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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by Murphy Siding mark_in_utah: a utility guy question-Is there such a thing as a "closed link"? type of power plant that condenses and re-uses the water? [/quote] There is. The Wyodak plant outside of Gillette is such a plant. It uses virtually no water for the cooling system, beyond the initial charging of the system. It's similar to the radiator cooling system on your car. It costs much more to build a plant this way, and results in a less efficient plant. Most steam turbine power plants use a closed loop system for the "clean" water which is recurculated between the boiler and the steam turbine. They then use cooling towers to condense the steam and pump it back into the boiler. Some use a "once through" system where they use river water to cool the steam, and then cool the river water back down before dumping it back into the river. Most plants in Utah and drier locations recurculate the cooling tower water. This results in the water becomming loaded with solids, which requires a periodic purging of the water, treating of the water to remove the high solids, etc. before it's dumped into a local river or pond. Some plants use the water, experimentally, to irrigate some nearby alfalfa, which can handle higher salt loads. Mark in Utah
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