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"A Tradition Of Performance" |
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"A Tradition Of Performance" |
15 Years of Zero Discharge for Power Plants |
Electric power stations are a big
water consumer and can be a big wastewater
discharger...without "Zero Discharge"
technology. WCA pioneered much of the technology for
"Zero Discharge" power stations using a blend
of chemical engineering, computers, Today, electric power stations can use 1/3 less water and 2/3 less chemicals without discharging wastewater. These WCA "Award Winning" designs are in use from Maine to California to Florida. At first, costs to achieve these results were considered a burden by investors. Now, improved efficiency of power generation results in profit. According to Mr. Troy Taylor, Plant Chemist at Delano Energy (Calif.), the "Zero Discharge" equipment and computers save about $150,000 per year in cooling tower and boiler chemicals; perhaps $100,000 per year savings in acid and caustic for demineralizer regeneration. These chemicals would otherwise become discharge pollutants. In the last five years of operation, Mr. Taylor has collected and analyzed scores of data from his computers. Now, he can predict when boiler maintenance is required before expensive failure occurs. Also, scheduled shutdown for maintenance avoids rate penalties from the grid. This saves big bucks. "Zero Discharge" is an evolving technology with steady improvements made possible by the sharing of experience between design engineers and operating experts. WCA is dedicated to continuing as part of the team, supporting experts like Mr. Taylor in using advanced technology and operating knowledge for discovering better techniques for environmental good and for profits. |
POWER
PLANT ENGINEERING WCA, Inc. took the design lead in 1993-1994 for the environmental award winning Zero Discharge Cedar Bay Power Station in Jacksonville, Fla. WCA's staff directed the Project from concept to construction initiation. The plant was brought on-line by Bechtel and is operated by U.S. Generating Co. The $25 million water & waste facility includes $10 million dual unit falling film vapor compression evaporators, steam drying, barometric condensers and solids handling. The Cedar Bay Zero Discharge system was the largest and most advanced of it’s kind in the world at that time. WCA's design takes wastewater (containing organics and salt) from the adjacent paper mill as the water source for the $400 million power station, provides the needs of electric power generation, re-processes and concentrates the streams, and ultimately dries all waste to solid (95% dry) for off-site disposal. WCA was selected by the owner (AES) to design the system when the State of Florida denied the 350 MW coal fired power station an operating permit (environmental discharge non-compliance). General Electric referred WCA to the Project based on recent success with a similar project in Burney, CA. Bechtel constructed the Zero Discharge system. Black & Veatch/Maribeni were constructors of the power block. Today, the station is in compliance and is a commercial success under operating management of U.S. Generating Co. Engineering of the Cedar Bay project involved many technical, business, and public advocacy challenges. From a business point of view, a $400 million dollar investment by 10 international banks lay dormant for 2 years. From a public and government perspective, past design proposals by others were unacceptable and government confidence was lost. WCA addressed the many technical issues and won public confidence based on the successful Zero Discharge designs at 11 other facilities (in California, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island). |
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Eliminating
wastes from electric power generation... Today,
dozens of power stations throughout the U.S. operate
without discharging a single drop of wastewater, thanks
to 
