desalination

Technology Update—
Above: Seawater RO Plant, Ajman, Arabian Gulf.
Right: 1 MGD Brackish Water RO Plant at
Pascagoula, MS. —photo courtesy of GE Osmonics
advances
advances in desalination technology
Strong interest in desalination technology for the production
of drinking water currently exists among water utilities.
Why… and why now? First and foremost, demands for
potable water have been increasing in densely populated
and developing areas. In many cases, these areas of
demand do not have access to local supplies, and the
development of new sources can be difficult. Second,
environmental contamination has rendered some sources
unsuitable, even after treatment via conventional technol-
ogies. Third, many areas of increasing demand are close
to saline surface waters, resulting from the desirability
of these locations for development. Finally, recent advances
in desalination technology have made possible the
production of potable water from desalination plants that
are efficient, reliable and economically competitive
with conventional treatment of fresh water sources.
As evidence of the convergence of increased demand with
the practical and economical application of desalination
technology, a large-scale project has been completed
in Florida. That facility is now demonstrating the use of
membrane desalination technology at market competitive
rates. A number of desalination projects are currently
under active consideration in California, Texas, Florida
and New Jersey. In addition, industry sources anticipate
a double-digit increase in the development of desalination
projects employing membrane technology in the
United States.
What are these technological advances, and how have
they made reliable, cost-effective production of drinking
water from saline sources possible? Several fundamentally
different technologies, explained further on, can be
employed to remove dissolved solids from water. However,
the greatest advances most likely to see wide-scale
implementation in the US have occurred in the application
of Reverse Osmosis using semi-permeable membranes.
In fact, US companies are responsible for the major
technical developments in this field. Breakthroughs
include: automated, precision fabrication of membranes,
reduced manufacturing costs and the development of
improved, more efficient membranes that increase the
effective surface area. These improvements involve better
salt rejection and the ability to withstand higher operating
pressures. The improved membranes also offer better
resistance to fouling and a significantly longer service
life, thereby reducing replacement costs.
Below: Umm Al Nar B Desalination Plant.
— photo courtesy of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction
the desalination process
Desalination is a process that removes dissolved minerals,
including salts, from seawater, brackish water or treated
wastewater. Although a number of desalination technologies
have been developed, the following are the most widely used:
◆ Reverse Osmosis
◆ Electrodialysis (ED)
◆ Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR)
◆ Distillation:
Multi-stage Flash (MSF)
Multi-Effect Distillation (MED)
“...recent advances in desalination technology have made possible
the production of potable water from desalination plants that are
efficient, reliable and economically competitive with conventional
treatment of fresh water sources.”
reverse osmosis
Osmosis is a natural process known for over 200 years.
A semi-permeable membrane allows water molecules to
pass through much more readily than dissolved minerals.
Since water in the less concentrated solution seeks to
dilute the more concentrated solution, the water passage
through the membrane generates a noticeable pressure
difference between the two solutions. This pressure difference
is a measure of the difference in concentration between
the two solutions and is referred to as the osmotic pressure
difference. If pressure higher than the osmotic head
or pressure is applied to the concentrated solution, the
direction of water flow through the membrane is reversed.
This process is referred to as Reverse Osmosis.
(see Figure A, below)
Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology is particularly well
suited to applications in the United States, due to its
high energy efficiency, environmental compatibility
and the capability of the process to remove biological
and chemical contaminants. The Reverse Osmosis
process is regularly used for the development of ultra-
pure water for industrial processes (i.e. food, electronics,
pharmaceutical and power plant boiler feedwater)
and for wastewater treatment/reuse applications.
distillation
In the distillation process, feedwater is heated and then
evaporated to separate out dissolved minerals. The most
common distillation process is Multi-Stage Flash (MSF),
but Multi-Effect Distillation (MED) is becoming increasingly
competitive for small and medium size applications.
Figure A
Osmosis Reverse Osmosis
In MSF, the feedwater is heated and passed through
a series of chambers (called stages), each of which is
maintained at a progressively lower pressure so that water
“flashes” into steam in each of the stages. The steam from
one stage is subsequently used to heat the feedwater
in the next stage so that the latent heat is transferred,
and the vapor is condensed. The efficiency of this process
depends on the quality of heat exchange tubes and sheets,
along with the effectiveness of measures taken to prevent
scale formation on the heat exchange surfaces.
The difference between the MSF and MED process
is in the method of vaporization. In the MSF process,
feedwater is heated in tubes before it is allowed to flash
through the stages. In MED plants, heating steam is
supplied to the inside of heat exchange tubes, and the
latent heat is transferred through the tube walls to heat
a thin film of feedwater flowing over the tube surface
under gravity. The vapor formed in one effect is introduced
into the heat exchange tubes of the next effect, and this
process is repeated through the plant. The condensate
from the heat exchange tubes in each effect is collected
and extracted.
electrodialysis
Electrodialysis (ED) is a true ion separation process and
removes charged particles by transferring ions through
ion exchange membranes by means of an electrical
driving force. A voltage is applied across a pair of electrodes
causing positively charged ions to move towards the
cathode and negatively charged ions towards the anode.
Membranes are placed between the electrodes forming
several compartments. Figure B illustrates the conceptual
operation of the ED system. Electrodialysis Reversal
(EDR) is an automatic self-cleaning version of the
conventional ED process in which the polarity of
the voltage is reversed two to four times per hour.
The ED and EDR processes are particularly suitable
for treating low salinity brackish water. Uncharged
substances including cysts, viruses, pesticides and
organics will not be removed to any significant extent
using this process. For brackish waters, in comparison
to RO, EDR typically has:
◆ Higher yield (80–90%, compared to 70–80% for RO)
◆ Lower operating pressure
◆ Less ion rejection (60–75%, compared to up to 99% for RO)
◆ Longer membrane life (10 years, compared to 3–5 yrs for RO)
High Efficiency Electrodialysis is a new patent-pending
technology requiring less membrane area and is much
more energy efficient compared to traditional ED designs,
making it more economical.
The High Efficiency Electrodialysis employs a stacked
configuration with dual or multiple side-by-side ion
exchange membrane cells and improved gasket design
that results in greater separation efficiencies affording
greater flexibility in unit design.
reverse osmosis desalination plant
A properly designed RO plant has five main components:
◆ Feedwater intake system
◆ Pretreatment process
◆ RO membrane trains
◆ Product water conditioning, storage and pumping system
◆ Reject water discharge system
In a seawater RO plant, more than 2 million gallons
of seawater is required to produce 1 million gallons of
drinking water. Since brackish water has a lower salt
concentration, a higher recovery of drinking water can
be achieved, and the quantity of feedwater required is
lower for a given treated water output. Feedwater can
be extracted from wells or through open intakes.
A well system provides natural filtration of the feedwater,
and it is not affected by seasonal variations in suspended
and biological matter in the supply source. Adequately
designed and constructed feed wells signif icantly reduce
fouling of RO membranes.
The aim of a pretreatment system is to provide feedwater
at a quantity and quality that allows continuous operation
of the RO plant with a low risk of membrane fouling.
Current RO membranes are thin synthetic films and, due
to their large surface area and dense packing, membrane
fouling is difficult to rectify. A pretreatment system that
efficiently removes suspended and colloidal particles
from the feedwater is therefore essential to limit fouling.
In-depth knowledge of feedwater composition, in terms
of its physical and chemical properties, including seasonal
variations, is required to design a reliable pretreatment
system. Where an open intake system is used, feedwater
is screened to remove debris and to prevent plant and
marine life from entering the system. Traditionally,
sand filters or multi-media pressure filters have been
used to remove larger particles in the feedwater. In recent
years, more robust pretreatment systems using micro-
filtration membranes are being employed to improve
RO plant performance.
– +
Figure B
(continued from inside spread)
Depending on quality, chemical conditioning of feedwater
is necessary to control carbonate and sulfate scaling and
to prevent biological growth in the RO system. Addition
of hydrochloric acid, a scale inhibitor, such as sodium
hexa-metaphosphate, and chlorine is normally used for
the chemical conditioning of feedwater. Dechlorination
of the feedwater must be performed before the water
is fed to the membranes.
The pretreated feedwater is then pumped into RO modules
(each module contains several RO elements) using high-
pressure pumps. The selection of these high-pressure
pumps depends upon the size and duty of the plant.
Generally, the pumps are manufactured from stainless
steel or aluminum bronze. Typically, the high-pressure
pump requires 1 psi pressure head for each 100 ppm
of total dissolved solids (TDS) in feedwater. In the
RO modules, feedwater is separated into product water
and reject water (called brine).
A major cost factor in an RO plant is the energy cost
to run the high-pressure pumps. In order to reduce costs,
high pressure brine is passed through energy recovery
turbines before being discharged. By coupling an energy
recovery turbine to the high-pressure pump, it is possible
to reduce the energy cost by over 30% for a seawater
RO plant.
Seawater desalination and power
plant in Qatar, Arabian Gulf.
— photo courtesy of Weir Westgarth
The product water from an RO plant is usually of a
higher quality than necessary, and therefore, it is blended
with fresh feedwater to provide a higher volume at an
acceptable quality. The blended water would then have
the pH adjusted using lime or caustic soda dosing and
then chlorinated before being pumped to the storage
tanks and distribution system.
The brine has a higher salt concentration than the seawater
had before desalination and should be returned to the
sea or other saltwater body where it can be diluted and
blended in an environmentally acceptable manner. Since
RO plants operate at ambient temperature, the brine does
not cause any thermal stress to the environment. The
primary aim of the brine disposal system should therefore
be the adequate dilution of brine within the receiving
waters. One of the widely used dilution techniques is the
mixing of brine with treated sewage effluent, if available,
and using a combined discharge system. Injection of the
brine into carefully selected deep aquifers is also employed
for inland brackish water desalination plants. In hot
climates, brine evaporation in ground level ponds
is a possible solution.

Above & on cover: MIRFA Desalination Plant, UAE.
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our experience
Hatch Mott MacDonald is a leading consultant in the
water industry and has over 65 years of experience in
water and wastewater projects, including advanced water
treatment plants. One of our parent companies, Mott
MacDonald, is a world leader in desalination consulting
services and has implemented over 20% of the world’s
plants over the last 45 years (see photos). Our water
treatment and desalination specialists are well versed
in the latest water treatment technologies and are
committed to providing innovative, efficient, sustainable
and cost-effective solutions while minimizing
environmental impacts.
Our desalination experts and project managers have
combined world-class desalination engineering and
project management skills. Our in-house software tools
can model and optimize thermal and membrane processes,
groundwater/surface water/seawater feed systems
and brine discharge systems resulting in an efficient,
environmentally acceptable water treatment project.
our services
Our services, geared towards optimizing new
or existing assets/investments, include:
Desalination technology assessments
Condition and rehabilitation surveys
Site selection
Water storage and treatment
Pump stations and pipelines
Risk assessment
Investment appraisal
Environmental impact assessments
Plant design and specification
Feedwater resources assessment
Brine disposal evaluation
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