Evaluation of return cooling water reuse in the wet cooled power plant to minimise the impact of water intake and drainage

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The treatment and reuse of industrial water is a matter of great interest, given the severe shortage of water resources. It is widely acknowledged that power plants, particularly wet-cooled power plants, consume a significant amount of water. Therefore, research on the circulating cooling system (CCS) and the treatment of the return cooling water is of utmost importance. This study examined data on CCS inlet (water body), make up, and cooling water parameters, calculated a water balance, and predicted the hydrochemical quality of cooling tower blowdown water (CTBD). The study was conducted for an operating power plant to propose an effective treatment scheme for the return of CTBD to the process cycle. Additionally, it evaluated the possibility of recycling CTBD in the clarifier through laboratory modeling. Therefore, based on the results of this study, an effective treatment scheme is proposed to return CTBD to the technological cycle to ensure environmental sustainability. Recycled water was used as the water supply for the cooling tower, and a lime softening treatment was applied to clean the CTBD. According to the results, it is possible to recover quality indicators from a portion of the return cooling water after lime softening treatment. The novelty of this study lies in the successful demonstration of a lime softening regime that enables the blending of up to 25 % CTBD with make up water, without necessitating an increased CaO dose. This regime maintains TH levels at 2.2 mg-eq/dm³ and ensures that the discharge velocity of 0.7 m/s remains within regulatory standards. Additionally, it maintains standard concentrations of chloride (Cl⁻) and sulfate (SO₄²⁻) in CTBD at 200 mg/dm³ and 250 mg/dm³, respectively.