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... Mine Water for Thermoelectric Power Generation -West Virginia University's National Mine Land Reclamation Center A 300 megawatt power plant (Beech Hollow Power Plant) has been proposed to burn coal refuse from the Champion coal refuse pile -the largest coal waste pile in Western Pennsylvania ( Figure 5). The plans called for use of public water at the rate of 2,000 to 3,000 gallons per minute (gpm). ...
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... Over 80 per cent of industrial water use worldwide is devoted to thermal power generation, while in the US and other industrial countries, the figure rises to almost 90 per cent [8]. A 500 MWe coal-fired power plant uses more than 45,000 cubic meters of water per hour (withdrawal) [9]. ...
Addition of a CO2 capture system to an existing power station has some impact on water consumption. CO2 capture systems require additional water for cooling and process make-up. During the past decade, a number of relevant studies have been published that estimate the increase in water use when a capture system is added to Pulverized Coal (PC), Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) and Integrated Gasifier Combined Cycle (IGCC) power generation facilities. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of these estimates available for post-, oxy- and pre-combustion CO2 capture systems, making it possible to compare different technologies, and to better understand how adding a CO2 capture system on a power plant impacts the volume of water withdrawn and consumed. The results of this study serve to dispel myths about the use of water in CCS systems. Specifically, they challenge the generic statement that CCS systems will double water consumption, which is often reported in papers and articles. Water use estimates cannot be generalized and are very dependent on the power plant type, the CO2 capture technology and the cooling system used. The estimates indicate that for power plants served by wet-recirculating systems, the increase in actual water consumed varies approximately from 20 to 60 per cent, depending on the capture technology. For once through cooling systems the increase can be negligible, or even be negative when water recovery options are implemented.
Over the next few decades, the challenge of water scarcity is expected to grow more acute as water demands from the power generation, agriculture, industrial, and municipal sectors all increase. Energy production requires copious amounts of water, with the volume of water used by power generation ranking second only to that used for agriculture. This article reviews options for managing the water requirements associated with power generation. Although the effects of both existing and emerging modes of power generation on water use trends are explored, the primary focus is on thermal systems, which account for the majority of existing capacity.
