RO Protection At Trimble County Power Station, US

Trimble County Generating Station, a Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU) facility located near Bedford, Kentucky comprises two units: Unit 1, a 514MW coal-fired electric generating facility, and Unit 2, a 760MW pulverized-coal-fired facility, and uses a multiple-barrier treatment approach consisting of coagulation, clarification, gravity filtration, multi-media filters, HOD™ (Hydro-Optic Disinfection) UV, micron filters, and reverse osmosis (RO) filtration, and demineralizers to treat incoming source water from the Ohio River with UV transmittance values of 90%.

In 2015, the facility stopped the use of chlorine disinfectant and sodium bisulfite (SBS) neutralization to eliminate the risks of chemical exposure to the membrane elements (membrane halogen damage) and chemical handling, storage, and use to the staff. Without the use of a disinfectant, the facility experienced bacterial contamination on the 5-micron filters and replaced them weekly.