Opening the Flood Gates: Water Quality and Quantity in Power Generation

As was reported by Power Magazine, a study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office and reported on in “Running Dry at the Power Plant” (EPRI Journal, Summer 2007) predicts that water shortages will be experienced in the U.S. within the next 10 years under average climate conditions, and the situation will be more severe under drought conditions. With the global temperature fluctuating sporadically over the last few years, it is likely that the trend of unpredictable weather systems will continue for some time. What does this mean to those in the industry of power generation? As water is one of the fundamental elements of electricity generation, it is likely to have a profound impact.

Water is used as the standard coolant in most power generation processes, ranging from renewable energy resources to the heat-retention systems in nuclear power plants. The issue comes when the water used is either recycled back into the system or dumped, leaving potentially hazardous particulate matter in the water that can pollute the environment in which it ends up. The article from Power Magazine states that:

"Specific tower components have been developed and continue to undergo improvement as a direct result of decreasing water availability and increasing difficulty in obtaining permits for new cooling towers. For example, high-efficiency film fills maximize tower thermal performance, and modern drift eliminator designs can limit drift loss to as low as 0.0005% of the circulating water flow rate. Cooling tower fill is used to achieve the most economical heat transfer rate by providing increased contact surface area between the water and air."

It will be important for those in the power generation industry to monitor changes in cooling technology as water resources become more scarce. It is likely that in the future, our power generation output will be determined by the amount of water that is available for cooling applications in the industry. Until new methods of heat distribution and cooling are developed we will be dependent on water, and as water shortages continue to become more and more frequent, it is likely that our conservation of the element will determine our success for decades to come.

To read the article from Power Magazine, follow the link:

http://www.powermag.com/issues/features/Appraising-Our-Future-Cooling-Water-Options_2718.html