In compliance with environmental regulations regarding sulfur levels in emissions to the atmosphere, thermal power plants implement desulfurization technology, which develops the following process: the gases from the combustion of coal in the boiler, after passing through the electro-filters, are pushed by fans towards a gas-gas heater where their temperature is increased. Once they have reached the required temperature, they are introduced into the absorber or scrubber, where the lime slurry (absorbent) captures their SO2 and uses oxidation air to facilitate the chemical reaction.
From there, the gases are directed towards the chimney to avoid condensation and exit to the outside at a temperature above the sulfur dew point. Thanks to this desulfurization process, SO2 is reduced by 95%.
As a result of the process, a gypsum slurry remains at the bottom of the absorber, which, once dried, is transported to a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) plant.
Alternatively, recent studies are evaluating the possibility of using it as a byproduct in other applications, such as soil amendment and agricultural production. Likewise, the filtered water obtained is mostly reused in the same process, and only a small part (purges) is diverted to the effluent treatment plant.
This plant mainly consists of a vacuum evaporator of the flash type with forced circulation to treat the purges from the scrubber of the desulfurizer, after passing through a previous stage of Physical-Chemical treatment.
The brackish water is distilled in the evaporator, and high-quality distilled water is obtained, which is recycled back to the absorber or scrubber, while the concentrate (brine) represents less than 5-10% in volume of the treated water.
In this process, a ZERO DISCHARGE is achieved.
