Preliminary Results from a WFGD Effluent Characterization Study and their Impact on Scrubber Operations and Waste Water Treatment

The USEPA, along with industry groups, Utility Water Act Group (UWAG) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) are currently conducting waste water studies at designated coal-fired power plants to determine if effluent guidelines should be revised. 1 Much of their interest is focused on the impact from air pollution control (APC) equipment on water quality and specifically from wet flue gas desulphurization (WFGD) systems or wet scrubbers. In parallel to these studies, Siemens Environmental Systems & Services (SESS) launched a similar program to study effluent water quality from SESS wet scrubbers. The following proceedings paper will present preliminary results from the study. Characterization of these waters will be discussed, including elements that are of regulatory interest, such as mercury, selenium, arsenic, and boron, as well as other water quality parameters, such as organics, chlorides, and suspended solids. The data will serve as a basis to direct future SESS studies and help to develop balanced solutions for scrubber operators to maintain optimum air pollutant removal performance while minimizing the impact to waste water treatment (WWT) and overall plant water quality.