Valero announced that it has selected Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies to supply a complete boiler feed water system to its St. Charles refinery located in Norco, La. The treatment system will incorporate Veolia’s ACTIFLO Turbo clarification technology to treat water from the Mississippi River.
The clarified water will be used for cooling tower makeup, service water and will also supply water for the new high-purity boiler feed water treatment system. The boiler feed water treatment process scheme includes multimedia filtration and sodium zeolite ion exchange softening followed by reverse osmosis membrane to polish the water to a high level. As a result, Valero will be able to produce over 1,300 gal per minute (gpm) of high-purity water used for makeup to steam boilers and the steam methane reformer, which produces hydrogen for refinery operations.
Valero chose the ACTIFLO Turbo technology for the St. Charles expansion due to the small footprint, ability to treat the increase in flow rate and ease of installation. The company has subsequently awarded Veolia two additional contracts for its other refineries in the Gulf Coast region to provide additional clarified water at one site and to supply boiler feed water at the other. All three facilities are scheduled to become operational in 2013.
The ACTIFLO Turbo microsand ballasted clarifier is a packaged unit designed to treat up to 4,000 gpm to reduce suspended solids, colloidal solids and turbidity.
Source: Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies
