Organic matter removal in boiler feed water treatment of a power plant with ozone

The purpose of this work was to test the effectiveness of ozone as a treatment to remove organic matter of the boiler feed water of a power plant. In the experiments carried out in the power plant Endesa in As Pontes (Spain), chlorine was substituted for ozone in the pre-treatment stage. The use of ozone reduced the organic content of the boiler feed water by an average 20% compared with chlorination and by 50% when ozone was combined with hydrogen peroxide. The latter treatment achieved an organic content in the boiler feed water of less than 40 mu g C/L. The ozone treatment also reduced the content of trihalomethanes in the drinking water, produced by the same plant, to values in the range of 10 mu g/L and even to undetectable values when ozone was combined with hydrogen peroxide, in spite of the postchlorination applied to this stream to ensure a disinfectant capacity though the distribution system.