Jungbu Power Launches Eco-Friendly Equipment Replacement Project at Jeju Headquarters

Attendees of the groundbreaking ceremony for the replacement of non-hazardous chemical equipment at the Jeju Development Headquarters' pure manufacturing facility take a commemorative photo after touring the site where the replacement work will be carried out. (Photo by Korea Midland Power)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Korea Midland Power announced on the 16th that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for the replacement of the latest pure water manufacturing facilities that do not use hazardous chemicals at the Jeju Power Plant Headquarters. Representatives from Korea Electric Power Technology, Hyosung Goodsprings, and executives and employees of Midland Power attended the ceremony.

The replacement project is part of Korea Midland Power's plan to achieve its goal of zero hazardous chemicals, the first among power generation companies. The method will change from the 'ion exchange' process, which regenerates ion resins using hazardous chemicals, to the 'membrane treatment' process using reverse osmosis membranes and electro-dialysis membranes. Upon completion in May next year, it plans to produce up to 50 tons of ultrapure water per hour for use as power plant water.

At this groundbreaking ceremony, high-level construction work will be carried out, including the installation and operation of temporary facilities, installation of new power supply facilities, and relocation of new pure water manufacturing facilities, following a one-to-one demolition and replacement of the existing operating facilities.

Accordingly, a preliminary preparation meeting was held to inspect and prevent safety issues that may arise while working in limited sites and spaces, aiming to overcome various difficulties in advance.

Kim Hobin, Head of Technology and Safety at Korea Midland Power, congratulated the groundbreaking of the facility replacement project for hazardous chemical zero during his commemorative speech. He urged everyone to devote all their capabilities to ensure the safe completion of the construction.

The Boryeong Power Plant Headquarters is also promoting the purchase of facilities to switch to the membrane treatment method by next year. Currently, it operates three pure water manufacturing facilities using the ion exchange method.

According to Midland Power, once the installation work of pure water manufacturing facilities at the Jeju and Boryeong headquarters is completed, all pure water manufacturing facilities at Midland Power’s power plants will no longer use hazardous chemicals. It is expected to reduce the annual usage of hazardous chemicals by approximately 1,270 tons (based on 2018).

Earlier, Korea Midland Power replaced hazardous chemicals used in wastewater treatment facilities with general chemicals by last year. Anhydrous ammonia, used as a reducing agent in denitrification facilities, will also be replaced with alternative substances such as urea solution by 2025, with an investment of about 47 billion KRW.

Park Hyunggu, President of Korea Midland Power, stated, "According to the zero hazardous chemical usage roadmap announced in July 2018, we will continue to strive to eliminate hazardous chemicals, which amounted to about 26,500 tons annually (based on 2017), from all business sites by investing a total of 79 billion KRW by 2025, the first among power generation companies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.