Multi Effect Distillation

Technical description
Multi Effect Distillation (MED) is stated as being the most important largescale evaporative process, and offers significant potential for water cost
reduction over other large-scale desalination processes (pers. comm., N.
Wende). It is predicted that the use of this distillation technology will expand
in the future, over and above the usage of the Multistage-Flash distillation
process (ibid.). MED plants are typically no smaller than 300kL/day capacity,
as anything less than this is not financially viable given the significant
advantages of economies of scale that are available to this technology.
Multiple effect distillation units operate on the principle of reducing the
ambient pressure at each successive stage, allowing the feedwater to
undergo multiple boilings without having to supply additional heat after the
first stage. This process is illustrated in Figure.

In MED units, steam and/or vapour from a boiler or some other available heat
source is fed in to a series of tubes where it condenses and heats the surface
of the tube and acts as a heat transfer surface to evaporate saline water on
the other side. The energy used for evaporation of the saline water is the
heat of condensation of the steam in the tube. The evaporated saline water,
now free of a percentage its salinity and slightly cooler, is fed in to the next,
lower-pressure stage where it condenses to fresh water product, while giving

up its heat to evaporate a portion of the remaining seawater feed.

There is typically a series of these condensation-evaporation stages taking
place, each one being termed an effect. The process of evaporation-pluscondensation is repeated from effect to effect, each at successively lower
pressures and temperatures. The combined condensed vapour constitutes
the final product water.A well designed multi-effect distillation plant will
recover approximately 40 to 65% of the feed as product water. Product water
quality is highly pure with TDS values typically less than 10 mg/L TDS. MED
plants typically derive their energy from low pressure steam generators or
industrial process steam. MED units are also unique in their ability to recycle
waste heat from thermal power plants, diesel generators, incinerators or
industrial processes and as a consequence, are often sited adjacent to such
plants or incorporated with them at the design stage.
Application of technology
The essential difference between MED and MSF is that flashing of the steam
plays only a minor role in the process, and that the condensing steam
evaporates seawater via the heat transfer surface in each cell, or effect.
Therefore, in a MED system, steam produced then passes to the next, lower
temperature, effect where it condenses, evaporating more seawater and the
process is repeated in each subsequent effect. Thus, due to the lower
temperature operation of these units and the pressure reduction technique,
the MED specific power consumption is approximately half that required for
the MSF process.
Another benefit of the MED process is in the event of a leaky tube wall
occurring, the vapour would tend to leak into the brine chamber, thereby
avoiding contamination of the product water.
Also, the number of effects required for an MED plant is generally not more
than 10, compared to the larger MSF plants where typically 20 to 40 stages
are required before it is considered a cost-effective option (Buros, 2000). As a
result, MED plants are considerably smaller in physical size than MSF.
Following on from this, the major advantage of the MED process is its ability
to produce significantly higher performance ratios than the MSF process. This
is a significant factor to consider in environmentally sensitive areas and/or
where brine disposal is an issue.

Parameter
Feed water Salinity (mg/L TDS)
Product Water Salinity (mg/L TDS)
Minimum Product Water Volume
% Recovery
Energy Required

MED
3000-12000
<10
90kL/day
>90
Electrical Energy

Capital Cost [AUD/(kL/day of product

water)]
Operating Cost [AUD/(kL/day of
product water)]

570-3250
1.00-2.80

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of using multi-effect distillation for desalination are:

The pre-treatment requirements of the feedwater are minimal. !

Product water is of a high quality.

MED plants are very reliable even without a strict adherence to

maintenance.The plant can be combined with other processes, eg,
using the heat energy from a power plant.

The plant can handle normal levels of biological or suspended matter.

The requirements for operating staff are minimal. The disadvantages of

using multi-effect distillation for desalination are:

They are expensive to build and operate - energy consumption is

particularly high.

The plant can be susceptible to corrosion. This can usually be

controlled by the choice of material.

The product water is at an elevated temperature and can require

cooling before it can be used as potable water.

The recovery ratio is low, although not as low as for MSF.

References:

[3] URS Australia (2002), Economic and Technical Assessment of

Desalination Technologies in Australia: With Particular Reference to
National Action Plan Priority Regions, Available:
http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/dc0dedcc-05114c3d-9686-158ed1bb081c/files/desalination-full-report.pdf