Environmental science & technology
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Environ. Sci. Technol. · Mar 2011
Water use at pulverized coal power plants with postcombustion carbon capture and storage.
Coal-fired power plants account for nearly 50% of U. S. electricity supply and about a third of U. S. emissions of CO(2), the major greenhouse gas (GHG) associated with global climate change. ⋯ Replacing wet towers with air-cooled condensers for dry cooling would reduce plant water use by about 80% (without CCS) to about 40% (with CCS). However, the cooling system capital cost would approximately triple, although costs are highly dependent on site-specific characteristics. The potential for water use reductions with CCS is explored via sensitivity analyses of plant efficiency and other key design parameters that affect water resource management for the electric power industry.