Calculating the carbon-dioxide balance in the cooling systems of large power plants

Abstract

The investigated problem relates to the thermal and nuclear power plants circulating cooling systems’ rewater scale-forming properties assessment. Analysed are the existing carbon dioxide balance and CaCO3-supersaturated solutions calculation methods with estimation of possibilities to use a variety of criteria equations for this purpose. Proposed is a method for solving an equations system describing the carbon-dioxide balance with respect to the equation of total alkalinity at TPPs and NPPs turbine condensers’ cooling water that can greatly simplify the calculations with the required accuracy. This enables operating personnel to predict carbonic acid various species’ concentration at the circulating cooling systems’ rewater under variable operating conditions of the existing power facilities. Exposed are the measured and calculated physical-chemical properties’ values of the circulating water considered for the TPPs and NPPs cooling systems’ actual operating conditions.

Keywords

• circulating cooling systems
• carbon-dioxide balance
• rewater