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Key issues in Seawater Desalination

Nowadays, desalination* has become a very affordable solution to cope with fresh water shortage typically in tr
The desalination core process is based on Reverse Osmosis
Membrane technology, but stand alone, it doesn't provide
safe drinking water, nor does it guarantee an efficient plant.

The pre-treatment includes all the necessary treatment step


ahead of the reverse osmosis plant. It is determining for
plant life time and to minimise chemical cleaning and
membrane replacement. It has a direct impact on the plant
performance.
There are as many membrane types as applications. They
range from "high rejection" to "ultra low energy" or " high
boron rejection".
The reverse osmosis process can also be built with one or
two passes, depending on the product water requirements
and the seawater salinity and temperature. In most cases,
1 pass is sufficient to reach the EU drinking water standards,
specially regarding the boron content (1 mg/L). To reach
WHO boron guideline (0.5mg/L), a second pass might be
necessary (Boron removal process)
The energy recovery device is the key factor that determines the plant electrical costs. It must be
chosen carefully based on the local energy costs and environment policies.

Post-treatment and/or polishing steps are required to condition the water after the reverse osmosi
membrane process to make it suitable to your application.

Brine disposal can be an environmental and economical issue in some areas where the fauna and
flora are sensitive to local seawater salinity increase. Brine disposal should be studied and
engineered case by case.
The art of desalination is to determine and combine available
technologies to optimize water production costs and quality.
To adapt our Desalination Plants to your local needs, we offer containerized mobile units from
Intake to Distribution up to a production capacity of 200 m3/h of desalinated water.
All type of water can be produced from a desalination plant:
- WHO or EU drinking water
- Irrigation water
- Process water : boiler feed water, cooling water
- Demi or Ultrapure water
All type of natural seawater source can be treated
-ShallowSurface
-Deep
-Brackishriver
- Beach well seawater
All essential process steps in desalination plants

Also misspelled Desaltation, Desalinization, Desalinisation, Desalisation, Desalization


or Desal Plant

Water Desalination
Desalination Expands as Technology Becomes More Affordable

A New Zealand army officer tests water quality at an army mobile desalination and purification station supplying free water to residents in the
suburb of New Brighton on February 26, 2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

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Updated November 08, 2013

Desalination (also spelled desalinization) is the process of creating fresh water by removing saline (salt) from bodies of
salt water. There are varying degrees of salinity in water, which affects the difficulty and expense of treatment, and
the level of saline is typically measured in parts per million (ppm). The U.S. Geological Survey provides an outline of
what constitutes saline water: 1,000 ppm 3,000 ppm is low salinity, 3,000 ppm 10,000 ppm is moderate salinity,
and 10,000 ppm 35,000 ppm is high salinity.
Water that contains saline levels less than 1,000 ppm is generally considered fresh water, and is safe to drink and use
for household and agricultural purposes. For a reference point, typical ocean water contains about 35,000 ppm, the
Great Salt Lake contains variations of 50,000 270,000 ppm, and the Caspian Sea contains an average of about
12,000 ppm. The more concentrated saline is in a body of water, the more energy and effort it takes to desalinize it.
Desalination Processes
There are numerous methods of desalination described below. Reverse osmosis is currently the most commonly found
type of desalination, and multistage flash distillation is the method that currently produces the most amount of
desalinated water. (There are several other less frequent types of desalination methods and energy sources not
discussed here.)
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis is a process where pressure is used to push the water solution through a membrane, with the
membrane preventing the larger solutes (the salt) to pass through. Reverse osmosis is generally considered to be the
least energy consuming of all the large-scale processes.
There are several setbacks of reverse osmosis. The membranes are currently prone to gather too much bacteria and
clog up, although they have improved since they were first used. The membranes deteriorate when chlorine is used
to treat the bacteria. Other setbacks are the arguable water quality that reverse osmosis produces, along with the
considerable pre-treatment that the salt water requires.
Forward Osmosis
Forward osmosis utilizes the natural osmotic process; a substance moving from an area of low concentration to an
area of high concentration. It generally requires about half of the cost of reverse osmosis, due to less energy being
used to complete the process. Instead of forcing the solution through a pressure gradient, this process allows it to
naturally occur. When desalinating water, a solution of seawater moves across a semi-permeable membrane to a
highly concentrated solution of ammonia salts, leaving the sea salts on the other side of the membrane. Afterwards,
the solution is heated to evaporate the ammonia salt, and that salt is reusable.
The main setback to forward osmosis is that it has great potential, but is still fairly new to large-scale desalination and
therefore needs funding and research to explore the possibilities that could improve it and reduce energy costs.

Electrodialysis
Electrodialysis reversal utilizes a membrane, like that in reverse osmosis, but sends an electric charge through the
solution to draw metal ions to the positive plate on one side, and other ions (like salt) to the negative plate on the
other. The charges are periodically reversed to prevent the membrane from becoming too contaminated, as typically
found in regular electrodialysis. The ions located on both plates can be removed, leaving pure water behind. Recently
developed membranes reportedly have been chlorine resistant, and generally remove more harmful ions (not just salt)
than reverse osmosis. The primary setback to electrodialysis reversal is the upfront cost to create the facility, as well
as the energy costs.
Thermal Desalination
Thermal desalination is a method of cleaning water that can occur through many different processes, and includes
removing salt as well as other contaminants. All thermal desalination is the process of heating the water solution and
gathering pure water when the vapor cools and condensation occurs. Two types frequently used to desalinate water
are:
Multistage Flash Distillation
Multistage flash distillation occurs when the product of the heated water is reheated multiple times, each time
functioning on lower pressure than the last. Multistage flash distillation plants are built alongside power plants in order
to use the wasted heat. It requires much less energy than reverse osmosis plants. Several large facilities in Saudi
Arabia use multistage flash distillation, accounting for around 85% of all desalinated water, though there are more
reverse osmosis plants than there are multistage flash distillation plants. The main disadvantages of multistage flash
distillation are that it requires more intake of salt water than reverse osmosis and the upfront and maintenance costs
are considerably high.
Multiple-Effect Distillation
Multiple-effect distillation is a simple process similar to multistage flash distillation. The salt water solution is heated
and the pure water that is produced flows into the next chamber. The heat energy that it carries is used to boil it
again, producing more vapor. The main setback is that it is best used for smaller-scale desalination. The costs are very
high for large facilities.
Negatives of Desalination
A few general setbacks for the processes of desalination also exist. Dumping the wasted salt solution back into the
ocean makes the process more difficult and has the potential to harms ocean life. The energy required to start up and
power desalination plants is a huge expense and because most current power sources are derived from burning fossil
fuels, it is generally looked upon as just a matter of choosing one environmental crisis over another. Within the energy
issue, nuclear energy is potentially the most cost-effective energy source, but remains largely untapped due to public
opinion on having a local nuclear power plant or waste facility. If regions situated away from the coast or in a high
altitude try to use desalinated water, it is an even more expensive process. Higher altitudes and far distances require
great resources to transport the water from the ocean or body of salt water.
Geography of Desalination
Geography of Desalination Desalination is currently used by countries that have an extreme need for fresh water, have
enough money to fund it, and posses the amount of energy required to produce it. The Middle East holds the top spot
for desalinated water, due to several countries large facilities, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and
Israel. Also large producers of desalinated water are: Spain, the United States, Algeria, China, India, Australia, and
Aruba. The technology is expected to spread increasingly, particularly in the United States, Libya, China, and India.
Saudi Arabia is currently the worlds number one producer of desalinated water. They use multi-flash distillation in
several large plants, providing water for many large cities, including the largest city, Riyadh, situated hundreds of
miles from the coast.
In the United States, the largest desalination plant is located in Tampa Bay, Florida, though it has a very small output
compared to most facilities in the Middle East. Other states that are developing plans for large desalination plants
include California and Texas. The United States need for desalination plants is not as severe as many other countries,
but as the population continues to explode in dry, coastal areas, the need increases.
Future Options of Desalination
Desalination is process primarily done in developed countries with enough money and resources. If technology
continues to produce new methods and better solutions to the issues that exist today, there would be a whole new
water resource for more and more countries that are facing drought, competition for water, and overpopulation.
Though there are concerns in the scientific world about replacing our current overuse of water with complete reliance
on sea water, it would undoubtedly be at least an option for many people struggling to survive or maintain their
standard of living.

Seawater Intake Systems

Fix Surface water Open Intake

Intake screens are mounted at the end of the intake pipe, at about 1 to 2 m below sea level.

The screen is backwashed with air to prevent solids to clog the screen surface
Courtesy of Johnson Screens

Beach well

Beach wells are recommended when seawater quality can vary over the season and/or when high turbidity peaks can occur.
One vertical beachwell can draw up to 200 m3/h.
A radial well can take up to 1000 m3/hour, depending on the soil layers.

Mobile Surface water Open Intake


Ideal for temporary plants or if civil works are not possible.

courtesy of Hydromobil

Desalination Pretreatment
Why a pre treatment?

Reverse Osmosis Thin Film Composite membranes are subject to fouling by suspended materials that are present in seawat
Fouling

Cause

Biological fouling

Bacteria, microorganisms, viruses, protozoan

Particle fouling

sand, clay (turbidity, suspended solids)

Colloidal fouling

Organic and inorganic complexes, colloidal particles, micro-algae

Organic fouling

Natural Organic Matter (NOM) : humic and fulvic acids, biopolymers

Mineral fouling

Calcium, Magnesium Barium or Strontium sulfates and carbonates

Oxidant fouling

Chlorine, Ozone, KMnO4

Seawater Desalination typical pretreatment processes:

A very cost-effective way to avoid biological fouling is seawater chlorination . Unfortunately, chlorine oxidizes the membra

A common dechlorination process is the injection of sodium bisulfite or metabisulfite, classified as a chlorine scavenger. A

NOM, particles and colloids can be removed by so-called "conventional treatment" consisting of coagulation followed by de
added in case of very turbid shallow seawater.
The non-conventional pretreatment for NOM , particles and colloids is ultrafiltration.

An antiscalant solution should be dosed before the reverse osmosis membranes to disperse calcium carbonate and sulfate

Fine filtration (5-micron) is required as a last step before the RO membranes to prevent any debris, sand particles or pipin

Desalination Pretreatment: Seawater chlorination


Chlorination
Surface water contains various microorganisms, bacteria, protozoan, that would contributes to a biofilm formation on
the membrane surface. A biofilm is a bacteria colony that grows on a designated surface where a carbon source and
nutrients are available. Killing bacteria and microorganism before entering the membranes will prevent biofouling.
The typical chlorine dose is about 3 mg/L of active chlorine. It gas be injected by dosing Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCl)
for small scale plant or Chlorine gas (Cl2) for medium scale plants.
Large Scale desalination plants uses electrochlorination to produce sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) from the excess of
sodium chloride salt (NaCl) present in seawater at about 30 to 40 g/L:
NaCl + H2O + direct current --> NaOCl + H2
pH should be corrected around 7.5 to have optimized chlorine disinfection potential.
More details on Chlorine disinfection mechanisms, click here.

Dechlorination can be processed by 2 processes:

Addition of Sodium (meta) bisulfite (SBS)

The dosing rate is 3:1 of SBS:Cl2 (active chlorine dose). The reaction time is about 2 minutes.
NaHSO3 + Cl2 +H2O --> NaHSO4 + 2 HCl
Na2S2O5 + Cl2 +H20 --> Na2SO4 +SO2 + 2HCl

Granulated Activated Carbon filter

Chemisorption process where chlorine reacts with the carbon surface.


CL2 --> Cl-

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