Fly Ash Ponds and Wastewater Treatment is the Hot Topic Hour on Jan. 21, 2010
In the aftermath of the TVA ash pond dam failure last year utilities are looking to minimize the risks that they may face with their own ponds and react positively to public perceptions of all holding ponds as dangerous. There has also been renewed concern from the public fueled by environmentalists that the water in these ponds is leaching into rivers and streams nearby and reaching the ground water table bringing tons of poisonous contaminants primarily arsenic and heavy metals into their drinking water. In addition, wet fly ash may soon be labeled a hazardous waste and at the same time water discharge permits have become increasingly stringent allowing for the release of only very low concentrations of pollutants in plant effluents. As a result, some utilities are now looking at draining their ponds and converting to dry storage for all of the solid wastes generated in the plant. The utilities are really faced with two problems: how to dispose of the water currently held in ponds and how to deal with the water effluents from the various APC process such as wet FGDs.
The following speakers will address these issues, discuss the various options available to current operators of holding ponds and the options available to reduce wastewater volume as well as treat the wastewater generated by the plant process.
Naomi Levy, Lead Industrial Engineer at Infilco Degremont Inc. - Fly Ash is one of the many byproducts generated in power plant’s operations as a result of the combustion of coal. It contains all the non-combustible minerals that were deposited with the coal and is highly variable. In many places this residue is being collected in ash ponds. Unless treated or reused, it would stay inside the structure “forever” potentially being a candidate for a disastrous spill or contributing to the contamination of the water receiving body. This presentation will describe treatment options for both the Fly Ash and the Fly Ash Pond Leachate. It will include Infilco Degremont’s (IDI’s) expertise in treating this considerably variable and complex water.
Ivan Cooper, PE, BCEE, Program Manager at WPC, Inc. - A Terracon Company - In the aftermath of the TVA accident, increasing regulations will be forcing utilities that have holding ponds for wet ash management to evaluate alternatives to continued use. When ponds are closed, wet processes with discharge such as FGD blowdown must be addressed. Options for treating plant process wastewater that often contains regulated discharge constituents such as selenium, arsenic and other heavy metals as well as nitrogen compounds from SCR units will be presented.
Bill Shaw, P.E., Sr. Process Engineer at HPD, a Veolia Water Solutions Company will discuss “Zero Liquid Discharge (ZDL) Systems for Power Plants”. ZLD systems have been used for over 40 years to eliminate wastewater discharges from power plants. ZLD systems continue to be perceived to be expensive from both a capital and operational perspective. However, new technologies including polymeric and ceramic membrane pre-concentration and the new CoLDTM crystallization process provide power plants with less expensive options to effectively and economically reduce or eliminate water discharges whether from wet scrubbers or holding ponds.
Tom Poole, CEO of Frontier GeoSciences, Inc.
Jim Hill, Senior Vice President of Arcadis
To register for the “Hot Topic Hour” on January 21, 2010 at 10 a.m. CDT (Chicago time), click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/FGDnetoppbroch/Default1.htm.
Bob McIlvaine
President
847 784 0012 ext 112