Development of Innovative Water Treatment and
Cooling Technologies for Power Plant
Water Consumption Reduction
June 2012 EPRI Request for Information
Updates
1. Due to IT issues, we may not have received all submitted
proposals. If your submission does not appear on this list,
please contact us immediately.
2. The deadline to submit proposals has been extended to August
14th, 2012
3. The contract terms have been updated. Please refer to page 4.
Objective
EPRI is seeking innovative and energy efficient water treatment
ideas and technologies which will enable thermoelectric power
plants to reduce their freshwater consumption needs (Figure 1)
through the reuse of major water streams internal to the power
plants and the reclamation of degraded and non-traditional water
streams external to the plants. EPRI is also seeking out of the
box and breakthrough cooling and waste heat utilization ideas
and technologies with high potential to dramatically reduce water
consumption and withdrawal. Selected responses may be funded
or cofunded by EPRI and its collaboration sponsors.
Program Overview
This is a 2nd round of solicitation released by EPRIs
Technology Innovation Water Conservation Program which can
Figure 1. Illustration of a 500 MW Power Plant Steam and Cooling Water Flow System and Innovation Opportunities.
be found here. The mission of this program is to identify and fund
early stage water conserving technologies with a high potential to
be widely implemented within 20 years. Information about the
projects selected from the first solicitation in 2011 can be
found here. In early 2013, a joint EPRI Request for Information
(RFI) with National Science Foundation on water conserving
cooling technologies will be released.
Background
U.S. steam-electric plants account for approximately 40% of the
nations total freshwater withdrawals anddue primarily to evapo-
rative and drift losses from cooling systems with wet cooling tow-
ersapproximately 3% of overall consumption. Water use rates at
plants with these closed-cycle wet cooling systems may not be sus-
tainable in some locations, while thermal discharges from once-
through cooling face increasing regulatory scrutiny. Already, some
plants operate under water use restrictions or are being required to
install water-conserving technologies. Furthermore, the siting of
new capacity is challenged by water supply constraints. As a result,
breakthrough cooling and water treatment technology develop-
ment to enable both the reclamation of non-traditional water
sources and the reuse of major internal water and wastewater
streams are emerging as top priorities for various types of power
plants.
Currently used air cooled steam condensers
(Figure 2)the most water-efficient optionhave up to 10%
power production penalties on hot days, and up to five times
higher capital costs compared to current cooling tower and water-
cooled surface condenser systems. Game changing energy efficient
technologies for reclamation of non-traditional water sources and
the reuse of major internal water streams, as well as cooling
technologies for reducing the cooling water requirements
represent a critical industry need.
Eligibility
Ideas are being solicited from academia, manufacturers, startups,
national laboratories, consultants, independent inventors, and
others. Responses from the international community and those
outside and unfamiliar with the power industry are also
encouraged.
For those unfamiliar with the power industry, EPRI has assembled
water chemistry considerations which can be found here. Typical
operating conditions of cooling systems and other relevant infor-
mation can be found here.
Innovative Technologies of Interest (but not
limited to)
We seek innovative technologies to treat major streams of water for
water resource expansion and to significantly reduce cooling water
consumption and/or withdrawal at electric power generating stations.
Examples of areas of primary interest include, but are not limited to,
the following:
Water Treatment Technologies
Degraded and nontraditional water sources:
oo Technologies which enable cost effective utilization of
municipal wastewater effluent and brackish water.
Process cooling applications:
oo Moisture recovery from cooling tower (more than 20%)
or boiler flue gas
Figure 2. Illustration of a Typical Air Cooled Condenser for Power Plants
Development
of Innovative Water Treatment and Cooling
Technologies for Power Plant Water Consumption Reduction
oo Post treatment of blowdown water from evaporative
cooling tower operations to enable reuse on site,
preferably for cooling system make-up water.
oo Pre-treatment and side stream treatment in order to
increase the cycles of concentration in the cooling
system.
oo Technologies which leverage existing processes and
infrastructure such as waste heat.
General plant water and wastewater systems (Note: The
Key Measures of Merit are not all applicable to ideas in
this category as they may be funded at different funding
levels by other EPRI programs.):
oo Including regenerative waste, plant process streams and
low volume wastewater and plant sumps and collection
systems.
oo Cost effective tritium separation technologies for light
water reactor nuclear power plants;
oo Treatment of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater
for removal of contaminants of concern for onsite reuse
and/or compliance with environmental discharge limits;
oo Zero liquids discharge (ZLD) processes, including more
cost effective: concentrate management (concentrating,
sorting, disposal), re-use of RO reject and/or water from
demineralization processes.
oo Please note that power plant water quality requirements
(e.g. cooling tower chemistry criteria) defy a generic
prescription; there exists wide variability among
plants and among water streams within each plant.
However, the common goal to manage water resources
effectively is shared among all power providers. The
chief objectives of developing above water treatment
technologies are to achieve significant reductions in
cost, energy usage, and/or operating issues such as
scaling, corrosion and fouling.
Advanced cooling technologies
More efficient and compact dry cooling solutions:
oo Reduced steam condensation temperature from 30C to
10C above the ambient temperature.
oo Improved air side heat transfer coefficient by three times
from 50 W/m2/K to 150 W/m2/K without significant
increase of ACC size and fan power consumption
oo Alternative dry cooling solutions to further reduce
steam condensation temperature
Less water consumption from wet cooling systems:
oo Less evaporative loss in cooling towers (> 20%)
oo More efficient and compact liquid cooled heat
exchangers or condensers
oo More efficient once-through cooling designs (meeting
EPA Clean Water Act Section 316 requirements)
More efficient hybrid dry and wet cooling systems
Heat driven chillers (COP > 1.2) to reduce steam
condensation temperature in hot days resulting in improved
power production
(New cooling concepts taking advantage of waste heat utilization, and the
adoption of advanced cooling systems used in other industries are also of
primary interest.)
2 June 2012
EPRI is interested in all types of generation including fossil, nuclear,
solar, biomass, geothermal, and various combined cycles. Responses
may address technologies that are applicable to a group of generation
types or specific to one. For instance, specific water treatment tech-
nologies may be more or less applicable to cooling systems of a specific
metallurgy. Responses should clearly articulate and quantify the
benefit(s) from deployment of the technology or concept at power
plant(s).
Key Measures of Technical Merit
Innovation (out of the box or cutting edge)
Impact on reduction of fresh water withdrawal and/or
consumption, and energy use
Economic potential in terms of cost and space in 10 to 20
years
Respondents capabilities and related experience
Realism of the proposed plan and cost estimates
Budget
EPRI is currently planning to make this research area one of the
main foci of its research in coming years. For this RFI, please sub-
mit a budget for each project not to exceed $500K over a maxi-
mum of a three year period.
Timetable
RFI posting: June 12, 2012
RFI Informational Webcast (Slides, Recording)
RFI response due: 5pm PDT: August 14, 2012
Tentative Award/Rejection Notice: November, 2012
This is the second round of solicitation of concepts. Responses received
after the deadline will be considered for future rounds of funding.
Response Guidelines
Requested Information (if relevant to response)
Respondents are requested to provide the following information
in their response:
Company/institutional name
Company/institutional technical and business contacts
Company/institutional background and experience
Brief description of the operations and mission of business or
institution (several sentences will suffice)
Addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of principal
investigator(s)
Bios or resumes of principal investigator(s)
Web links
Explicit project title, such as Solar/Waste Heat Driven Dry
Cooling System
Abstract (no more than 500 words with technology innovation
description and impact data)
Objective
Technology description
Please describe the following succinctly:
Development of Innovative Water Treatment and Cooling
Technologies for Power Plant Water Consumption Reduction
Technology basic operating principles with diagrams
describing unique and innovative facts
Target level of performance with technical data or other
support to show how the proposed target could be met
Current technology readiness level (TRL) and the
anticipated TRL at project completion
Current state-of-the-art and competing technologies in the
relevant field and application, including key shortcomings,
limitations, and challenges
How the proposed technology will overcome the
shortcomings, limitations, and challenges in the relevant
field and application
Potential impact on the relevant field and application
Anticipated number of years required for commercialization
Anticipated cost of the commercialized technology or
project economics
Efficiency
Specifications (for example, flow rate, capacity, pressure,
and temperature)
Flow diagram with flow rate, temperature, and energy
balance data at both component level and system level for
integrated approach A system level diagram with above
required data is required if waste heat is needed.
Preliminary assessment plots, data, and calculations
The key technical risks/issues associated with the proposed
technology development plan
Scope of work
Project tasks
Modeling and simulation experiences and plans
Testing experiences and plans
Schedule (project length not to exceed three years)
Funding expectation (not to exceed $500K per project)
Deliverables
Additional Information
Responses should not exceed 10 pages, including drawings, tables,
pictures, and references (excluding cover page, bios and resumes).
Minimum 12-point font, single spacing, and standard margins
should be used.
More than one response is allowed per respondent.
The following guidance describes legal considerations regarding
how EPRI intends to manage the information received in response
to this RFI, and EPRIs general stance on intellectual property
considerations relevant to funded proposals. Please note that EPRI
may be willing to negotiate contract terms on an individual basis
for top proposals. For example, EPRI may have greater flexibility
on terms of intellectual property ownership and license rights to
domestic universities, government labs, and other federal, state, or
municipal government agencies. For specific information regard-
ing our university agreements, please click here.
Our external reviewers are asked to sign confidentiality and con-
flict of interest agreements before reviewing any submission mate-
rial. In any public releases, EPRI may acknowledge contributions
from developers and collaborators.
3 June 2012
 All submittals will be considered non-confidential and non-pro-
prietary. Any information obtained as a result of this RFI is
intended to be used by EPRI on a nonattribution basis for
program planning and possible future funding. EPRI plans to
distribute the submittals to potential funding organizations and
its review committee for consideration. EPRI may also provide
summaries of some proposals in an EPRI report.
EPRI has no obligation to respondents, and will not be required
to provide feedback on any decision, but may contact selected
respondents for questions. EPRI will not pay for information pro-
vided under this Request for Information (RFI) and there is no
guarantee that any submittal will be supported as a result of this
RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance
or financial incentives. This RFI does not limit EPRI from provid-
ing to third parties products or services (including research ser-
vices) which may be competitive with the products or services of
the respondent or providing products or services to third parties
who may compete with the respondent. Accordingly, nothing in
this Agreement shall be construed as a representation or inference
that EPRI will not independently develop products or services for
itself or for third parties, that compete with the products or ser-
vices of respondents.
A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commit-
ment to develop or pursue the project or ideas proposed. All proj-
ects will depend upon adequate funding and successful negotia-
tion and execution of a written contract. The contract provides a
framework for the research effort by stating the rights and obliga-
tions of the parties. The contract consists of the EPRI general
terms and conditions, applicable to all work to be performed by
the respondent as contractor, and the project agreements specifi-
cally tailored to each research effort. Each project agreement
includes scope of work, period of performance, funding, and
deliverables. EPRI generally awards cost reimbursement contracts.
Fixed-price contracts are awarded only in certain circumstances.
Technical Contact
Water treatment: Sarah Inwood, MS, Project Engineer/Scientist;
sinwood@epri.com or at 650.855.2320
Cooling: Jessica Shi, PhD, Sr. Project Manager; jshi@epri.com or
at 650.855.8516
1025767 June 2012
Electric Power Research Institute
3420 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303 USA
800.313.3774 650.855.2121askepri@epri.comwww.epri.com
2012 Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Inc. All rights reserved. Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI, and TOGETHERSHAPING THE FUTURE OF ELECTRICTY are registered
service marks of the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
Due to funding EPRI provides, as well as its tax-exempt status,
EPRI will generally take ownership of all intellectual property
rights that arise in connection with the work performed under the
contract. The contractor is not granted any license rights to this
intellectual property in the contract. However, EPRI is very inter-
ested in commercializing the results of its research and welcomes
inquiries on the licensing of the technology. If there are back-
ground intellectual property rights necessary to practice the fore-
ground technology being developed under the EPRI contract, the
contractor must agree to grant EPRI, on a royalty-free or reason-
able royalty basis, a non-exclusive, worldwide license to practice
the background technology, including the right to sublicense.
More detail may be found under About EPRI/Contractor
Resources on www.epri.com.
No resubmission of any previous RFI response without updating
is necessary. All unrejected responses from the first round of RFI
will be compared with new proposals.
Submission and Deadline
All responses to this RFI must be delivered electronically in Micro-
soft Word (.doc) or PDF format as an attachment to an e-mail
sent to waterrfi@epri.com.
E-mails should have the subject line: RFI-Organization Name-
Project Title of the Response. Responses to this RFI must be sub-
mitted by 5 p.m. PDT on August 14, 2012.
Responses received after the deadline will be considered for the
future rounds of funding.
Frequently Asked Questions
General questions regarding this RFI should be emailed to Water-
RFI@epri.com. Questions collected by Wed. may be answered
here by the following Tuesday.
EPRI thanks you for your consideration and response in address-
ing this very important societal issue.
General Contact
WaterRFI@epri.com or Vivian Li, BSc, Technical Assistant
vli@epri.com or at 650.855.2309
Please notify Vivian if you would like to be on EPRIs e-mail
distribution list for future related notifications.