Water Treatment at EGATs North Bangkok Power Plant

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n order to ensure efficient and environmentally friendly operations, many power plant operators are choosing to install water treatment technology at their facilities. We asked Mr. Jennarong Termthanam, Section Head of the Chemical & Environment Department at EGATs North Bangkok Power Plant, to give us an overview of the water treatment facilities. The North Bangkok Combined Cycle power plant is located at Bangkruai in the Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok city. The plant has been in commercial operation for almost two years, and the 725 MW station uses 120 Mcuft/day natural gas from Myanmar to generate electricity. There are a number of long term benefits that water treatment at the plant has had towards the overall plant operation. With a steam flow of 607 tons/hour produced by a three stage pressure heat recovery steam generator, the plant needs the most efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly water treatment plant to compliment its operations. There is a regimented treatment process that water undergoes to ensure that it is useable. For the boiler feed water, the treatment facility utilises raw water from the Chao Phraya River. This river is a fresh water source in close proximity to the power plant. About 30-35 m3/h of this water is treated with a Micro Filter, and the suspended particles (the undesirable materials taken out of the water) are captured within the filter.

egat water treatment

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The filter effluent is sent to be stored in a service/ fire water storage tank, to be cooled as service water. Feed water pumps then transfer the service water to the Reverse Osmosis (RO) system. The RO system consist of two trains designed to produce 15 m3/h/train and sent to Mixed Bed Exchangers using hydrochloric acid and caustic for resin bed regeneration. The mixed bed effluent is then cooled as de-mineralized water. The water treatment process used by EGAT is an innovative one. The conventional system pumps raw water to the Clarifier, where it is treated with a coagulant, a coagulant aid, and lime, in large quantities to produce cleared water. It is then sent to Ion exchangers and regenerated with acid and caustic to produce de-mineralised water. The integrated membrane based system used by EGAT is very compact, and is installed in limited space to reduce the waters exposure to aggressive chemicals throughout its consumption. EGAT did face some challenges in the selection and implementation of a water treatment system. For example, during the start up of the power plant, the use of a large quantity of de-mineralised water was required. This was solved by implementing RO, by which two trains are started together in series (double pass), which could reduce salt irons and control such limits. This allowed the plant to treat a large amount of brackish water in the summer of 2010. Tap water supply was also installed to support unexpected events. The North Bangkok Power Plant is now set for an expansion, and that expansion will also have water treatment facilities. The EGAT plant is to use a MF-

RO-EDI (Electro-deionization) water treatment system to ensure low-chemical usage throughout the power plant. Reducing the use of aggressive chemicals is a priority for EGAT, and the North Bangkok Plant has been highlighted as a benchmark project in that regard. The reduction of chemicals is included in their Environmental Policy. ISO 14001 & TIS 18001 (Thai Industrial Standards). This means that measures are implemented to guarantee environmental and occupational safety, and health management in all power plant activities. New, clean water treatment technology assists the power industry to reduce the use of aggressive chemicals, and EGAT recognises that water treatment facilities help the power industry to develop. As such, reliability & availability in water treatment processes is now becoming more and more of a consideration before planning to build any future power plants. This is because without water, power plants would cease to function, and there are a number of factors that restrict access to the pure water required for operations. For example, climate change influences quality and quantity of boiler feed water. A serious lack of water supply is also hindering the power industry, and this could be solved by the development of desalination works. Addressing the water crisis similar has become very much a hot issue in Thailand. Desalination works are most definitely a clear way in which to address any scarcities. The development of the North Bangkok Power Plant expansion will begin next year.
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