Technical Paper -- Short-Bed Demineralization: An Alternative To Electrodeionization

To be competitive in the deregulated market, power producers are looking for ways to lower operating costs while maintaining a reliable supply. To this end, many plants have investigated innovative technologies for boiler make-up water treatment. One such technology is the combined reverse osmosis (RO) and electrodeionization (EDI) system. While this system offers several benefits, its operating costs and lack of operating experience in power plant applications make it unattractive in certain cases. Another water treatment technology, short-bed demineralization, combines the low cost, proven reliability, and high performance of conventional mixed-bed ion exchange with many of the benefits of RO/EDI systems.

INTRODUCTION
Deregulation of government controlled power markets is forcing utilities and independent power producers to take a closer look at their production costs. In the almost risk-free monopoly days, a utility could maintain profitability by simply passing the operating costs to the customers. However, survival in the new competitive era depends upon remaining profitable when the price of electricity is determined by the open marketplace rather than by cost-plus pricing. The main focus is therefore on operational efficiency and the ability to provide a reliable power supply when it is required. One area that has been identified by many power plants for operating cost savings is the boiler feed water treatment system. Two water treatment technologies that are coming to the forefront are electrodeionization (EDI) and short-bed demineralization.

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