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A US coal-fired power plant leverages Veolia's expertise to manage flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater

The challenge

Regulations are tightening around wastewater treatment and disposal from coal-fired power plants. In order to reach for a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) requirement and remain environmentally compliant, a large US coal-fired power plant is required to treat its flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater.

The solution

Veolia provided a complete solution to manage FGD wastewater. The treatment includes evaporation and crystallization leveraging Veolia's CoLD® Process (Crystallization Of high-solubility salts at Low temperature and Deep vacuum). The patented technology allows cost-effective crystallization of the highly soluble salts at lower temperatures and prevents additional pretreatment, which would be required using a conventional crystallizer. Veolia also provides operations and maintenance services for the evaporator/crystallizer system under a long-term, performance-based contract.

The benefit

The power plant receives uptime, capacity and effluent guarantees for a fixed fee. This includes full-risk maintenance for the process and ancillary equipment. During the course of the project, the customer and Veolia collaborated on addressing challenges such as pH and total suspended solids (TSS) variations in the influent to ensure reliable treatment. The services began in 2019 after construction was complete and have been considered a success by all parties.

Surpassed goals

Additional treatment requirements arose after decommissioning the older power generation units at the site. Veolia is in the process of supplying an additional brine concentrator, which will be part of the groundwater remediation and incorporated with the FGD treatment system. The flexibility, robust design and process expertise provided by Veolia allows a very cost-effective, integrated solution to treat multiple streams. The power plant enjoys the peace of mind knowing Veolia is providing guaranteed service, allowing the customer to focus on their core business, generating power.