant amounts of water are still required,
particularly during the summer. Therefore, it is most suitable for sites that have significant water
availability but not enough for all-wet cooling at all times of the year. For sites where water use
is highly limited and contentious, even the use of 20% of the all-wet amounts might be
unacceptable, requiring all-dry cooling to allow the plant to be permitted. For sites with adequate
water, the performance and economic advantages of all-wet cooling are large. In some cases,
plant siting might be eased by evidence of responsible citizenship, in which a plant developer
offers some degree of reduced water use to the local community concerned about water for
agriculture, recreation, or industry.

2-7
3
COST, PERFORMANCE, AND DESIGN DATA FOR
VARIOUS TYPES OF COOLING SYSTEMS
Tables 3-1 through 3-6 provide cost, performance, and design data for various types of cooling
systems for a 500-MWe coal-fired plant.
Table 3-1
Base-Case Cooling System Design Specification

Base Plant
Type Coal-fired steam
Capacity 500 MWe
Steam flow 2.5 106 lb/hr
Cooling system heat load 2.5 109 Btu/hr
Ambient Temperature 90O F
Ambient Wet Bulb 70O F

Table 3-2
Cost and Design Point Comparison for Various Types of Cooling Systems for a 500-MWe, Coal-
Fired Steam Power Plant

Cost Steam
Design System Evaporative Coolant
Cooling Ratio Condensation
Backpressure Cost Loss Flow Rate
System Relative Temperature*
(in Hg) (US$Million) (kgal/MWh) (kgpm)
to Wet (F)
Wet
cooling
2.5 2025 1.00 0.50.7 110 150-250
tower and
condenser
Dry direct 5 60100 2.55 0 135 0
Once-
through 2.5 1015 0.40.75 0.20.3 110 200-300
cooling
Hybrid 3 4075 24 0.10.5 115 50150

* Steam condensation temperatures are based on ambient air dry-bulb temperature of 100F and ambient air wet-
bulb temperature of 78F.

3-1
Table 3-3
Dimensional Data for Various Types of Cooling Systems for a 500-MWe Coal-Fired Power Plant

Steam Condenser Tower/Air-Cooled Condenser

Heat Tube Number Tube Cost Cell Cost
Cooling No. of Footprin
Transfer Diameter of Length (US$ Dimensions (US$
System Cells t (ft2)
Area (ft2) (in.) Tubes (ft) Million) (ft) Millions)
Wet
cooling 175,000 17,000 48 48 to 50,000
1.1251.25 3040 12.5 1520 710
tower and 350,000 35,000 60 60 80,000
condenser
Dry 64,000
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 4072 40 40 60100
direct 120,000
Once-
175,000 17,000
through 1.1251.25 3040 12.5 N/A N/A N/A N/A
350,000 35,000
cooling
10,000
48 48 to
50,000 10,000 410 36,000
Hybrid 1.1251.25 3040 0.42.5 60 60 3080
350,000 350,000 1530 24,000
40 40
48,000

Table 3-4
Once-Through Cooling (Water-Cooled, Shell-and-Tube Steam Condenser) Design Parameters for a
500-MWe Power Plant

Design Parameters
Circulating water flow (gpm) 250,000
Cooling water temperature rise (F) 20
Condenser terminal temperature difference (F) 10
Condensing temperature (F) 110
Condensing pressure (in. Hga) 2.5
Physical Dimensions
Arrangement Single-pass
Tube length (ft) 60
Tube diameter (in.) 1.25
No. of tubes 17,00035,000
Heat transfer area (ft2) 175,000350,000
Condenser Cost
Cost assumed per unit heat transfer area (US$)/ft2 7
Water Use
Withdrawal (gpm) 250,000
Consumption (gpm) ~20003000

3-2
Table 3-5
Closed-Cycle Wet Cooling (Condenser and Mechanical-Draft Cooling Tower) Design Parameters
for a 500-MWe Power Plant

Design Parameters
Circulating water flow (gpm) 250,000
Cooling water temperature rise (F) 20
Source water temperature (F) 70
Condenser terminal temperature difference (F) 10
Ambient wet-bulb temperature (F) 70
Cooling tower approach (F) 8
Condensing temperature (F) 108
Condensing pressure (in. Hga) 2.5
Tower Physical Dimensions (Condenser Dimensions Shown in Table 3-3)
Arrangement In-line
Number of cells 15
Cell width (ft) 60
Cell length (ft) 60
Tower length (ft) 900
Tower width (ft) 60
Tower Cost
Cost assumed at US$500,000/cell (US$ million) 7.5
System Cost
Cost including condenser, pumps, piping, and so on (US$ million) 1520
Water use
Withdrawal (gpm) 6000
Consumption (gpm) 5000

3-3
Table 3-6
Dry Cooling (Air-Cooled Condenser) Design Parameters for a 500-MWe Power Plant

Design Parameters
Air flow (acfm) ~7 107
Air temperature rise (F) ~30
Ambient air temperature (F) 90
Air-cooled condenser initial temperature difference (F) 45
Condensing temperature (F) 135
Condensing pressure (in. Hga) ~5
Physical Dimensions
Arrangement 10 6
Number of cells 60
Cell width (ft) 40
Cell length (ft) 40
Air-cooled condenser footprint (ft )
2
96,000
Air-Cooled Condenser Cost
Cost assumed at US$1.5 million/cell (US$ million) 90
Water Use
Withdrawal (gpm) 0
Consumption (gpm) 0

3-4
4
APPROACHES TO WATER USE REDUCTION
A number of approaches can be taken to reduce the freshwater requirements for power plant
cooling, including the following:
Modifications to wet cooling towers
Use of dry and hybrid dry-wet cooling
Improvements in plant efficiency
Use of other sources of water

4.1 Modifications to Wet Cooling Towers

Because the amount of water evaporated in a wet cooling tower is essentially set by the heat load
on the tower, there is little opportunity to reduce the evaporation loss. However, a fraction of the
heat load is carried by sensible rather than latent heat, in the form of the increased temperature of
the air stream as it passes through the tower. Changes in the choice of design choices for the
range, approach, and watertoair flow rate ratio (L/G) can lead to slight variations in the
sensible/latent heat ratio. Savings available, even with extreme choices, are limited to a few
percent and might well come at unacceptable cost in tower cost and performance.
Increased makeup or side-stream water treatment can allow operation at higher cycles of
concentration to reduce blowdown volume. As indicated in Figure 4-1, increasing the cycles of
concentration from 3 to 6 reduces the makeup required by 20%. However, an additional increase
to 10 cycles of concentration reduces makeup requirements by only an additional 9%. Above 10
cycles, the effect is essentially insignificant.

Cooling Tower Make-up

(for evaporation rate of 600 gallons/MWh)

2,000

1,800
Make-up requirement, gal/MWh

1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Cycles of concentration

Figure 4-1
Cooling Tower Makeup Water Flow Rate Versus Cycles of Concentration

4-1
4.2 Use of Dry Cooling and Hybrid Cooling
Dry and hybrid cooling can provide significant water savings at the price of significantly higher
capital cost for cooling equipment, increased operating power requirements, and some reduction
in plant output, which is higher for dry cooling than for hybrid cooling. A number of
considerations can be investigated, including the following:
Direct dry cooling (air-cooled condensers) has better cost/performance characteristics than
indirect dry cooling (air-cooled heat exchangers). However, indirect systems might be
required for nuclear applications. Modifications to the design and operation of nuclear
systems to accommodate direct dry cooling might be valuable.
The limiting heat transfer resistance in dry-cooled elements is on the air side of the
exchanger. The finned surfaces used to reduce this resistance are a major contributor to the
cost of dry cooling. Advances would come from enhanced, extended-surface heat transfer
performance, which avoids a corresponding increase in fan power requirements.
Other approaches with the potential to improve dry cooling and the dry portion of hybrid
systems include integration with thermal storage, improved resistance to wind effects, or
other innovative concepts such as inlet air cooling. An example of inlet air cooling with
water sprayed into the inlet air stream is shown in Figure 4-2.
Hybrid cooling systems will benefit from any improvements to dry-cooled elements.
Reductions in the cost of condensers or heat exchangers will permit hybrid systems to be
designed for lower water use targets for the same cost and power requirements as present
designs.

Figure 4-2
Inlet Spray for Enhanced Dry Cooling

4-2
4.3 Improvements in Plant Efficiency
Improved plant efficiency reduces the amount of heat rejection required per unit of power
produced and, therefore, reduces the specific water demand. Efficiency improvements can be
approached through improved plant design (better turbines; higher peak temperatures and
pressures); improved condenser design to lower turbine exhaust pressure; or other innovative
approaches.

4.4 Other Sources of Water

Alternatives to fresh surface water might be preferred for cooling, as the use of reclaimed or
treated water is projected to increase across a variety of applications as suggested in Figure 4-3.
Possible degraded water sources for cooling include treated municipal wastewater, agricultural
drainage, runoff, and produced water from drilling or mining operations, while groundwater and
estuarine or sea water may represent viable cooling sources at some locations. Typical issues
include the acquisition and transport cost to bring the water to the site and the need for additional
treatment before it can be used in cooling systems.

Figure 4-3
U.S. Department of Energy Projection for Nonagricultural Water Consumption

Water recovered from cooling tower discharge, flue gas, and coal cleaning operations represents
another option. These on-site sources can provide a modest fraction of the water required for all-
wet cooling. Some innovative approaches to recovering the evaporated water from cooling tower
discharge before dispersion into the atmosphere have been demonstrated. The recycling of water
after use by other processes in the plant or the use of cooling tower blowdown for supplying

4-3
water to other plant processes can reduce the total plant water usage. An example of well-
integrated water systems at a coal-fired plant with cooling towers is shown in Figure 4-4.

Evap & Drift

Plant Service Boiler Blowdown

Water
Plant Drains
San Juan Cooling Towers
River (4 units) Blowdown

Steam Losses
Overflow
Ash System (occasional) Process
(4 units) Coal Pile Runoff
Wastewater (occasional)
Ponds (3)
Water Lost

Spent Regen
to Disposal
Recycle to Limestone Prep

Boiler Make-up Demins (2)

Distillate

Brine
Limestone Prep FGDs Water Loss Concentrators (2)
(4 units) to Flue Gas

Brine
Water Lost Boiler Cleaning
to Disposal (occasional)
Slurry Dewatering
Make-up FGD Purge Water

Re-cycle
To atmosphere
Evaporation Ponds (75 acres)
To disposal
Simplified Water Balance
San Juan Generating Station

Figure 4-4
San Juan Generating Station Water System Integration for Recycling and Recovery

4-4
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