1

Thermal Desalination
Antiscalant

Indonesia Customer Seminar

June 13 & 14 2012
Jakarta Indonesia

Overview
Scaling
Type

of Scale in Thermal Desalination

Factors
Scale

& Its Impact

Influences Scale formation

Inhibitor Technology Overview

PC-2040T

Features
Performance
Comparison with other technology
Advantages & Benefit

Why Scale Occur in Thermal Desalination?

Condition in thermal desalination generate supersaturated

condition for some minerals salt in sea water

Factors:
Increasing of temperature
Evaporative concentration
Release of CO2 from the brine which induces further shift of
bicarbonate ion to the carbonate to the hydroxide ion through the
increase in pH
4HCO32- + Ca2+ + Mg2+ CaCO3 (s) + Mg(OH)2 (s)+ 3CO2 (g)+ H2O

Scale Formation in MSF

MP steam
LP steam
5

3
~30C

1-deaerator
2-brine heater
3-heat recovery
4-heat rejection
5-vacuum
6-brine recirculation pump

Condensate

Seawater

Seawater

1
6

Distilled water
Brine discharge

Hard scale (CaSO4) and alkaline scale (CaCO3 and MgOH2) in brine
heater which has highest temperature
Calcium carbonate scale and sludge in flash chamber and demister

Scale Formation in MED

Mainly alkaline scale (CaCO3) on tube surfaces where saturation index is

the highest .

Effects of Scaling in the Brine Heater

Decreased brine temperature at a constant steam

pressure

Increased steam pressure to maintain top brine

temperature

Reduced flow rates for constant top temperature

Loss of production if no compensation has been

made for 1 and 3

Effects of Scaling in the Heat Recovery Section

Lower temperature rise through the section and hence

increased steam demand in the brine heater to maintain
production levels

Effects of Scaling in the Demisters

Physical blocking of the mesh resulting in an increase

in vapour pressure drop across the demister. This
decreases the steam temperature in the recovery
stage, reducing the heat transfer and so reducing the
exit temperature of the brine and eventually reducing
the inlet temperature to the brine heater.

Overall Effect of Scaling

Increased

operational cost

Cost of cleaning
Decreased

distillate production

Decreased

system reliability

Effect of Scale on MSF Heat Consumption

Source: Effect of Scaling on Design and Operation of Thermal Seawater Desalination Plant, Dr. Rainer Greggarath, SECRC COMO GmbH

Factors Influencing Scale

Water temperature

Alkalinity

Thermally dissolved solids

Type of dissolved products

Presence of nucleation particles

Silt from intake water

Flow and velocity

Time

Alkaline scales (CaCO3, Mg(OH)2) will form more quickly than

CaSO4 (Anhydride). CaSO4 x H2O (hemi-hydrate) will form very
quickly.

Effect of Temperature on Scaling

80C

90C

120C

CaCO3

Mg(OH)2
CaCO3

CaSO4
Mg(OH)2
CaCO3

Increased hardness, more difficult to remove

Scale Type vs Temperature

Composition of scale

Deposit composition in sea water evaporator

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

CaCO3
Mg(OH)2
Nominal temperature
difference - 27 C
Concentration factor = 2

CaSO4

60

66

71

77

82

88

93

Evaporator water temperature, C

99

104

CaSO4 Scale Formation in MSF Operation

Concentration factor

5
4
3
2
1

TDS 35

50

100
150
Temperature (C)

200

Data from:Mulford, Scale control in seawater evaporators

Scaling Tendency in MSF

Source: Fouling Phenomena in MSF Distiller, M, Abdul0Kareem Al-Sofi

Effect of Velocity - MSF (CaSO4)

Effect of Flow - MED

In the tubes, the hot vapors are
continuously passing uniformly at
the same mass and heat flow
But if the on the outside tubes, if
sea water flow has locally
reduced , supersaturation of
salts does occur
-

evaporation of water

localized continued heating

removal of carbon dioxide)

Source: Effect of Scaling on Design and Operation of Thermal Seawater Desalination Plant, Dr. Rainer Greggarath, SECRC COMO GmbH

Effect of Flow MED (No of Tubes Row)

Scaling Tendency MSF vs MED

Parameter

Operating Temperature
Operating Pressure
Scaling/fouling potential

MSF

MED

90 120 0C

<80 0C

Sub-atmospheric

Sub-atmospheric

Low-Moderate

Moderate-High

It has been pointed out that higher scaling potential of MED

compared to MSF is primarily due to the boundary layer
characteristic of film boiling and flashing in MED process
compared to bulk and surface flashing in MSF process

Scale Control in Thermal Desalination

CaCO3 scale control

Mg(OH)2 scale control

CaSO4 scale control

Dispersion capabilities

 Inhibition

of crystal growth

Crystal

modification

Crystal

growth inhibition

Scale

dispersion

Inhibit

adherence

Modes of defense

Scale Inhibitor Activity

Need Inhibitor that Work in All Fronts

22

Antiscalant Technology Development

Polyphosphate

Phosphonate/
Polyacrylate

Polymaleic
Acid

Modified
Polymaleic
Acid

23

Antiscalant Performance Comparison

Chemistry

T
Tolerance

CaCO3

CaCO3

(Deposition)

(Growth)

Phosphonate

Medium

Good

Polyacrylate

Medium

PMA
Homopolymer

Disper
sancy

Mg(OH)2

CaSO4

Mediocre

Poor

Poor

Poor

Good

Poor

Good

Fair

Poor

High

Poor

Good

Mediocre

Fair

Good

PMA
Copolymer

High

Poor

Good

Good

Poor

Mediocre

PMA
Terpolymer

High

Poor

Poor

Good

Good

Poor

24

Antiscalant: The Needs

Effective scale & deposition control for both soft scale

(CaCO3 & Mg(OH)2) and hard scale (CaSO4)

Good dispersancy

High temperature and calcium tolerance

Easy to measure/detect
On line measurement & control capability

Cost-effective

Environmental friendly

25

Antiscalant Technology Development

Polyphosphate

Phosphonate
/ Polyacrylate

Polymaleic
Acid

Modified
Polymaleic
Acid

Novel
Antiscalant

26

27

PC-2040T: The Features

PC-2040T is antiscalant program for the control of soft

scale (calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide) and
hard scale (calcium sulfate) in all types of sea water
distillation plants

It is specifically formulated for use in high Top Brine

Temperature plants where the predominant scale potential
is from calcium sulfate

PC-2040T is utilizing TRASAR technology for easy

detection, monitoring and control (future)

NSF Approved

28

PC-2040T: The Chemistry

Blend of Nalco Patented:
Phosphino Carboxylic Acid
-

Stable, reverse proof chemistry

Excellent CaCO3 and CaSO4 and deposition control
Good Mg(OH)2 scale control
Environmental friendly

High Stress Polymer (HSP)

- Terpolymer PAA
- High stress tolerance dispersant for silt, iron, phosphate; etc

TRASAR technology
- Tracer material for easy detection & monitoring

29

PC-2040T: Performance
Laboratory
SWCC

Testing

Plant Trial

PC-2040T : Lab Testing CaSO4 Inhibition

PC-2040 more effective than competitor A in CaSO4
inhibition
Especially at lower dose
70

% inhibition

PC-2040
Competitor A

no effect
0

0.5 ppm

Effect PC-2040T on the Formation of CaSO4

CaSO4 crystal

CaSO4 crystal grown

PC-2040T

Dramatic decrease in crystal number

(>100000 vs. 2 in treated sample)
Decrease in crystal size and shape

32

SWCC

The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) of

Saudi Arabia is one of the most internationally recognized
authority in the industry for evaluating thermal desalination
antiscalant

The Research & Development Center (RDC) in Al-Jubail

has been intensively involved in the evaluation of
commercial scale inhibitor of most of recognized water
treatment companies in the world

33

PC-2040T :SWCC Plant Evaluation

Phase

#1

TBT : 110 0C
Dosage: 2 ppm
Phase

#2

TBT : 110 0C
Dosage: 1 ppm
Phase

#3

TBT : 119 0C
Dosage: 0.8 ppm

34

SWCC Plant Evaluation Certification

35

PC-2040T Dosage Guide Line (MSF)

36

PC-2040T Additional Dosage: Turbidity

Dose increase (ppm)

1
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0
0

Turbidity (NTU)

10

37

Antiscalant Dosage & Control

It

is necessary to follow very closely the injection

of the chemical by analysis or by feed flow rate
control

Just

few hours of under-dosage are enough to

produce scale in the brine heater with resultant
loss of production

Technology

to measure & control antiscalant

residual in real time basis is not available

38

PC-2040T: What is TRASAR?

Patented Technology from Nalco

Use widely in boiler and cooling water system

A specifically chosen ingredient (a tracer) is blended into

Nalco product at precise concentration

Once the product is fed, the tracer is optically excited and

easily detected in system water

The signal generated by this process is used to monitor

and control chemical addition on a real time basis

39

PC-2040T: How Trasar Work?

40

PC-2040T: How to Measure?

Pen Fluorometer

Hand Held

3DT Controller
(Future)

41

PC-2040T: 3DT Automation (Future.)

PC-2040T

Summary PC-2040T Performance

Effective

scale inhibitor & deposition control of

CaCO3, Mg(OH)2 and CaSO4 at vary operating
condition
Broad temperature range
Broad range of concentration factors

Outperform

antiscalant technology available in the

market

for having on-line measurement, real

time & control (by Trasar)

Capability

43

PC-2040T: Advantages
Effective

scale & deposition control for all type of

scales up to maximum operating condition of
thermal desalination

Easy

NSF

to monitor & control

approved

44

PC-2040T: Benefits
Cleaner

heat transfer surface

Lower

steam consumption

Lower

cleaning frequency

Higher

plant efficiency

Higher

plant reliability

Comply

with SHE

Thank You !