Power Generation
Nearly 48% of each gallon of freshwater withdraw in the United States is consumed by thermoelectric power plants. Most of this water is used for cooling, and undergoes little or no significant purification. That said, the availability of fresh water is a limited and dwindling natural resource. In areas where freshwater scarcity is already an issue, abundant brackish and seawater supplies may be filtered and desalinated to insure a reliable supply. In most cases, systems centered around reverse osmosis technology provide the most energy efficient means of desalination.
As the demand for energy increases, so does the demand for freshwater, even though the available supply of freshwater is under pressure from myriad other user segments. Once taken for granted, water resources must now be considered as an integral part of power generation planning and operations. Crane Environmental has over 150 years of experience in water for power generation and has always considered fresh water a scarce resource.
Turbine Misting
Another application for purified water in the power generation industry is Gas Turbine Intake Air Cooling. In order to maintain peak operating efficiency, ambient air temperature may be managed by the introduction of water mist into the turbine intake. As water is mostly incompressible, and may also contain dissolved solids, adequate water treatment is a must to prevent wear, damage and ultimate turbine failure. Reverse osmosis systems are a natural solution to water quality for gas turbine misting as they reduce harmful TDS in the water to tiny amounts, thus protecting expensive turbine blades and other parts from impingement.
Petro Chemical
As with power generation, petrochemical plants require vast amounts of water. Petroleum refining is one of the largest "wet" processing industries in the United States.
Water consumption in a typical large refinery, relying on surface water plant feed, may be divided into the following areas (by volume in descending order):
- Cooling Towers (80-85%)
- Boilers
- Desalting
- Process
- Sanitary
Depending on the quality of the available water supply, cooling water may require minimal water treatment, but boiler feedwater quality should be optimized for maximum boiler efficiency and minimum maintenance. Cochrane deaerators remove free oxygen from boiler feedwater, preventing corrosion and extend maintenance cycles. EPROi reverse osmosis (RO) systems remove total dissolved solids (TDS) from feedwater, preventing performance-robbing scale. RO systems also maximize the use of water and improve boiler efficiency, extend blowdown cycles, reduce chemical consumption and reduce carbon dioxide production.
Hotels & Resorts
With most population growth occurring in metropolitan areas, it is no wonder that people want to "get away from it all." The hotel and resort industry benefits from this natural tendency and creates attractions on beautiful seashores and on remote tropical paradise islands. These lush tropical environments are surrounded by warm white sands, palm trees, puffy white clouds and lots of seawater. In may cases, demand for freshwater outstrips supply, leaving desalination as the only option for creating a stable and reliable supply of water. In other cases, municipal water supplies are available but at a price that is higher than on-site desalination.
Crane Environmental was among the first companies to engineer and build packaged seawater desalination systems for hotels and resorts. Click here for more information
CE packaged desalination systems are designed for optimum energy conservation and may include remote monitoring for off-site system management, offering peace of mind to hotel and resort operators.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing plants are primary consumers of purified water. In many cases, even previously treated municipal water sources, while perfectly safe for human consumption, contain mineral and other impurities that are harmful to specific manufacturing processes. The incoming water stream in a manufacturing plant is usually divided into multiple sub-streams as depicted below:
Reverse Osmosis (RO-centric) vs. Deionization (DI-centric) Water Treatment
As the diagram illustrates, and as is true in many industrial plants, most of the incoming plant feedwater is consumed by the cooling towers and boilers. Until very recently, technology and economics dictated a DI-centric water treatment approach. Recent gains in RO membrane efficiency have tipped the scales toward an RO-centric approach.
Having said that, however, there are many applications where the most advantageous approach is a combination of the two technologies. Crane Environmental's approach to the application of water technology is to perform a 360 degree assessment of all customer and process requirements and define the ideal solution. Our business model, which is based on engineering and building water treatment systems, rather than manufacturing chemicals or mechanical components, allows us to package the best solution without prejudice or bias.
As a result, most CE packaged water systems are a closely-knit collection of technologies that are optimized for performance, maintenance and cost. We have the freedom to let the water science and your specific needs determine the best option versus being driven by inventory levels of "Chemical X" or how many units of "Pump Z" we have on the shelf. Our "Just-In-Time" manufacturing means gives us the latitude to do what is right for your application every time.
Well Drilling
In many parts of the world, groundwater is the most available, most reliable and best source of fresh water. Depending on the location, and even time of year or climate conditions, the water quality produced from these wells may be excellent or problematic. As the "universal solvent" ground water readily incorporates mineral and other contaminants in encounters, some of which are acceptable for a given use, and others which are not.
Crane Environmental has a great deal of experience working with the well drilling industry to analyze groundwater and engineer systems that bring the water quality in line with end user requirements. A large number of our customers are well drillers who are asked to provide complete water treatment systems by contractors as a value-added service. CE takes the work out of this phase of construction by packaging economical water systems that often include water softening, degasification (especially hydrogen sulphide) and repressurization systems.
Carwash & Truck Wash
One of the wonders of modern technological advancement is the "Touch-Free" carwash. Part of the cost of increasing worker productivity levels is increasing pressure on leisure time. The "in-bay" automatic carwash helps consumers regain a bit of that time without asking them to sacrifice a spotless car or truck.
A key element of a carwash is the "spot-free" rinse system that eliminates the need to towel-dry vehicles. Anyone who has every hand-washed a car and let it air dry has probably noticed the unsightly spots that are left behind. These spots, which can be very difficult to remove, result from the magic of evaporation by which water is transformed into a gaseous state while dissolved solids (chiefly calcium carbonate) are left behind. Carwash equipment manufacturers realized early on that spotty cars = unhappy customers and turned to RO manufacturers to solve the problem.
Deep in the equipment bays at most automatic carwashes is a reverse osmosis system which removes the dissolved solids from a portion of the incoming water supply. This water is stored and used in the final rinse phase of the wash cycle. When the water is blown off by blowers, or simply evaporates as you drive off, there is nothing left behind except a shiny car, that is, if the car wash shiny under all that dirt in the first place.
CE EPRO and Force Filtration Eliminator spot-free rinse systems have been supplying low TDS water to carwash manufacturers and operators for over 30 years. In addition, we also supply the systems that distribute this water to the various automatic and manual wash bays in various carwash design configurations. On the environmental side, our RO and pretreatment systems are also key components in water recycling systems that allow carwash owners to reduce water consumption as well as waste disposal to drain. Click here for more information