How Georgia Power Achieved ZLD of FGD Wastewater Using Waste Heat and the Heartland Concentrator
CHALLENGE
To comply with tightening effluent limitation guidelines, Georgia Power’s coal-fired Bowen Plant needed to evaluate new strategies for treating and concentrating flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater to Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD). Traditional methods were falling short—either due to high cost, scaling issues, or operational complexity. The plant required a solution that could:
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Handle high-TDS wastewater with variable particulate concentrations
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Avoid scaling, corrosion, and erosion
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Integrate easily with existing power plant systems
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Support a fully ZLD-compliant process
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Minimize maintenance and operator intervention
SOLUTION
Heartland deployed its Concentrator in a demonstration project at Plant Bowen to test a novel ZLD approach: using waste heat from flue gas as the sole thermal energy source to evaporate and concentrate FGD wastewater.
This closed-loop system was engineered for high uptime and seamless integration, with key benefits including:
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Direct-contact evaporation (no heat exchangers to foul or scale)
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Corrosion-resistant materials for long-term durability
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Flue gas integration that reduces energy costs and emissions
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Simple operation with minimal maintenance or process disruption
RESULTS
In just 14 days, the Concentrator delivered measurable success:
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95% volume reduction of FGD wastewater
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98% equipment availability
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Solidified residuals that passed TCLP testing for safe disposal
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Reliable performance across fluctuating flue gas conditions
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Full alignment with ZLD processing goals
This project proved that the Heartland Concentrator can transform waste heat into a reliable, cost-effective path to ZLD compliance for coal-fired power plants.
Download the full case study to see how Heartland’s Concentrator can help your facility meet ZLD targets with lower cost and complexity.
