Patent ID: 7022242

Claim:
A process which meets environmental regulations for volume reduction of the acidic effluent having a pH in the range of 1.2–2.0 from a wet process phosphoric acid plant storage pond wherein the steps of the process comprise: a) neutralizing a portion of said effluent from the storage pond for said acidic effluent so as to achieve a pH in the range from about 3.0 to about 5.0, b) diluting said portion with fresh water to obtain a dilute portion, containing 10 to 40 parts by volume of said neutralized portion to 100 parts of fresh water c) using said dilute portion in a power plant to absorb excess heat and produce a heated effluent, d) contacting the heated effluent with ambient air in a cooling tower of said power plant, whereby a substantial amount of water is removed by evaporation, to reduce the volume of the heated effluent, and produce a cooled effluent, e) discharging the cooled effluent from said cooling tower back into said storage pond for reuse.