Process concentrate treatment by flotation at CHP plants

Summary

The problem of processing oily wastewater generated at power plants is discussed. Much attention is paid to the purification of process concentrate that is characterized by higher temperature (55–70 °С). A pneumatic flotation unit used for the process concentrate treatment at the South CHP plant operated by Lenenergo OJSC is considered. The major drawback of the unit is pointed out: the changes in the rubber properties result in the changes in air bubble dimensions, and the efficiency decreases. A possible solution to the problem can be the use of an ejection aeration system with a disperser. The experiments in a laboratory unit on determining the size distribution of the bubbles generated by the ejection aeration system at 55°С were conducted. In addition, model oily wastewater was subject to purification in a unit with the pneumatic and ejection aeration systems. The average size of the finely dispersed bubbles generated by the ejection aeration system with a disperser was 60 μm, and that of the coarse bubbles was 105 μm. It is shown that the use of the ejection aeration system with a disperser provides for reducing the residual concentration of oil products from 4 to 1 mg/l or reducing the purification time from 25 to 15 minutes.

Key words

flotation , ejector , pneumatic aeration system , air bubble size , dispersant , process condensate