Wastewater Treatment for the Concentrated Solar Power Industry

Wastewater Treatment For The Concentrated Solar Power Industry

Water and power are inextricably linked. You need water to generate energy, and power industries such as South Africa’s concentrated solar power (CSP) generator plants are some of the biggest water consumers globally. And, consequently, also some of the biggest wastewater producers.

We share how wastewater treatment can help solve these issues.

What are Concentrated Solar Power Plants?

Concentrated solar power plants use mirrors or lenses to direct the sun’s energy, driving steam turbines or engines to create energy. You can often store this energy to use whenever it’s necessary, regardless of whether the sun’s out.

These plants are generally located in arid regions as it requires high levels of direct sunlight. Together with the effects of windage, it further complicates the water requirement issues.

Wastewater Treatment For The Concentrated Solar Power Industry

What Do CSP Plants Require Water for?

CSP plants use surface waters collected from lakes, wells, rivers, etc., in several ways, such as cooling systems, mirror cleaning, and other operational usages.

Wastewater left behind in these processes gather in evaporation ponds. And to safely dispose of this wastewater and for recycling or reuse, treatment is necessary. 

Wastewater Treatment For The Concentrated Solar Power Industry

Why Wastewater Needs Treatment for Reuse

Most concentrated solar plants have evaporation ponds where wastewater is collected. When these water levels start to rise, it poses health, environmental, and operational risks.

Wastewater collected in evaporation ponds can also be high in metals and other harmful pollutants, posing risks to the environment, humans, and wildlife when released back into the ecosystem, which is where wastewater treatment comes in.

Water Treatment Solutions in the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Industry

NuWater’s mobile and scalable wastewater and desalination treatment plants can assist with centralised and decentralised operations, allowing us to remediate water sources regardless of where your CSP plant is located.

With our systems, we can help turn reclaimed water into high-quality water to keep your operations running without a hitch.

Wastewater Treatment For The Concentrated Solar Power Industry

Benefits of Recycling CSP Plant Wastewater

Due to the power industry’s high water usage, there’s also increased scrutiny on them to abide by these regulations. Recycling wastewater ensures that these plants leave a lighter ecological footprint and empowers them to abide by environmental laws and government legislation.

At NuWater, we’ve designed and build premium desalination system that set performance, productivity, and reliability benchmarks.

What is Recycled Wastewater Used for?

The recycled wastewater is either used as potable water or released back to its source after treatment. And to meet environmental and government legislation, businesses need to ensure that this recycled water is of high quality and suitable for reuse to avoid heavy penalties and potentially even closure.

Water Treatments that Work

Contact us for all your wastewater treatment needs.

About NuWater Water Treatment

NuWater is a smart water treatment solutions company. We have evolved from a dynamic new start-up to becoming industry leaders who are at the forefront of intelligent water treatment solutions. We provide real solutions, solutions that are sustainable, mobile, adaptable, resourceful and efficient. Solutions that are changing lives, communities, businesses, ecosystems, and environments for the better.

NuWater is your business partner when it comes to water treatment and liquid waste management. Our appetite for innovation and our constant drive to search for new, cutting edge, novel technologies ensures that we can meet the needs of our customers. We are a technology-led engineering company that designs, builds, finances, operates and maintains water treatment plants. Plants that treat contaminated water for the provision of high-quality drinking and industrial process water from almost any water source.