Water and Wastewater Management in Production Processes of PGE Energia Ciepła SA Branch 1 in Krakow in Light of Company Modernization

Electricity production requires a very high water consumption. One way to reduce water demand in power plants might be effective wastewater recycling within the power plant, which can lead to almost zero wastewater discharge. The study aims to characterize the functioning of the water and wastewater management system before and after the modernization of a wastewater treatment installation owned by an electricity and heat producer using biomass and other solid fuels. The scope of work covered one of the largest energy companies in Poland: PGE Energia Ciepła SA Branch 1 in Krakow. Water management and the effectiveness of wastewater treatment installation modernization were assessed in terms of the BAT (Best Available Techniques) conclusions. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of changes in the quality parameters of wastewater after the modernization of the wet flue gas desulfurization installation. The research results prove that the modernization of the company’s water and wastewater system significantly reduced the emission of harmful substances into the environment and water consumption. After modernization, an effective reduction in the content of heavy metals and other pollutants in the wastewater was observed. A decrease in the content of cadmium was observed by 99%, nickel—96%, mercury—95%, and copper—83%.