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Project No.: 0172.07.029.030 DISTRIBUTION 

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Project Name: Steam Electric Detailed Study 

TELEPHONE CALL RECORD 

 Outgoing Call 

Date: 12/1/09 Time: 2:00 pm EST 

Company Name: DTE Energy’s Monroe Power Plant

Contact Name: Jason Brown 

Phone No.: 734-384-6852

Name: Kurt Blohm Eastern Research Group 

GENERAL SUBJECT : DTE Energy’s Monroe Power Plant Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) Wastewater Treatment System

 

TOPICS DISCUSSED AND ACTION TAKEN 

On Tuesday December 1, 2009, I contacted Jason Brown of Monroe Power Plant (Monroe) and told him that I 

wanted to verify information collected during EPA’s site visit to Monroe in September 2009 relating the FGD 

systems and FGD wastewater treatment system. I explained that EPA is will be conducting sampling episodes at 

several power plants to collect wastewater samples from FGD wastewater treatment systems, and that the 

information collected would help EPA make decisions about facilities it may sample during the rulemaking. 

Mr. Brown stated that Generating Units 3 and 4 both exhaust to their own wet FGD systems. New FGD systems 

are planned to be installed on Units 1 and 2 in 2014 or 2015. All currently operating and planned FGD units use 

limestone-forced oxidation. Monroe operates SCRs on Units 1, 3, and 4. A new SCR is planned to be installed 

on Unit 2 at the same time the new FGD systems are installed. Monroe operates the existing SCRs and plans to 

operate the new SCR on a year-round basis. Monroe does not use additives in the FGD systems. Mr. Brown did 

not expect that Monroe will need to use additives in the FGD system in the future. However, if the system does 

not achieve its guarantee for mercury removal, Monroe may add dibasic acid (DBA) to the FGD systems. 

Mr. Brown stated that the FGD wastewater treatment system consists of two identical trains. Both trains have 

the capacity to handle the combined purge flow rate from the two existing FGD units in addition to the 

predicted combined purge flow rate from the two planned FGD systems. Mr. Brown stated that Monroe has a 

two-train system as a security measure in case one train is out of service. Monroe only operates one train 

currently, and is in the process of commissioning the other train. Monroe began operation of the first train in 

June 2009 with the startup of the first FGD system (on Unit 4). 

Mr. Brown verified that the following process description of the identical FGD wastewater treatment system 

trains is correct: The FGD scrubber purge is sent to an equalization tank. The equalization tank also receives 

the filtrate from the wastewater treatment filter press, off-spec treated effluent, and water collected from the 

sumps of the wastewater treatment system building. The effluent from the equalization tank is transferred to a 

first reaction tank where lime slurry is added to adjust the pH to between 8 and 9. Additionally, organosulfide is 

added to target the removal of metals, such as mercury. The first reaction tank gravity drains to the second 

reaction tank where ferric chloride is added. The effluent from the second reaction tank is sent to one of two 

clarifiers. As the water is transferred to the clarifier, two polymers are added. The polymers aid in coagulation 

and make the sludge easier to dewater. Hydrochloric acid injected at the effluent of clarifiers for pH control 

prior to flowing through five sand gravity filters. After sand filters, effluent is sent to storage tanks and then an 

ash basin. 
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Mr. Brown stated that the wastewater treatment system does not receive any wastes other then scrubber purge 

water. The purge flow rate averages 90 gpm over a 24-hour period; however, the wastewater treatment system 

is only operated several hours per day. The maximum design flow rate or both trains is 600 gpm. 

Mr. Brown stated that Siemens designed the FGD wastewater treatment system. Mr. Brown stated that there 

have been no significant changes to the operation of the FGD wastewater treatment system since the September 

2009 site visit. Monroe does not have plans to change the operation of the wastewater treatment system. 

Mr. Brown stated that the wastewater treatment system is trying to optimize removals for the following 

parameters: aluminum, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, 

silver, zinc, molybdenum, TSS, and TDS. I asked Mr. Brown if he could provide the guaranteed performance 

standards established by Siemens and the typical pollutant levels in the wastewater treatment system effluent. 

[NOTE TO EPA: MR. BROWN PROVIDED THE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. HOWEVER, THE 

INFORMATION IS CONFIDENTIAL]. Mr. Brown did not know the typical levels in the effluent. Mr. Brown 

stated that the state has not set limits for the effluent from the wastewater treatment system. 

Mr. Brown stated that there are no planned outages for Units 3 and 4 during the summer. However, there may 

be a planned outage in the spring. 

 and explained that I wanted to obtain information regarding the operation of the Meredosia Power Station’s oilfired unit. I asked Ms. Maxwell how many units burn oil as a fuel. She stated that only one unit uses oil and that 

this unit is seldom in operation. She stated that the number of days per year that this unit is in operation has 

been decreasing for the past ten years, from 52 days in 1998 to 25 days in 2002. The unit was only in operation 

5 days in 2008. Ms. Maxwell stated that eventually they would like to stop using the oil-fired unit. 

Ms. Maxwell stated that there are four units at the Meredosia plant. Units 1 and 2 were placed in service in 1948 

and 1949, respectively. Unit 3 began commercial operation in 1960. Units 1 through 3 are coal-fired units. 

Unit 4, the plant’s oil-fired unit, was placed in service in 1975. 

Ms. Maxwell stated that the plant uses a mixture of fuel # 6 and fuel # 2, which the plant refers to as fuel #4 

(residual fuel oil), in the Unit 4 boiler. Because heavier fuels are difficult to heat to the operating temperatures 

of the unit, Meredosia fires natural gas during start-up of the oil-fired boiler and then fires fuel # 4 during 

operation. The oil-fired unit does not operate using any fuels other than fuel # 4 and natural gas. Ms. Maxwell 

stated that there are no other secondary fuels burned in the coal-fired units. 

Ms. Maxwell stated that the oil-fired unit does not generate bottom or fly ash and that there are no wastewater 

streams associated with this unit other than cooling tower blowdown. The coal-fired units generate both fly ash 
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and bottom ash. Meredosia’s fly ash is collected by ESPs, sluiced with water, and sent it to a pond. The fly ash 

sluice is combined with filter backwash, demineralizer discharge, waste caustic and waste acid in this pond. 

Bottom ash sluice is sent to a separate pond where it is combined with cooling medium used to cool condensers 

and other equipment (Note: she could not remember the name of the coolant). Ms. Maxwell stated that sulfuric 

acid is used to adjust the pH of the two ponds. Ms. Maxwell stated Meredosia must keep the ash pond discharge 

between the pH limits of 6 and 9 and use chemicals when the pH approaches as low as 6.4 or as high as 8.6. 

Meredosia also has a third pond that has been covered (i.e., out of service) for many years. 

Ms. Maxwell stated that the plant does not operate any FGD scrubbers; however, the coal-fired units operate 

flue gas conditioning systems. Since Meredosia uses low sulfur coal, they previously added molten sulfur which 

was sprayed into the air heaters. The molten sulfur added negative charge to the fly ash so that it would be 

collected more readily by the electrostatic precipitators. Now, however, Meredosia adds a mixture called 

“ADA” into the air heaters. She stated that this mixture has the same effect as the molten sulfur. 

Ms. Maxwell stated that Meredosia recirculates its flue gas to control NOx emissions on the oil-fired unit. Flue 

gas recirculation means that 20-30 percent of the flue gas is recirculated back into the burner, which decreases 

the combustion temperature and the amount of NOx formed thermally. She stated that their permit requires 

Meredosia to be under 0.8 lb/(106 BTU) for SO2 and 0.3 lb/(106 BTU) for NOx on a three hour rolling average.