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INTRODUCTION
The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) IS an autonomous society under the Ministry of
Earth Sciences. The major aim of starting NIOT is to develop reliable indigenous technology to
solve the various engineering problems associated with harvesting of non-living and living resources
in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which is about two-thirds of the land area of India.
Technology Groups
o Coastal and Environmental Engineering
o Energy & Fresh Water
o Marine Sensor System
o Marine Biotechnology
o Ocean Acoustics and Modelling
o Ocean Electronics
o Offshore Structures
Technology Projects
o Deep Sea Mining
o Gas Hydrates
o Submersibles
Operational Programs
o Ocean Observation Systems
o Vessel Management
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1.1 DESALINATION
Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally,
desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance.
The temperature difference which exists between the surface layer (28~30 oC) and deep sea layer
(7~15 oC) of the ocean could be effectively utilized to produce potable water apart from power
generation, air conditioning and aquaculture. This technology is known as Low Temperature
Thermal Desalination. In Low Temperature Thermal Desalination a relatively warm water is
flashed inside a vacuum flash chamber and the resultant vapor is condensed in a condenser using
cold water. This technology has been utilized in the first ever low temperature thermal desalination
plant.
1.2 METHODS
Vacuum distillation
The traditional process used is vacuum distillation—which involves boiling it to leave impurities
behind. In desalination, atmospheric pressure is reduced, thus lowering the required temperature
needed. Liquids boil when the vapor pressure equals the ambient pressure and vapor pressure
increases with temperature. Effectively, liquids boil at a lower temperature, when the ambient
atmospheric pressure is less than usual atmospheric pressure.
Multiple-effect distillation
Multiple-effect distillation (MED) works through a series of steps called "effects" Incoming water is
sprayed onto pipes which are then heated to generate steam. The steam is then used to heat the
next batch of incoming sea water. To increase efficiency, the steam used to heat the sea water
can be taken from nearby power plants.
Vapor-compression distillation
Vapor-compression evaporation involves using either a mechanical compressor or a jet stream to
compress the vapor present above the liquid. The compressed vapor is then used to provide the
heat needed for the evaporation of the rest of the sea water.
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Reverse osmosis
The RO membrane processes use semipermeable membranes and applied pressure (on the
membrane feed side) to preferentially induce water permeation through the membrane while
rejecting salts.
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2. FLASH EVAPORATION
Flash (or partial) evaporation is the partial vapor that occurs when a saturated liquid stream
undergoes a reduction in pressure by passing through a throttling valve or other throttling device.
This process is one of the simplest unit operations. If the throttling valve or device is located at the
entry into a pressure vessel so that the flash evaporation occurs within the vessel, then the vessel
is often referred to as a flash drum.
If the saturated liquid is a single-component liquid (for example, liquid propane or liquid ammonia),
a part of the liquid immediately "flashes" into vapor. Both the vapor and the residual liquid are
cooled to the saturation temperature of the liquid at the reduced pressure. This is often referred to
as "auto-refrigeration" and is the basis of most conventional vapor compression
refrigeration systems.
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3. LOW TEMPERATURE THERMAL DESALINATION
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3.1 MAJOR COMPONENTS OF LTTD TECHNOLOGY AND FUNCTION
Vacuum system
Warm water pump
Flash chamber
Condenser
Cold water pump
Fresh water pump
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3.2 FEATURES OF LTTD TECHNOLOGY
4. NON-CONDENSABLE GASES
The release of non-condensable (NC) gases, essentially carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen from
the evaporating brine in flash vaporizer affects the heat transfer for condensation, the energy
consumption, the performance and material lifetime of vaporizer. Moreover, CO2 release
considerably influences concentrations of bicarbonates, carbonates, and carbon dioxide, hydrogen
and OH- ions in the carbonate system of the brine and thus plays an important role in alkaline
scale formation [2]. It is extremely important to eliminate the NC gases from the system through
proper venting and to design the condensers in such a way that the effects of the NC gases are
minimized [1]. The removal of NC gases by venting is linked with extraction of vapor which means
energy loss for preheating in vaporizer.
NC gas blanketing of the heat transfer surface in individual condensers can result in heat transfer
blockage to point of periodic or total failure of individual stages. Furthermore it can lead to
pressure losses for inter stage brine transfer causing high brine levels and periodic brine surging
[1].
Gases which are molecularly dissolved and do not chemically react in seawater namely nitrogen,
oxygen and argon can be removed almost completely in deaerators. However only parts of carbon
dioxide can be removed by simple deaeration. For removal of CO2 the addition of strong acid to
the feed water and decarbonator, i.e, an atmospheric deaerator are required. The acid lowers the
pH value of feed water and causes the conversion of bicarbonates and carbonate ions to dissolve
molecular CO2 which is then released almost completely on decarbonator [1].
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4.1 DECOMPOSITION OF BICARBONATE IONS [3]
Occurs when CO2 is released from the evaporating line. The reaction
Seinfert and K Genthner et. al [4] have estimated non-condensable gas concentrations at the inlet
to the first stage of MSF as follows
Nitrogen 12.6
Oxygen 7.7
Argon 0.4
Bicarbonate 187.1
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Carbon dioxide
= 9.07 ppm
Using PV = nRT
n = No. of Moles
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Moles of CO2 = 2.178/0.048 = 45.375moles/hr.
= ∑ volume of NC Gases
= 3706.48 m3/hr.
= 31413.5 m3/hr.
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5. CONCLUSION
Sea water consists of Non-Condensable gases (O2, N2, Ar, CO2).Hence these condensable gases
and also the water vapour which is escaped from the condenser give the load to the vacuum
system in LTTD Process. In this study, the non –condensable gases and escape water vapour for
1 million litres per day capacity Power plant based LTTD process is estimated as 31413 m3/hr
.As per market survey it can be concluded that two vacuum system are required with a capacity of
6. REFERENCES
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[1] Heike Glade and Aiman Eid Al Rawajfeh, “Modelling of CO2 release and the carbonate system
in multiple- effect distillers”, Desalination, 222(2008) 605-625
[2] Aiman Eid Al Rawajfeh, Member IDA & EDS, “Influence of Seawater Composition on CO2
Release and Scaling in Multi- Stage Flash (MSF) Distillers from Different Arabian Gulf Intakes”
[3] Heike Glade and Klaus Genthner, “Design Date for Non-Condensable Gas Release Rates in
Flash Chambers”
[4] A Seifert and K Genthner, “A Model for stagewise calculation of Non-Condensable Gases in
Multi-Stage Evaporators”, Desalination, 81 (1991) 333-347
[5] Claire Copin-Montegut, “A New Formula for the Effect of Temperature on the Partial Pressure
of CO2 in Seawater”, Marine Chemistry, 25 (1988) 29-37
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination
[7]https://www.google.com/search?q=lttd&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjD04mYv
c_fAhXHvY8KHeaSDNQQ_AUIDygC&biw=1522&bih=706#imgdii=dfDZG_gXZ1cyqM:&imgrc=qei
_I6WUisY4mM:
[8]https://www.google.com/search?q=reverse+osmosis+desalination&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=
X&ved=0ahUKEwj8rICNvs_fAhWIvY8KHbGhB3sQ_AUIDigB&biw=1522&bih=706#imgrc=n3hI9a0
Cp7XcOM:
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