Coal-Fired Steam Electric Power Plant Achieves ZLD with Heartland Concentrator
CHALLENGE
Many coal-fired power plants treating flue gas desulfurization (FGD) purge water have relied on traditional brine concentrators—only to face costly downtime due to scaling and costly cleaning efforts.
This U.S.-based steam electric power plant needed an alternative ZLD solution that could:
- Treat FGD wastewater with calcium, sulfate, and chloride concentrations
- Handle variable water quality from routine operations and plant start-ups
- Minimize propane usage as natural gas was not available on-site
- Perform as a standalone system, independent of plant operations
- Improve reliability and uptime over legacy brine concentrator systems
SOLUTION
Heartland partnered with the plant and two consulting engineering firms to design a temporary—but robust—evaporative treatment system built around the Heartland LM-HT® Concentrator.
The system featured:
- A propane-fired hot gas system to provide thermal energy (in place of natural gas)
- The Heartland Concentrator™
- A residuals handling system to manage solid concentrate for disposal
- Automation and controls for operational flexibility and energy efficiency
RESULTS
The project exceeded expectations—transforming from a 6-month pilot to a multi-year full-scale operation.
- >90% system availability, even with temporary installation design
- Effluent solids averaged 60%, 10% higher than the original performance target
- Treated water with >50,000 mg/L TDS, 25,000 mg/L sulfate, and saturated calcium
- Handled startup and routine fluctuations with minimal operator adjustment
- Demonstrated significant turndown flexibility to reduce propane consumption
- All FGD purge water treated continuously after the first month of operation
This project demonstrates how Heartland’s Concentrator can replace traditional brine concentrators and deliver reliable ZLD performance—even under highly variable water chemistry conditions at coal-fired power plants.
