Nuclear, fossil, wind and solar power plant operators will spend $21 billion in 2014 for hardware and consumables to move, treat and monitor water. This is the conclusion reached by the McIlvaine Company by aggregating forecasts appearing in its power and water related market reports.
Coal-fired power plant operators in East Asia will account for the majority of the hardware expenditures and nearly 20 percent of the consumables. Nuclear, gas turbine and coal-fired power plants use massive amounts of water for cooling. Additional water is needed for the scrubbers and for the steam cycle. The water which is converted to steam has to be of the highest purity.
Wastewater from the scrubber, flyash transport, cooling water blowdown and other sources needs to be treated before release. This involves lots of chemicals and filtration equipment.
There is a movement toward zero liquid discharge. This involves evaporation of waste slurries. It adds additional hardware and cost to the operator, but eliminates any potential water pollution.
