Research is being performed in this program area to develop advanced technologies to reuse power plant cooling water and associated waste heat and to investigate methods to recover water from power plant flue gas. Considering the quantity of water withdrawn and consumed by power plants, any recovery or reuse of this water can significantly reduce the plant’s water requirements.

Sponsored research includes the following: development of a cost-effective liquid desiccant-based dehumidification technology to recover water from plant flue gas; analysis of power plant waste heat to dry low-rank coals; diffusion-driven desalination to allow a power plant that uses saline water for cooling to become a net producer of freshwater; investigation of the use of condensing heat exchangers to recover water from boiler flue gas; and demonstration of regenerative heat exchange to reduce fresh water use in plants with wet flue gas desulfurization systems.

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