Economic impact of condenser fouling in existing thermoelectric power plants

Walker, Michael E.; Safari, Iman; Theregowda, Ranjani B.; Hsieh, Ming-Kai; Abbasian, Javad; Arastoopour, Hamid; Dzombak, David A.; Miller, David C.

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2012.06.010

Cited by 58 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In wet recirculating cooling circuits, water is heated in an exchanger called condenser, which is then cooled in a cooling tower predominantly by evaporation, and a large amount of water is then recycled (around 10-50 times the make-up flow rate) to the condenser after cooling. Typically, for a power plant, up to several hundreds of metric tons of CaCO 3 deposits are observed annually, corresponding to a significant economic impact [41]. Owing to the large volume of water in the circuit (implying a water mean residence time of several hours) and a high recirculation ratio, a large amount of chemicals are required to avoid nucleation, such as polymers to extend the induction time and/or acids to decrease the pH of water.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pilot plant experiments and modeling of CaCO3 growth inhibition by the use of antiscalant polymers in recirculating cooling circuits

Neveux¹,

Bretaud²,

Chhim³

et al. 2016

Desalination

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New experimental data of antiscalant polymer efficiency are presented.• Industrial pilot plants are used using natural raw water.• We present, validate and discuss a model for polymer efficiency.• We provide insights on scale mitigation in recirculating cooling circuits. a b s t r a c tRecirculating cooling circuits are prone to the deposition of scale on heat exchangers and packing surfaces. The addition of antiscalant polymers is efficient for inhibiting the precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) because polymers block the active growth sites. In this study, growth inhibition of calcite by using such polymers in industrial pilot plants operating with natural river water, which is critical to mimic a full-scale cooling circuit and accurately evaluate scale inhibition, was reported. Efficiencies of three commercial polymers were compared. The polymers thus investigated demonstrated comparable efficiencies and similar responses to changes in operating conditions. An adsorption-based model was proposed to quantify the inhibition of precipitation kinetics with respect to the process operating conditions and water qualities. Then, the model was validated at a wide range of polymer concentrations, temperatures, and water qualities, representative of industrial systems. A small amount of polymer was sufficient to affect bulk-scale prevention, albeit the efficiency became constant at high polymer concentrations. Under these conditions, a complementary treatment such as acid injection is necessary.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pilot plant experiments and modeling of CaCO3 growth inhibition by the use of antiscalant polymers in recirculating cooling circuits

Neveux¹,

Bretaud²,

Chhim³

et al. 2016

Desalination

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“…Lei et al (2012), discussed a simplified theoretical model to study fouling growth, the characteristic of fouling deposit, effects of working time, and cooling water velocity. Walker et al (2012), presented a methodology to quantify the economic impact of condenser fouling on the performance of thermoelectric power plants. Webb and Ralph (2011), determined the performance and economic benefits of using enhanced condenser tubes in an existing nuclear plant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of condenser cooling seawater fouling on the thermal performance of a nuclear power plant

Ibrahim

Attia

2015

Annals of Nuclear Energy

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“…In thermoelectric power plant cooling systems, fouling lowers the overall heat transfer coefficient and negatively impacts power production efficiency [39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The model will be useful for evaluating the potential performance and treatment needs for alternative sources of cooling water, such as MWW. In addition, the model can be used to assess the economic impact of municipal wastewater utilization in the thermoelectric power plants [39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilization of municipal wastewater for cooling in thermoelectric power plants

Safari

Walker

Hsieh

et al. 2013

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h i g h l i g h t sA model is developed to predict the water quality in the recirculating cooling loop. NH 3 and CO 2 evaporation in the cooling tower can significantly impact cooling loop pH. The effects of the CO 2 and NH 3 mass transfer coefficients on loop pH are quantified. Salt formation significantly impacts the loop pH for nitrified municipal wastewater. The rates of evaporation of volatiles are proportional to the flow rate of the blowdown. a b s t r a c t A process simulation model has been developed using Aspen Plus Ò with the OLI (OLI System, Inc.) water chemistry model to predict water quality in the recirculating cooling loop utilizing secondary-and tertiary-treated municipal wastewater as the source of makeup water. Simulation results were compared with pilot-scale experimental data on makeup water alkalinity, loop pH, and ammonia evaporation. The effects of various parameters including makeup water quality, salt formation, NH 3 and CO 2 evaporation mass transfer coefficients, heat load, and operating temperatures were investigated. The results indicate that, although the simulation model can capture the general trends in the loop pH, experimental data on the rates of salt precipitation in the system are needed for more accurate prediction of the loop pH. It was also found that stripping of ammonia and carbon dioxide in the cooling tower can influence the cooling loop pH significantly. The effects of the NH 3 mass transfer coefficient on cooling loop pH appear to be more significant at lower values (e.g., k NH 3 < 4 Â 10 À3 m/s) when the makeup water alkalinity is low (e.g., <90 mg/L as CaCO 3 ). The effect of the CO 2 mass transfer coefficient was found to be significant only at lower alkalinity values (e.g., k CO 2 < 4 Â 10 À6 m/s).

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Economic impact of condenser fouling in existing thermoelectric power plants

Cited by 58 publications

References 13 publications

Pilot plant experiments and modeling of CaCO3 growth inhibition by the use of antiscalant polymers in recirculating cooling circuits

Pilot plant experiments and modeling of CaCO3 growth inhibition by the use of antiscalant polymers in recirculating cooling circuits

The influence of condenser cooling seawater fouling on the thermal performance of a nuclear power plant

Utilization of municipal wastewater for cooling in thermoelectric power plants

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