Zebra Mussels Causing Concerns at Power Plants

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Steamed mussels, anyone? There’s plenty to go around at your neighborhood power plant. Zebra mussels (not the tastiest of shellfish varieties) are causing quite a stir at power plants that utilize lakes and rivers as a freshwater source. The Prairie Island Nuclear Station, located near Red Wing, Minnesota, had to reduce over 350 megawatts of its generation (over 60%) to clean out zebra mussels that are invading the intakes and other key components at the facility. How can a creature about the size of a thimble cause such havoc? Plants located near aquatic vicinities are learning exactly how these tiny creatures are affecting power stations in a big way.

Zebra mussels are a type of mollusk which is in the same family of organisms that include snails, oysters, and clams. They average about an inch long and have a life span of about four years. The mussels are native to waters in Europe and Asia and were first discovered in the United States along Lake St. Clair which is east of Detroit, Michigan. They have colonized rapidly throughout the Great Lakes Region and have even been spotted along the river drainages of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

So how did these creatures inhabit our waters coming from such distant shores? In simple terms, they basically hitched a ride through ocean vessels from Europe. Large ships require ballast water which is used to stabilize the vessel. This ballast water (stored inside the vessel) is usually dumped in the ports after cargo is loaded.

The zebra mussel can impact a variety of native species and potentially the entire ecosystem. Economically, the impact has already been absorbed through millions of dollars spent by power plants and water facilities on cleaning costs and loss of power generation due to outages and de-rates. In addition, more money is being allocated on retrofitting facilities with devices to prevent mollusks from entering the intakes.

How are power plants preventing them from entering costly machinery? Several methods are currently in place for alleviating the current problem. Some of these methods include chemical oxidizing, high pressure wash, freezing methods, acoustical vibrations to detach the creatures, ultraviolet light, and carbon dioxide injection.

View Plant Profile - 1013897

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) provides marketing communication services ranging from industrial database solutions to market forecasting, custom analytics, and specialty promotions that support high-level image campaigns.