Water Footprint Assessment of Coal-fired Power Generation in China Based on Life Cycle Theory

As part of the water footprint assessment of coal power is limited to a certain stage of coal power production, and the water footprint assessment of coal power has a certain timeliness. Therefore, in order to more reasonably assess the water footprint of China's latest coal power, a water footprint assessment model covering coal production and coal-fired power generation processes was established based on life cycle theory. Based on quantifying the water footprint of coal power in China during the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, the water footprint of coal power under different scenarios is discussed. Finally, the impact of coal water footprint is analyzed in combination with the proportion of water footprint. The results show that there is still much room for improvement in the blue water footprint and gray water footprint of coal power production in China, in which the promotion of air cooling technology and the realization of zero discharge of coal-fired power generation wastewater are essential.