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ConvertingSeawatertoFreshwateronaShip:FreshWaterGeneratorExplained
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Youarehere:Home/MarineTechnology/Procedure/Maintenance
ConvertingSeawatertoFreshwateronaShip:FreshWater
GeneratorExplained
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OCTOBER21,2010BYKARANC
Freshwatergenerator,oneoftheimportantmachineryonboardaship,issomethingthatcannotb
donewithout.Freshwaterproducedfromfreshwatergeneratorisusedfordrinking,cooking,wash
andevenrunningotherimportantmachinerywhichusefreshwaterasacoolingmedium.
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ConvertingSeawatertoFreshwateronaShip:FreshWaterGeneratorExplained
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Freshwaterisgenerallyproducedonboardusingtheevaporationmethod.Therearetwothingsth
availableinplentyonshiptoproducefreshwaterSeawaterandheat.Thusfreshwaterisproduce
evaporatingseawaterusingheatfromanyoftheheatsource.Theevaporatedseawateristhena
cooledbytheseawaterandthecyclerepeats.
Generallytheheatsourceavailableistakenfromthemainenginejacketwater,whichisusedforc
themainenginecomponentssuchascylinderhead,lineretc.Thetemperatureavailablefromthis
waterisabout70deg.centigrade.Butatthistemperaturetheevaporationofwaterisnotpossible
allknowthattheevaporationofwatertakesplaceat100degcentigradeunderatmosphericpressu
Thusinordertoproducefreshwaterat70degreesweneedtoreducetheatmosphericpressure,w
isdonebycreatingavacuuminsidethechamberwheretheevaporationistakingplace.Also,asa
ofthevacuumthecoolingoftheevaporatedseawaterwillalsotakeplaceatlowertemperature.T
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cooledwateriscollectedandtransferredtothetank.
Nowadays,reverseosmosisisoneofthemethodswhichareusedonboardforgeneratingfreshw
Generallythisisusedonpassengervesselswhereinthereisalargerequirementoffreshwater
production.However,inmerchantshipstheevaporationmethodisusedasreverseosmosisiscos
andincludeslargemaintenancecostformembrane.
FreshWaterGeneratorArrangement
Themainbodyofafreshwatergeneratorontheshipconsistsofalargecylindricalbodywithtwo
compartments.Oneofthecompartmentsisthecondenserandtheotheristheevaporator.Thefre
watergeneratoralsoconsistsofaneducatorwhichhelpsingeneratingtherequiredvacuum.Thef
waterpumpandejectorpumphelpsintransferofwatertoandfromthefreshwatergenerator.
StartingtheFreshWaterGenerator
1.Beforestartingthefreshwatergeneratorwehavetocheckthattheshipisnotincongested
canalsandis20nauticalmilesawayfromtheshore.Thisisdonebecauseneartheshoretheefflu
fromfactoriesandsewagearedischargedintotheseacangetintothefreshwatergenerator.
2.Checkwhetherengineisrunningabove50rpm,thereasonforthisisthatatlowrpmthe
temperatureofjacketwaterwhichisaround60degreesandnotsufficientforevaporationofwater.
3.Checkthedrainvalvepresentatthebottomofthegeneratorisincloseposition.
4.Nowopensuctionanddischargevalvesoftheseawaterpumpwhichwillprovidewaterfor
evaporation,coolingandtotheeductorforcreatingvacuum.
5.Opentheseawaterdischargevalvefromwherethewaterissentbacktotheseaaftercircu
insidethefreshwatergenerator.
6.Closethevacuumvalvesituatedontopofthegenerator.
7.Nowstarttheseawaterpumpandcheckthepressureofthepump.Thepressureisgeneral
bars.
8.Waitforthevacuumtobuildup.Vacuumshouldbeatleast90%whichcanbeseenontheg
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presentonthegenerator.Generallythetimetakenforthegenerationofvacuumisabout10minut
9.Whenvacuumisachievedopenthevalveforfeedwatertreatment,thisistopreventscale
formationinsidetheplates.
10.Nowopenhotwater(jacketwater)inletandoutletvalvesslowlytoabouthalf.Alwaysopenth
outletvalvefirstandtheninletvalve.Slowlystarttoincreasetheopeningofthevalvestofullopen.
11.Nowwecanseethattheboilingtemperaturestartsincreasingandthevacuumstartsdroppin
12.Thevacuumdroptoabout85%whichisanindicationthatevaporationisstarted.
13.Openthevalvefromfreshwaterpumptodrain.
14.Switchonthesalinometerifithastobestartedmanually.Generallyitisonautostart.
15.Nowstartfreshwaterpumpandtastethewatercomingoutofthedrain.
16.Whenfreshwaterstartsproducingitisseenthattheboilingtemperaturedropsagainslightly
vacuumcomesbacktothenormalvalue.
17.Checkthewatercomingoutofthesalinometerisnotsaltyandalsocheckthereadingofthe
salinometer.Thisisdonetoseeifthesalinometerisworkingproperlyornotandtopreventthewh
freshwaterfromgettingcontaminatedwithsaltwater.Thevalueofsalinometeriskeptbelow10pp
18.Aftercheckingthetasteofthewatercomingoutofthesalinometer,openvalvefortankfrom
pumpandclosedrainvalve.
StoppingtheFreshwaterGenerator
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1.Closethejacketwaterinletvalves.Generallyinletisclosedfirstandthentheoutletvalve.
2.Closethevalveforfeedwatertreatment.
3.Stopfreshwaterpump.
4.Switchoffthesalinometer.
5.Stopseawaterpump(alsoknownasejectorpump).
6.Openvacuumvalve.
7.Closeseawatersuctionvalveandoverboardvalve.Thisisgenerallynotrequiredastheyar
returnvalves.However,incaseofvalveleakingordamage,thesevalvesaretobeclosedwithout
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