A set of 60 Lewabrane RO B400 FR filter elements at the Dammweg thermal power station in Chemnitz, Germany apply a reverse osmosis process to cleanse 50–60 cubic metres of pre-treated river water per hour for steam generation purposes.
“The 90% reduction in the organic contamination of river water demanded by the operator of the power plant can be easily achieved using our membrane technology,” said Dr Jens Lipnizki, head of Technical Marketing Membranes in LANXESS’s Liquid Purification Technologies business unit.
The reverse osmosis facility in the Chemnitz power plant was developed and designed by the Celle-based water technology company Berkefeld, a subsidiary of the global group Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies.
The power plant draws water for the cooling processes and steam production from the rivers Chemnitz and Zschopau. Even after it has been softened and desalinated using ion exchange resins, the water still contains a considerable amount of organic substances that cause excessive conductivity in the water-steam cycle that is harmful to the turbine and other components. The LANXESS membrane filter elements lower the degree of fluctuation in water quality and in particular filter out organic substances.