1. Operational and Environmental Issues Relating to Industrial Cooling Water Systems: An Overview

Water is acknowledged to be one of the most essential commodities for almost all kinds of industrial activity. Among the various industrial uses of water, its use as a heat removal fluid is of foremost importance. Thermoelectric generation, which is but one of the several industries that use water, accounts for more than 50% of all such use. The industrial use of water, especially in rapidly developing countries, is expected to grow further and aggravate an already precarious situation concerning availability of and demand for water. Accelerated growth in the power generation industry alone will account for a major share of this demand. A typical thermal power plant of 2,000 MWe capacity, on an average, needs cooling water at the rate of 65 m³/s; the requirement would be about 50% more in the case of a nuclear power plant (Ecological effects of thermal discharges. Elsevier Applied Science, London. 1990, pp. 28–103). Most of this water is used for low-energy steam condensation.