What to do with my Chemistry Degree?

One test is to constantly check water quality. Not only do power companies want to put clean water back into lakes and rivers, but water quality is very important because dirty water can damage expensive equipment and be very costly for the company. The shavings from moving engines and turbines being recycled back into the equipment is something which plant mangers dread happening. The same with filthy water sticking to condensers, which is kind of like burning milk in a frying pan; except, you can't replace the equipment by going down to your local hardware store.

So you can imagine the immense amounts of clean water needed even in a conventional power plant to produce the steam needed to run the turbines. And again, dirty water is bad for equipment just like dirty oil is bad in a car. Yet using millions of gallons of new water is expensive, especially in a time of tight budgets. Add to this that the use of fresh water can strain water tables when there a water shortages.

The solution? Power plants use what is called an anti-foulant. With this chemical, the dirty water can be made reusable by suspending particles in the water and keeping them off and out of the machinery. A power plant can thus use and reuse water perhaps as much as five times before it is cleaned and put back into the environment. And these utility companies are very conscientious about putting the water back into the environment as clean as they received it.

Another problem power plants have with water quality is that things love to grow inside the cooling towers; the massive cylinders which people see in the distance as they drive past a power plant. These towers turn the steam back into liquid and algae find the environment in the towers where warm steam is turned back into liquid water pleasant for growth. This algae can stick to condensers which prevents them from doing their job. It can also damage equipment. This is why a utility company spends a lot of money on biocides.

Therefore, when pursuing a chemistry education it is very important to keep an eye out for courses that deal in industrial water treatment. You can also get a certificate in cooling tower operation and on industrial boilers. A group to consider joining for more job training is the Association of Water Technologies which has courses given by people with 30 or 40 years of experience, though the costs of joining are more in line for people who already are employed and are keeping up with the latest their field.

Working for the Power Company is still a good career move. People need energy and until green technology comes of age, power plants will be producing energy for years to come.