RVR ENGINEERING COLLEGE

STUDY ON REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER DESALINATION FOR COST AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

1. INTRODUCTION 2. BASICS OF REVERSE OSMOSIS AND COMPONENTS USED FOR DESALINATION PROCESS 3. PRETREATMENT FOR REVERSE OSMOSIS DESALINATION. 4. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS AND VARIOUS PROCESS

CONSIDERATIONS FOR COST AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY. 5. CONCLUSION

6. BIBILOGRAPHY

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INTRODUCTION

OSMOSIS Osmosis is a phenomenon where pure water flows from a dilute solution through a semi permeable membrane to a higher concentrated solution. Semi permeable means that the membrane will allow small molecules and ions to pass through it but acts as a barrier to larger molecules or dissolved substances. To illustrate this, assume that a semi permeable membrane is placed between two compartments in a tank. Assume the membrane is permeable to water, but not to salt. If we place a salt solution in one compartment and pure water solution in the other one, the system will try to reach equilibrium by having the same concentration on both sides of the membrane. The only possible way to do this is for water to pass from the pure water compartment to the saltwater compartment.

As water passes through the membrane to the salt solution, the level of liquid in the saltwater compartment will rise until enough pressure, caused by the difference in levels between the two compartments, is generated to stop the osmosis. This pressure, equivalent to a force that the osmosis seems to exert in trying to equalize concentrations on both sides of the membrane, is called osmotic pressure.

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Of course, we all know what osmosis is. It is about membranes and concentration differences that makes water (considered in most cases) flow against the solute concentration gradient, a phenomenon which is typically explained in terms of the "osmotic pressure" given by the classical van't Hoff formula (1885), (1) =kT c This relates "osmotic pressure" for a solute to its concentration c, the number of solute particles per unit volume, when c is "small" (k is the Boltzmann constant and T the absolute temperature). (That c is "small"; i.e., we have a dilute solution, means that it is much smaller than the concentration of the solvent.) The formula predicts a 25 atm pressure for a solute concentration of 1 mole per liter (= 1M) at 20 C. The traditional derivation of is based on the use of the chemical potential. Now I believe that only a few exceptional students, when exposed to the traditional treatment, may get a grasp of what is "really" taking place in an osmotic process on the molecular level. A phrase like "the decrease of the chemical potential lowers the pressure" does perhaps not help the student to intuit a physical Explanation of the process. Probably there will be left lingering a notion of some mystic "osmotic force" that pushes the molecules around. Thermodynamics provides very effective theoretical methods, but sometimes drawing results from manipulating the thermodynamic potentials may seem more like magic (to me anyway) than giving a physical explanation for the phenomenon considered 1. Basically, thermodynamics predicts the osmotic effect but does not "explain" it.

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Furthermore, classical thermodynamics deals with equilibrium states, not with the transition from one state to another. The continental philosophical tradition has distinguished two basic modes of comprehending things: understanding versus explanation (for an interesting account see von Wright1971). Thus, "understanding" has been associated with humanistic inquires where one tries to understand motives and reasons, whereas explanations has been regarded as typical for the natural sciences looking only for cause and effect relations. Still, I think many physicists are also striving for an "understanding" of their subject matter; few are content with just formal deductions. In this case understanding is a question of relating the phenomenon to basic physical principles and models, or something that is already familiar from experience. Two dimensions of a scientific field of inquiry can also associated with the syntax part and semantic part of a theory. The syntax part consists basically of the formal symbols, rules and axioms", which as such is "empty" and gains meaning only through its semantic part which interprets the symbols and provides models that realizes the abstract formalism. Now, the explanation" of osmosis given strictly in terms of the chemical potentials can be considered to be largely syntactical (consisting mainly of formal manipulations) and may as such provide little cues to the meaning of it. Neither does the thermodynamically derivation explain the osmotic effect in the sense of giving a causal chain showing how the effect is obtained. Osmosis will be used here to illustrate the case where we have explanations and understandings of a phenomenon on different levels and of different kinds. We may have an explanation on the microscopic or macroscopic level; we might try to explain what happens in terms of molecular interactions, or only by giving an abstract mathematical derivation in terms of "thermodynamic potentials" that do not necessarily convey any idea of how the actual process takes place. Of course, it is the very abstract and general nature of thermodynamics that makes its methods so powerful, but in the end we have also to try to understand the "mechanism" on the molecular level. 2. Such considerations may suggest new effects not apparent given the general thermodynamic treatment. This consideration is also of pedagogical interest because relying only on abstract mathematical demonstrations enhances the danger that students memorize formulas without gaining proper insight into the physics involved. Not least the growing interest in nanotechnology and soft matter physics will require some molecular considerations of the physical phenomena in an early stage of the teaching.
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Finally, when explaining physical issues to the public we also need illuminating "pictures" of the physical mechanism. One could try to make it a rule to give a good verbal or "pictorial" physical explanation of a phenomenon before presenting the mathematical formulation. Having an intuitive understanding of the mechanism will certainly also make the Mathematical presentation easier to grasp. Not an uncommon situation is that we work out detailed And complicated solutions to problems but if asked we would not be able guess in which direction The process would proceed (the problem of getting the sign right - familiar?). However, when we move to advanced theories like quantum field theory this approach may no Longer be feasible (we may though presume that physicists working in the field employ various "Pictures" of the processes in order to facilitate their understanding), but at this stage the student is much on his own already anyway. On the other hand it may be thought that such abstract inquires could be badly in need of good "pictures" to help intuit the content and give guidelines for further progress. I guess that one reason that some researchers are more successful than others in their field of study may be that they are guided by simple but effective "vernacular" models And intuitions How things "really" work; we could perhaps speak of a certain sort of an intimate relationship where The researcher learns to interpret the cues given by Nature. The informal and personal nature of these "Imageries" may make them difficult to pass over to a new generation of students, but at least there could more emphasis on developing an "intuitive" grasp and qualitative understanding of Phenomena and their underlying theory. One way is it to train the ability to make rough back-on the-envelope estimates of various quantities before attempting to give "complete" solutions to problems. The discussion of osmosis shows that sometimes the verbal explanations may become somewhat muddled, e.g. due to unclear terminology, whence it may be impossible to assess how well the "explanation" accounts for the facts. The osmosis case also illustrates the phenomenon of a popular explanation - the "diffusion theory" - which is promulgated despite the lack of theoretical support. As should be clear, what is said here is by no means a plea against abstract methods; on the contrary, I think that the abstract methods can be put to a more efficient use if we have a good qualitative understanding of the problem and its basic assumptions. As is also well known, "intuition" can sometimes lead astray; so, we need both to check each one another. Furthermore, it is not our suggestion that "understanding" necessarily requires a "mechanical model" for the phenomenon. E.g. contrived mechanical models of electromagnetic fields would hardly be of any use, pedagogical or otherwise
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4. Rather we would like to make a link to the honored tradition of Gedanken-experiments where simplified models are devised such as to emphasize the essential elements behind a phenomenon.

2.1 Potential energy

Classical mechanics is largely based on using point-particle models and solving Newton's equation (1) mx=F for each particle i knowing the force F acting on it. If we know the forces acting on the particles We can solve (in principle) the problem; this has become the "paradigm" of what it means to "Explain" things in science. When we have a large number of particles we have to simplify the Problem. If the particles form a "solid body" we can reduce the problem to one just involving the center of mass motion or rotations of the body. For deformable bodies and for fluids it is assumed That we can describe the motions using e.g. vector fields. We will discuss a simple problem which will later bring us to the osmosis problem. We have an U-shaped tube filled with water. When the system is in equilibrium we assume that the water levels in both arms are on the Same level x1. Suppose then we have a situation where the water level on the right side has risen Above the equilibrium level by h, and correspondingly been lowered by h on the left side. Now we expect the water to flow so that the original equilibrium state will be restored. (We know there is friction so that the system cannot go on oscillating around the equilibrium forever.) A traditional Approach would be to calculate the potential energy U of the system and determine its minimum which is expected to correspond to the equilibrium state of the system. Though this is quite a formal procedure it may provide a vivid picture of the system striving to reach the bottom of the potential well. Thus, in our case, if we assume that h<x1

we can disregard the potential energy of the water below x0 because it does not change in the process. If the cross sectional area of the tube is taken to be A we get for the potential energy of the water masses above x

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Where is the density of water and g is the acceleration of gravity. Expression is obtained by summing the potential energy contributions mg of every "particle" above the reference level x0. As we can see from that U indeed has a minimum at h = 0. If M denotes the total mass of all the water we can also write the dynamic version.

Reverse Osmosis
Reverse Osmosis is a process of filtration that removes many different molecules and ions out of the water by passing the water through a permeable membrane with very small holes. This means that harmful particles like chlorine, metals, and fluoride are passed out of the drinking water for a purer, fresher taste. There are several different ways of having reverse osmosis in your home. The most popular way is to use an under the sink reverse osmosis system. This requires the system to be placed underneath the kitchen sink and it takes the normal tap water flow into the system. It then goes through a very thorough process of a three step filtration; first removing the larger particles such as salt and rust. Next, it has a second layer for the smaller particles, such as molecules and ions. Finally, a reverse osmosis filter which is a thin film, allows only the finest water to pass to your lips. Reverse Osmosis Systems are popular with many households as well as the military for when they don't know the condition of the water they will be drinking overseas. They have to make sure that their troops are drinking safe, clean water and reverse osmosis is a fast, easy, and effective way to ensure that. If pressure greater than the osmotic pressure is applied to the high concentration the direction of water flow through the membrane can be reversed. This is called reverse osmosis (abbreviated RO). Note that this reversed flow produces pure water from the salt solution, since the membrane is not permeable to salt.

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DESALINATION
Desalination processes include: Reverse osmosis - involves seawater being pushed through a semi-permeable membrane that traps the salt and other impurities on one side and allows water to be filtered through a microscopic strainer. Thermal distillation - involves boiling saline water and collecting the purified vapor. Electro dialysis - involves the removal of salts by separating and collecting their chemical components through electrolysis and is more suited to salty groundwater

than seawater.
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Thermal Distillation
The basic principle of Low Temperature Thermal Desalination Plant: The surface sea water at about 28C - 30C is pumped into flash chamber which is maintained under low pressure of about 25 mbar absolute (below the saturated vapor pressure of water). The warm sea water in the flash chamber evaporates due to low pressure being maintained, taking latent heat of evaporation from the warm water stream itself. The evaporated water vapours move towards the shell & tube condenser and the return water, loosing temp by about 7C is returned back to the sea. The main condenser has a 'circulation of cold sea water at a temp of 12 - 13C, pumped from the lower layers of sea & is used for the condensation of the evaporated water vapor. The condensate thus produced is fresh drinking water fit for human consumption. The cold water pumped used in the condenser can subsequently be used for air conditioning as the return

temperature of this water is around 17- 18C. This water being pumped from the lower levels of the sea is rich in minerals & plankton and when discharged on sea surface becomes a potential breeding area for fish and other marine life. LTTD method of producing fresh water from sea water consists of flash evaporator, main condenser, fresh water & warm water pump and a vacuum pumping system. Since the major equipment is static the entire project requires low maintenance, having long operational life. The surface sea water is pumped into the flash chamber where low pressure is maintained. Almost I % of water is evaporated in the flash chamber and the rest of the water freely flows back into the sea as the flash chamber is maintained at a barometric height. The vapors evaporated in the flash chamber are driven over the main shell & tube condenser and almost all of them are condensed. The cold source of water pumped from lower layers of the sea takes away the condenser heat. The discharge water of the condenser, available at about 17-18C, can be used for other cooling applications such as air conditioning etc before discharging back into the sea. During the process of evaporation non condensable gases released from the sea water & the plant leakage load are constantly pumped by a vacuum system to ensure that absolute pressure in the range of 25 mbar is maintained in the vessel. The estimated consumption of energy per KL on a medium size plant is estimated around 10 units/KI of fresh water generated. As per
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the current rate of energy, the estimated cost of generation is very economical as compared to other conventional methods presently in use. A Typical Low Temperature Thermal Desalination Plant consists of 1. Flash chamber 2. Condenser 3. Trestle 4. Sea water sump 5. Output fresh water

The main features of LTTD plant are: No pretreatment of feed water required. Assured consistent quality water fit for drinking as per WHO standards. Operational simplicity and easy maintenance. Zero environmental Pollution. Use of renewable energy. Highly nutrient cold water available which can be used to enhance marine life.

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Electro dialysis:
Electro dialysis is used to transport salt from one solution, the dilute, to another solution by applying an electric current. This is done in an electro dialysis cell providing all necessary elements for this process. The concentrate and dilute are separated by the membranes into the two different process streams (concentrate and dilute), as shown in the figure below. An electric current is applied, moving the salt over the membranes.

Inside an electrodialysis unit, the solutions are separated by alternately arranged anion exchange membranes, permeable only for anions and cation exchange membranes, permeable only for cations. By this, the two kinds of compartments are formed, distinguishing in the membrane type facing the cathode's direction. Applying a current, cations within the dilute (blue compartment set) move toward the cathode passing the cation exchange membrane facing this side and anions move towards the anode passing the anion exchange membrane. A further transport of these ions, now being in a chamber of the concentrate (red compartments), is stopped by the respective next membrane:
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ELECRODIALSYS STACK CONSTRUCTION The following picture shows an electro dialysis cell: The cell consists of two electrode-end blocks (PP, grey) and the membranes stacked between them. The end blocks contain the in- and outlet adapters and the electrical connections. They are pressed together by a steel frame.

The general construction principle of an electrodialysis cell is shown in the following sketch: The membranes are separated by spacers consisting of a fabric in the active area filled with the electrolyte combined with a sealing around it. The spacer net prevents the
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membranes from touching each other. The stacked spacers form with their holes tubes, which are arranged in a way to build two different channel systems. By this way, the concentrate and diluate circuit is built.

1: Polypropylene end plate 2: Electrode 3: Electrode chamber 4: spacer-sealing PVC 5: Spacer fabric 6: Screws 7: Steel frame

8: Inlet anode cell 9: Inlet concentrate cell 10: cation exchange membrane 11: AAM 12: Inlet dilute cell 13: Inlet cathode chamber

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BASICS OF REVERSE OSMOSIS AND COMPONENTS USED FOR DESALINATION PROCESS

Reverse osmosis overview In order to use reverse osmosis as a water purification process, the feed water is pressurized on one side of a semi permeable membrane. The pressure must be high enough to exceed the osmotic pressure to cause reverse osmotic flow of water. If the membrane is highly permeable to water, but essentially impermeable to dissolved solutes, pure water crosses the membrane and is known as product water. As product water crosses the membrane, the concentration of dissolved impurities increases in the remaining feed water (a condition known as concentration polarization) and, as a consequence, the osmotic pressure increases. A point is reached at which the applied pressure is no longer able to overcome the osmotic pressure and no further flow of product water occurs. Moreover, if the applied pressure is increased in an attempt to gain more product water, a point is reached at which the membrane becomes fouled by precipitated salts and other un dissolved material from the water. Therefore, there is a limit to the fraction of feed water which can be recovered as pure water and reverse osmosis units are operated in a configuration where only a portion of the feed water passes through the membrane with the remainder being directed to drain (cross-flow configuration). The water flowing to drain contains concentrated solutes and other insoluble materials, such as bacteria, endotoxin and particles, and is referred to as the reject steam. The product water to feed water ratio can range from 10% 50% for purification of water depending on the characteristics of the incoming water as well as other conditions.

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Reverse osmosis membrane

Methods to minimize scaling

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In order to minimize scaling, pretreatment methods involving chemical or ion exchange techniques are used. Ion exchange methods remove scale-forming species from the RO feed water, while chemical techniques change the characteristics of the RO feed water so that crystal formation is not favored. An example of a chemical technique to prevent fouling is lime softening, which involves chemical processes that reduce the hardness of the wastewater, essentially preventing material from precipitating out Lime, soda, ash, and NaOH are used to convert soluble calcium and magnesium to insoluble calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide. Magnesium hydroxide tends to absorb silica, another scalant. These solids are then collected as sludge from the bottom of the "softener". Another softening procedure involves zeolite in an ion exchange process. A strong acid cation resin in the sodium is used to remove scale-forming cat ions, such as calcium, magnesium, barium, and iron. These cations are exchanged with the sodium to yield "soft water", that is, water of low hardness.

Another pretreatment technique to prevent scaling is acidification, which specifically reduces the crystallization of calcium carbonate. Sulfuric acid is most commonly used in this process, but can often increase the formation of sulfate scales. Therefore, where sulfuric acid cannot be used, hydrochloric acid is substituted. Often used with acidification, or by itself, are antiscalants. Antiscalants are chemicals added to wastewater to minimize scale carbonate or sulfate based scale. They consist of acrylates and phosphonates which inhibit the precipitation of carbonate or sulfanates. Methods to prevent fouling The second problem with reverse osmosis is with the fouling of membranes. Fouling occurs when suspended solids, microbes and organic material deposit on the surface of the membrane. Soluble heavy metals, such as iron, can be oxidized within membrane modules and foul the membranes. Another problem is from colloidal sulfur, which when oxidized from H2S can foul RO membranes. Colloidal sulcar tends to be very sticky and therefore can attach easily to the surface of RO membranes Hydrogen sulfide would be found most commonly in well-water. The primary methods used to combat fouling are mechanical processes that physically remove the suspended solids or chemical treatments the deactivate the foulant.

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Coagulation is one technique that neutralizes the negative surface of the suspended solids, allowing the particles to come together. These large particles are then easy to remove from the water using filtration. The most common coagulants used are cationic polymers, inorganic salts, and aluminum and iron salts. Inorganic solvents tend to form large particles, while catonionic polymers require much less product for coagulation. Similar to coagulation is the clarification method, which destabilizes suspended particles through charge neutralization. These particles conglomerate and are removed using sedimentation or filtration techniques. One particular type of filtration uses manganese greensand as a filter to remove soluble iron and manganese from the water source. This is generally done by oxidizing iron and manganese and physically removing the precipitates in the manganese greensand bed. Chlorination is the primary technique to minimize microbiological foulants, as it is very effective against a wide variety of microbes and can be easily deactivated using sodium metabisulfite. After chlorination, activated carbon filters can be used to remove chlorine and reduce organics. However, activated carbon tends to foster microbial growth by providing nutrients for microbes, so it is not a very effective filtration technique. Finally, to treat H2S containing feed water, which can form colloidal sulfur, a combination the above techniques, is used. First, the water is oxidized to precipitate the sulfur, which is then coagulated and filtered. Any colloidal sulfur that may have formed is converted to thiosulfates with the addition of sulfite. Finally, chlorination is done to convert the thiosulfates to sulfates. Components used for Reverse osmosis System FRP Vessels FRP VESSELS Range of FRP Vessels is manufactured using vinyl ester/epoxy based material and multi axis CNC filament winding machine. FRP Vessels, offered by us, are specially designed to meet diverse requirements of agriculture and chemical industries. These vessels are excellent in quality and are offered in a capacity of 25 liters to 1840 liters.

These vessels are provided with tanks, which are easy to install and resistant to corrosion, chemical, impact & abrasion. To ensure 100% leak free vessel, each tank is individually hydro tested at 10 bar.

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Materials used in FRP tank: PE or FRP liner Continuous strands of fiber glass with high strength epoxy resign

Features of FRP vessel; Available in a standard size of8x44 to 48x72 Long working life Economical

Operations Parameter of FRP Vessels: Operating pressure <150psi Operating temperature <49 deg C Vacuum <127mmHg (5Hg)

MULTIPORT VALVES
FEATURES

All valves in ABS material of construction Available in sizes of 20nb, 25nb and 40nb Available in top mount and side mount models for all sizes Available for up flow or downfiow filters/softener

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All top mount type valves supplied with top and bottom strainers and suitable adaptors to fit either 2 or 4" opening vessels

In-out adaptors with top and bottom strainers available Brine directors for softener valves available

Technical Specifications Maximum Flow Rate 14m/Hr @ 0.5 Kg/cm Pressure Drop 1 BSP (F) (Ranged connections also End Connections End Connections Maximum Operating Pressure Regenerant Suction Tubing Size Injector Ratio Injector Suction Rate Minimum Pressure for Uniform Suction Minimum Pressure for Uniform Suction Ejector Connections Drain Valve Connection to Vessel (Top Mount Type only) 2 NPT(M) or 4" NPT(M) available) BSP (F) 5 Kg/cm2 1 isto 1 1000 lph@3Kg/cm 3 Kg/cm2 32 mm OD PVC Pipe BSP (F) 2" Hose Elbow

FRP RO MEMBRANE HOUSING

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Membrane pressure vessels are manufactured by computer controlled filament winding machine and associated high precision processing equipments.

8' MEMBRANE PRESSURE VESSELS

Available in End Port and Side Port configurations Internal diameter is mirror finished to a tolerance of +/-0.02 mm which facilitates easy loading and unloading of the membranes.

External surfaces are highly polished and coated with high-gloss polyurethane paints for UV resistance and excellent aesthetics

End Cap assembly comprises of a single piece moulded seal plate, a unique high quality seal ring, a heavy duty aluminum bearing plate and a 3 turn stainless steel locking ring. The unique design of the end cap assembly facilitates easy removal and insertion of the end cap without any special tools. UKL membrane housings offers the most user-friendly end cap system.

Permeate Port comprises a standard 1" half union . Other options of 1 ' BSP(M) threads and 1" BSP(F) threads are also available.

8" membrane housings are available from 1 element to 6 elements with pressure ratings of 250 psi, 400 psi, 600 psi, 1000 psi and 1200 psi.

4' MEMBRANE PRESSURE VESSEL

DESIGN FEATURES

Internal diameter is mirror finished to a tolerance of +/- 0.02 mm which facilitates easy loading and unloading of the membranes.

External surfaces are highly polished and coated with high-gloss polyurethane paints for UV resistance and excellent aesthetics

End Cap assembly comprises of a single piece moulded seal plate and a 2 turn stainless steel locking ring. Enables removal of end cap without any special tools

0.5" BSP feed port and permeate port. Universal adaptation to all standard 4" membrane elements

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- 4" membrane housings are available from 1 element to 6 elements with pressure ratings of 250 psi, 400 psi, 600 psi, 1000 psi and 1200 psi.

PRETREATMENT FOR REVERSE OSMSIS DESALINATION

Seawater pretreatment prior to filtration Most of the existing pretreatment systems in operation today are Single-stage/dual granular media filters and are designed to operate without sedimentation or dissolved air flotation of the source seawater prior to filtration. However, source seawater may need to undergo additional pretreatment prior to filtration (sand removal, sedimentation, DAF, or initial filtration) depending on its quality.

Sedimentation

Sedimentation is typically used upstream of granular media and membrane filters when membrane plant source water has daily average turbidity higher than 30 NTU or experiences turbidity spikes of 50 NTU or more which continue for a period of over 1 h. If sedimentation basins are not provided, large turbidity spikes may cause the pretreatment filters to exceed their solids holding capacity (especially if pressure-driven granular media filters are used), which in turn may impact filter pretreatment capacity. If the high solidsload continues, the pretreatment filters would enter a condition of continuous backwash, which in turn would render them out of service.

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Sedimentation basins for seawater pretreatment are typically designed to produce settled source water of less than 2.0 NTU and Sdi To achieve this level of turbidity removal, sedimentation basins are often equipped with both coagulant (most frequently iron salt) and flocculant (polymer) feed systems. The needed coagulant and flocculent dosages should be established based on jar and/or pilot testing. If the source water turbidity exceeds 100 NTU, than conventional sedimentation basins are often inadequate to produce turbidity of the desired turbidity level of less than 2 NTU and low silt and algal content. Under these conditions, sedimentation basins should be designed for enhanced solids removal by installing lamella plate modules or using sedimentation technologies that combine lamellaand fine granular media for enhanced solids removal. Typically, enhanced sedimentation technologies are used for treating source water from open ocean intakes which are under a strong influence of river water or wastewater discharges of elevated turbidity. This condition could occur when the desalination plant intake is located in a river delta area or is influenced by a seasonal surface water runoff. For example, during the rainy season, the intake of the Point Lisas seawater desalination plant in Trinidad is under the influence of the Orinoco River currents which carry a large amount of alluvial solids. As a result, the desalination plant intake turbidity could exceed 200 NTU . To handle this high solids load, the plant source water is settled in a lamella sedimentation tank prior to conventional single-stage dual media filtration. Dissolved air
flotation is suitable for removal of floating particulate foulants such as algal cells, oil,

grease or other contaminants that cannot be effectively removed by sedimentation or filtration. DAF systems can typically produce effluent turbidity ofb0.5 NTU and can be combined in one structure with dual-media gravity filters for sequential pretreatment of seawater. DAF process uses very small air bubbles to float light particles (algae, fine silt, and debris) and organic substances (oil, grease) contained in the seawater. The floated solids are collected at the top of the DAF tank and skimmed off for disposal, while the low-turbidity seawater is collected near the bottom of the tank. The time (and therefore, the size of the flocculation tank) needed for the light fine particulates contained in the seawater to form large flocs is usually 2 to 3 times shorter than that in conventional flocculation tanks because the flocculation process is accelerated by the air bubbles
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released in the flocculation chamber of the DAF tanks. In addition, the surface loading rate for removal of light particulates and floatable substances by DAF is approximately 10 times lower than that needed for conventional sedimentation. Another benefit of DAF as compared to conventional sedimentation is the higher density of the formed residuals (sludge). While residuals collected at the bottom of sedimentation basins typically have concentration of only 0.3 to 0.5% solids, DAF residuals (which are skimmed off the surface of the DAF tank) contain solids concentration of 1 to 3%. In some full-scale applications, the DAF process is combined with granular media filters to provide a compact and robust pretreatment of seawater with high algal and/or oil and grease content. Although this combined DAF/filter configuration is very compact and cost competitive, it has three key disadvantages: (1) it complicates the design and operation of the pretreatment filters; (2) DAF loading is controlled by the filter loading rate and therefore, DAF tanks are typically oversized; (3) flocculation tanks must be coupled with individual filter cells. The feasibility of DAF use for seawater pretreatment is determined by seawater quality and governed by source water turbidity and overall life cycle pretreatment costs. The DAF process can handle source seawater with turbidity of up to 50 NTU. Therefore, if the source seawater is impacted by high turbidity spikes or heavy solids (usually related to seasonal river discharges or surface runoff), then DAF may not be a suitable pretreatment option. In addition to source water turbidity concentration, another factor of key importance for the viability of DAF as pretreatment upstream of the filters is the type/size of plankton contained in the water. Often, plankton in seawater is be dominated by small algal cells with diameter of less than a few micrometers (m) typically referred to as pico-plankton (0.2 to 2.0 m). As compared to fresh waters from lakes and rivers where pico-plankton usually does not dominate the algal community, in seawater picoplankton is associated with more than 50% of the chlorophyll a (algal content) in most ocean waters and in the cases of tropical or subtropical seawater, this content may reach 75% or more. Bench testing experience at the Carlsbad seawater desalination demonstration project in California has indicated that pico-plankton may not be well removed by DAF even after elaborate coagulation and flocculation (observed removal efficiency of chlorophyll a and turbidity was typically less than 60%). In such cases, the use of conservatively designed deep single-stage dual media granular filters or two-stage dual media granular filters may render a better pretreatment than a combination of DAF and
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granular media or membrane filtration. Taking into consideration the significant importance pico-plankton content may have on the selection of pretreatment system, it isessential to
characterize both the algal concentration of the source water (measured as chlorophyll a) and the algal profile of the source water, which documents the total concentration of algal cells in cells/ mL, as well as identifies the types of individual algae species contained in the sample, and determines the cell counts of these species in cells/ mL. Algal profile should be completed under both normal and algal bloom conditions. Although DAF systems have much smaller footprint than conventional flocculation and sedimentation facilities, they include a number of additional equipment associated with air saturation and diffusion, and with recirculation of portion of the treated flow, and therefore, their construction costs are typically comparable to these of conventional sedimentation basins. Usually, the operation and maintenance (O&M) costs of DAF systems are higher than these of gravity sedimentation tanks due to the higher power use for the flocculation chamber mixers, air saturators, recycling pumps, and sludge skimmers. The total power use of DAF systems is usually 2.5 to 3.0 kWh/10,000m3/day of treated source seawater, which is significantly higher than that for sedimentation systems (0.5 to 0.7 kWh/10,000 m3/day of treated seawater). DAF process with built-in filtration (DAFF) is used at the 136,000 m/day Tuas seawater desalination plant in Singapore. This pretreatment technology has been selected for this project to address the source water quality challenges associated with the location of the desalination plant's open intake in a large industrial port (i.e., oil spills) and the frequent occurrence of algal

blooms in the area of the intake. The source seawater has total suspended solids concentration that can reach up to 60 mg/L at times and oil and grease levels in the seawater could be up to 10 mg/L. The facility uses 20 build-in filter DAF units, two of which are operated as standby. Plasticm covers shield the surface of the tanks to prevent impact of rain andthis combined DAF/filter configuration is very compact and costcompetitive, it has three key disadvantages: (1) it complicates the design and operation of the pretreatment filters; (2) DAF loading is controlled by the filter loading rate and therefore, DAF tanks are typically oversized; (3flocculation tanks must be coupled with individual filter cells. The feasibility of DAF use for seawater pretreatment is determined by seawater quality and governed by source water turbidity and overall life cycle pretreatment costs. The DAF process can handle source seawater with turbidity of up to 50 NTU. Therefore, if the source seawater is impacted by high turbidity spikes or heavy solids (usually related to seasonal river discharges or surface runoff), then DAF may not be a suitable pretreatment option.

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In addition to source water turbidity concentration, another factor of key importance for the viability of DAF as pretreatment upstream of the filters is the type/size of plankton contained in the water. Often, plankton in seawater is be dominated by small algal cells with diameter of less than a few micrometers (m) typically referred to as pico-plankton (0.2 to 2.0 m). As compared to fresh waters from lakes and rivers where pico-plankton usually does not dominate the algal community, in seawater pico-plankton is associated with more than 50% of the chlorophyll a (algal content) in most ocean waters and in the cases of tropical or subtropical seawater, this content may reach 75% or more. Bench testing experience at the Carlsbad seawater desalination demonstration project in California has indicated that pico-plankton may not be well removed by DAF even after elaborate coagulation andm flocculation (observed removal efficiency of chlorophyll a and turbidity was typically less than 60%). In such cases, the use of conservatively designed deep single-stage dualmedia granular filters or two-stage dual media granular filters may render a better pretreatment than a combination of DAF and granular media or membrane filtration. Taking into consideration the significant importance pico-plankton content may have on the selection of pretreatment system, it is essential to characterize both the algal concentration of the source water (measured as chlorophyll a) and the algal profile of the source water, which documents the total concentration of algal cells in cells/ mL, as well as identifies the types of individual algae species contained in the sample, and determines the cell counts of these species in cells/ mL. Algal profile should be completed under both normal and algal bloom conditions. Although DAF systems have much smaller footprint than conventional flocculation and sedimentation facilities, they include a number of additional equipment associated with air saturation and diffusion, and with recirculation of portion of the treated flow, and therefore, their construction costs are typically comparable to these of conventional sedimentation basins. Usually, the operation and maintenance (O&M) costs of DAF systems are higher than these of gravity sedimentation tanks due to the higher power use for the flocculation chamber mixers, air saturators, recycling pumps, and sludge skimmers. The total power use of DAF systems is usually 2.5 to 3.0 kWh/10,000m3/day of treated source seawater, which is significantly higher than that for sedimentation systems (0.5 to 0.7 kWh/10,000 m3/day of treated seawater). DAF process with built-in filtration (DAFF) is used at the 136,000 m/day Tuas seawater desalination plant in Singapore.

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This pretreatment technology has been selected for this project to address the source water quality challenges associated with the location of the desalination plant's open intake in a large industrial port (i.e., oil spills) and the frequent occurrence of algal blooms in the area of the intake. The source seawater has total suspended solids concentration that can reach up to 60 mg/L at times and oil and grease levels in the seawater could be up to 10 mg/L. The facility uses 20 build-in filter DAF units, two of which are operated as standby. Plastic covers shield the surface of the tanks to prevent impact of rain and within the same DAF vessel. Up to 12% of the filtered water is saturated with air and recirculated to the feed of the DAF units. A combination of DAF followed by two-stage dual-media pressurefiltration has been successfully used at the 45,400 m/day El ColosoSWRO plant in Chile, which at present is the largest desalination plant in South America. The plant is located in the City of Antogofasta, where seawater is exposed to year-round red-tide events, which have the capacity to create frequent particulate fouling and biofouling of the SWRO membranes. The DAF system at this plant is combined in one facility with a coagulation and flocculation chamber. The average and maximum flow rising velocities of the DAF system are 22 and 33 m/m.h, respectively. This DAF system can be bypassed during normal operation and is typically used during red-tide events. The downstream granular media filters are designed for surface loading rate of 25 m/m h. Ferric chloride at a dosage of 10 mg/L is added ahead of the DAF system for source water coagulation. The DAF system reduces source seawater turbidity to between 0.5 and 1.5 NTU and removes approximately 30 to 40% of the source seawater organics. Another example of large seawater desalination plant incorporating DAF system for pretreatment is the 200,000 m3/day Barcelona facility in Spain. The pretreatment system of this plant incorporates 10 high-rate AquaDAF units equipped with flocculation chambers; 20 first-stage gravity dual-media filters, and 24 s-stage pressurized dual-media filters. The purpose of the DAF system is mainly to remove algae during blooms and to reduce source water organic content. The intake of the desalination plant is located 2.2 km from the coast and 3 km away from the entrance of a large river (Llobregat River) to the ocean, which carries significant amount of alluvial (NOM-rich) organics. After coagulation with ferric chloride and flocculation in flash-mixing chambers, over 30% of these organics are removed by the DAF system.

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Selecting granular filter media Filter media type, uniformity, size and depth are of key importance for the performance of seawater pretreatment filters. Dual media filters have two layers of filtration media typical design includes 0.4 to 0.8 mof anthracite over 1.0\ to 2.0 mof sand. Deep dual media filters are often used if the desalination plant filtration system is designed to achieve enhanced removal of soluble organics from seawater by biofiltration and/or to handle seawater with high pico-plankton content. In this case, the depth of the anthracite level is enhanced to between 1.5 and 1.8 m. If the source seawater is relatively cold (i.e., average annual temperature below 15 C), and at the same time is of high organic content, a layer of granular activated carbon (GAC) of the same depth is used instead of deeper layer of anthracite because the biofiltration removal efficiency will be hindered by the low temperature. While during biofiltration a portion of the soluble organics in the seawater is metabolized by the microorganisms that grow on a thin biofilm formed on the granular filter media, the GAC media removes a portion of the seawater organics mainly by adsorption. Tri-media filters have 0.45 to 0.60 m of anthracite as the top layer, 0.20 to 0.30 mof sand as a middle layer and 0.10 to 0.15 mof garnet or limonite as the bottom layer. These filters are used if the source seawater contains a large amount of fine silt or the seawater intake experiences algal blooms dominated by pico-plankton. The depth of the filter bed is typically a function of the media size and follows the general rule-of-thumb that the ratio between the depth of the filter bed (l - in millimeters) and the effective size of the filter media (de - in millimeters), l/de, should be higher than 1500. For example, if the effective size of the anthracite media is selected to be 0.65 mm, the depth of the anthracite bed should be at least (0.65 mm 1500=0.975 mm, i.e., approximately 1.0 m). The depth of the GAC media is estimated based on the average contact time in this media, which is recommended to be 10 to 15 min. For example, if a filter is designed for a surface loading rate of 9 m3/m2 h, the depth of the GAC media should be at least 1.5 m (9 m3/m2 h 10 min/60 min per h=1.5 m). When each of the filter media layers is first placed in the filter cells, and additional 3 to 5 cm of media should be added to the design depth of the layer to account for the removal/loss of fine particles from the newly installed bed after backwashing. It should also be pointed out that if the filters are designed to achieve total organic carbon (TOC) removal by biofiltration, it would take at least 4 to 6 weeks for the
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filters to create sustainable biofilm on the surface of the filter media that can yield steady and consistent filter performance and TOC removal. If the seawater temperature is relatively cold (i.e., below20 C), than biofilm formation process may take several weeks longer.

Considerations for selecting granular filter type Depending on the driving force for seawater filtration, granular media filters are classified as gravity and pressure filters. The main differences between the two types of filters are the head required toconvey the water through the media bed, the filtration rate, and the type of vessel used to contain the filter media. Because of the high cost of constructing large pressure vessels with the proper wetted surfaces for corrosion resistance, pressure filters are typically used for small and medium size capacity SWRO plants. Typically, gravity filters are reinforced concrete structures that operate at water pressure drop through the media of between 1.5 and 2.5 m. Dual media gravity filters are a predominant type of filtration pretreatment technology presently used in desalination plants of capacity higher than 40,000 m3/day. Down-flow filters are preferred because they allow to retain algal biomass contained in the source seawater at the upper layer of the filter media and to minimize algal cell rupture which could cause release of soluble biodegradable organics in the filtered seawater which accelerate SWRO membrane biofouling.

Gravity pretreatment filters have found application for both small and large desalination plants worldwide. Most large seawatern desalination plants in operation today have deep open-ocean intakes and use single-stage/dual media gravity filters (i.e., 320,000 m3/day Ashkelon SWRO plant in Israel; 250,000 m3/day Sydney Water and 125,000 m3/day Gold Coast desalination plants in Australia; and the 200,000 m3/day Hamma SWRO plant in Algeria). Pressure filters have filter bed configuration similar to that of gravity filers, except that the filter media is contained in steel pressure vessel. They have found application mainly for small and medium size seawater desalination plants usually with production capacity of less than 20,000 m3/day. An exception is Spain, where most of the pretreatment filters at seawater desalination plants are pressure filters.

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In most cases for relatively good source seawater quality (TOCb1 mg/L, SDIb5 and turbidityb4 NTU) pressure filters are designed as single stage, dual media (anthracite and sand) units. Some plants with relatively poor water quality use two-stage pressure filtration systems. For small desalination plants, pressure filters are very costcompetitive, more space efficient and easier, and faster to install, and operate as compared to granular media gravity filters. Activated carbon filter Carbon is a substance that has a long history of being used to absorb impurities and is perhaps the most powerful absorbent known to man. One pound of carbon contains a surface area of roughly 125 acres and can absorb literally thousands of different chemicals. Activated carbon is carbon which has a slight electro-positive charge added to it, making it even more attractive to chemicals and impurities. As the water passes over the positively charged carbon surface, the negative ions of the contaminants are drawn to the surface of the carbon granules. Activated carbon filters used for home water treatment typically contain either granular activated carbon (GAC) or powdered block carbon. Although both are effective, carbon block filters generally have a higher contaminant removal ratio. The two most important factors affecting the efficiency of activated carbon filtration are the amount of carbon in the unit and the amount of time the contaminant spends in contact with it. The more carbon the better. Similarly, the lower the flow rate of the water, the more time that contaminants will be in contact with the carbon, and the more absorption that will take place. Particle size also affects removal rates. Activated carbon filters are usually rated by the size of the particles they are able to remove, measured in microns, and generally range from 50 microns (least effective) down to 0.5 microns (most effective). A typical counter-top or under-the-counter filter system has from 12 to 24 ounces of activated carbon. The most common carbon types used in water filtration are bituminous, wood, and coconut shell carbons. While coconut shell carbon typically costs 20% more than the others, it is generally regarded as the most effective of the three. All of our activated carbon filters use coconut shell carbon.

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DUAL MEDIA FILTRATION

The terms "multilayer," "in-depth," and "mixed media" apply to a type of filter bed which is graded by size and density. Coarse, less dense particles are at the top of the filter bed, and fine, more dense particles are at the bottom. Downflow filtration allows deep, uniform penetration by particulate matter and permits high filtration rates and long service runs. Because small particles at the bottom are also more dense (less space between particles), they remain at the bottom. Even after high-rate backwashing, the layers remain in their proper location in the mixed media filter bed. Anthracite/sand filter beds normally provide all of the advantages of single-media filtration but require less backwash water than sand or anthracite alone. Similar claims have been made for anthracite/sand/garnet mixed units. The major advantages of dual-media filtration are higher rates and longer runs. Anthracite/sand/garnet beds have operated at normal rates of approximately 5 gpm/ft and peak rates as high as 8 gpm/ft without loss of effluent quality.

GRAVITY FILTERS Apart from the filter media, the essential components of a gravity filter include the following:

The filter shell, which is either concrete or steel and can be square, rectangular, or circular. Rectangular reinforced concrete units are most widely used.

The support bed, which prevents loss of fine sand or anthracite through the under drain system. The support bed, usually 1-2 ft deep, also distributes backwash water.

An under drain system, which ensures uniform collection of filtered water and uniform distribution of backwash water. The system may consist of a header and

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laterals, with perforations or strainers spaced suitably. False tank bottoms with appropriately spaced strainers are also used for under drain systems.

Wash water troughs, large enough to collect backwash water without flooding. The troughs are spaced so that the horizontal travel of backwash water does not exceed 3-3 ft. In conventional sand bed units, wash troughs are placed approximately 2 ft above the filter surface. Sufficient freeboard must be provided to prevent loss of a portion of the filter media during operation at maximum backwash rates.

Control devices that maximize filter operation efficiency. Flow rate controllers, operated by venture tubes in the effluent line, automatically maintain uniform delivery of filtered water. Backwash flow rate controllers are also used. Flow rate and head loss gauges are essential for efficient operation.

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DESIGN

CONSIDERATIONS

AND

VARIOUS

PROSSES

CONSIDERATIONS FOR COST AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY. Seawater desalination requires minimal energy consumption equal to the osmotic pressure times the volume of desalinated water . The osmotic pressure is nearly proportional to the salt concentration in the water. For a seawater osmotic pressure of 27 bar the minimal energy is about 0.75 kW hour / cubic meter and it varies according to the water salinity. This minimal energy, derived by thermodynamic considerations, is general and true to all desalination technologies and not only reverse osmosis. Advanced reverse osmosis systems apply energy recovery or pressure conversion devices and report higher energy consumption of above 2 kW hour / m3 . Curiously, the energy may be easily reduced and approach the theoretical minimum. Why this is not done? Producing one volume of desalinated water with nearly minimal consumption of energy requires the use of several volumes of seawater that mostly go back to the sea. These volumes are prepared prior to desalination by chemical treatment and filtering operations. The cost of the pre osmosis water is then higher than the cost of the energy saved in the process, so there is no advantage doing that. The ratio of the desalinated water volume to the seawater volume used to produce it is called the recovery ratio. High recovery ratio saves on the cost of seawater preparation prior to the osmosis process, and low recovery ratio saves on the energy cost of desalination. The optimal recovery ratio depends on the relative costs of these operations and may vary under different conditions.
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The purpose of these pages is to consider a way to achieve efficient seawater desalination by reverse osmosis in a system that does not apply energy recovery or pressure conversion devices.

Basic scheme of desalination by reverse osmosis: High-pressure pump pumps seawater into a module separated by a semi permeable membrane into two volumes. The membrane lets water flow through it but blocks the transport of salts, so the water in the volume beyond the membrane, called permeate, is desalinated, and the salt is left behind in the volume in front of the membrane. The concentrated salt water in this volume leaves the module via a pressure control valve.

The osmotic pressure Ps is given by van't Hoff equation: Ps = cRT

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Where c is the ionic molar concentration, R = 0.082 (liter bar / degree mole) is the gas constant, and T is the absolute temperature in Kelvin units. T is equal to the Celsius temperature + 273.17. Thus, T = 300 K for 27o C. Typical ionic salt concentration of seawater is: c = 1.1 mole / liter, and the corresponding osmotic pressure is: Psea = 1.1 x 0.082 x 300 = 27 bar. The flow rate of water through the membrane Frate is given by: Frate = Kf(Ppump - Ps) The membrane properties and its area determine the flow rate factor Kf. Ppump is the pressure generated by the pump and controlled by the pressure control valve. Ps is the osmotic pressure of the concentrated salt water in the module. The pump pressure must be higher than the osmotic pressure in order to force seawater flow through the membrane and permeate water out of the module. The flow rate is proportional to the difference between the two pressures. When they are equal water does not flow through the membrane, and if the pump pressure is lower than the osmotic pressure, permeate water will flow back towards the concentrated salt water. Consider an example where the water recovery ratio is 0.5. That is, for every two volumes of seawater pumped into the module one volume will come out as permeate water and one as doubly concentrated salt water. The high-pressure pump consumes energy equal to the pump pressure times the volume of water that it pumps. Since the pump has to pump two V volumes of seawater in order to produce one V volume of permeate water, the consumed work is: W = P2V Since the osmotic pressure of the concentrated salt water is twice as much as that of seawater, Ps = 2Psea, the required pump pressure will be: P = 2Psea + P P is the overpressure, above the osmotic pressure, that drives water flow through the membrane. The work then becomes:
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W = (4Psea + 2P)V It is, therefore, more than four times higher than the minimal theoretical desalination energy (PseaV). In summary, the practical desalination energy is higher than the theoretical minimum for two reasons.

a. The feed volume of seawater is higher than the volume of permeate-water. b. The osmotic pressure of concentrated salt water within desalination module is higher than that of seawater. Improving desalination: I. Modules in series Seawater flows into a first module where about 10% penetrate through the membrane and become permeate water. The rest more concentrated water flows to a second module where again part of it penetrates through the membrane and part of it continues to the next membrane. The salt concentration and therefore also the osmotic pressure increase at each consecutive module, while the overall pump pressure is nearly the same in all of them. The flow rate through the membrane is proportional to the difference between the pump pressure and the osmotic pressure. Therefore, the pressure difference and the flow rate through the membrane are highest at the first module. They decrease at each consecutive module, and are lowest at the last module. In this system there is no need of overpressure to drive water through the membranes if sufficient number of modules are connected in series. Most of the permeate-water comes from the first modules and little water comes from the membrane of the last module, where the osmotic pressure is slightly below the pump pressure. For 50% water recovery the work of desalination thus becomes: W = 4Psea V The semi permeable membrane is not perfect and about 0.5% - 1% of the salt in the water penetrates through it. Series connection of modules is advantageous since most of the

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water comes from modules with lower salt concentration, resulting in lower salt concentration in the permeate water. Improving desalination: II. Energy recovery The mechanical energy consumed by the high-pressure pump is transformed into heat within the desalination system. Part of the heat is generated by dissipate water flow through the membrane and part by water flow through the pressure control valve. Part of the (free) energy is accumulated within the concentrated salt water that leaves the system. This energy is not lost and in principle can be utilized, returned back to the system and improve its efficiency. Is it worth doing? The question will be discussed in a next section. The energy loss within the pressure control valve can be avoided by application of a variety of energy recovery devices. Figure-3 presents a system where the pressurized salt water, that leaves the membrane modules, drives a rotary turbine [4]. The turbine drives an auxiliary high-pressure pump that supplies seawater to the membrane modules and reduces the water supply and energy consumption of the first pump.

Fig; Energy recovery with a turbine and an auxiliary pump.

Cyclic flow operation:

Semi permeable membranes favor operation with continuous water flow and permanent operating pressure. Flow disturbances and unstable pressure stress the membranes and increase their wear. However, the continuous flow mode requires application of energy recovery devices for efficient operation.
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An operation mode of cyclic flow may achieve, in principle, energy efficiency comparable to continuous flow and there is no need of energy recovery devices. Therefore, this possibility may not be ignored, even for a price of modifying the semi permeable membrane or the membrane module. At one state of the valve the salt-water compartment of the module is closed. The highpressure pump pumps seawater into the membrane module and all the water penetrates through the membrane and turns into permeate water since there is no other water exit. The low-pressure pump circulates the water in the module at a flow rate required by the module manufacturer for proper operation. Since there is no exit for the salt it will accumulate within the module and steadily increase the osmotic pressure. At a pre determined osmotic pressure the valve revolves and relieves the pressure within the module. At this state of the valve the two pumps drive the concentrated salt water out of the module and replace it with fresh seawater. The valve then revolves again and the operation is repeated. Pressure release of concentrated salt water by valve revolution does not waste energy, similarly to the case of the "rotating door" (section 4), since water is incompressible and does not accumulate energy. However, there are other energy-losses that will be considered later. In cyclic operation the high-pressure pump pumps a volume of seawater equal to the volume of delivered permeate water. In this respect it is equivalent to continuous operation with an energy recovery device. Only here there is no such a device. Efficient continuous operation without energy recovery is achieved with deep sea desalination by reverse osmosis

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shows a desalination system where a number of modules are connected in series.

Single-Stage Systems The layout of a single stage RO desalination Feed water intake flow rate

system is shown in Fig. 3. There are a total of six independent design

variables. Two of those variables (x1, x2) are

continuous while the rest are discrete. The

variables are listed as: x1 x2 High-pressure pressure setting x3 Size-number of the RO membrane modules used in the rack of pressure pump

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vessels x4 Number of RO

membrane modules per pressure vessel x5 Number of pressure

vessels in the rack x6 Type of energy recovery device:

device used : Hydraulic turbine coupled to a pump

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Two-Stage Systems The layout of a two-stage RO desalination system is shown in Fig. 4. There are a total of eleven independent design Feed water intake flow rate

variables. Three of those variables (x1-x3) are

continuous while the rest are discrete. The

variables are listed as: x1 x2 High-pressure pressure x3 Intermediate boosterpump

pump pressure setting x4 Size-number of the RO membrane modules used in the 1st stage rack of pressure vessels x5 Number of RO

membrane modules per

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pressure vessel in the 1st stage rack x6 Number of pressure

vessels in the 1st stage rack x7 Whether or not an

intermediate

booster

pump is included in the system:

booster pump

pump is included

x8

Size-number of the RO membrane modules used in the 2nd stage rack of pressure vessels

x9

Number

of

RO

membrane modules per pressure vessel in the 2nd stage rack x10 Number of pressure

vessels in the 2nd stage rack x11 Type of energy recovery device:

device used

coupled to a pump

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CONCLUSION:

Models are developed for single and two stage systems and used to explore the pressure variables for the minimization of cost and energy required per unit volume of permeate water. Results of cases studies indicate the two stage systems to be superior when the desalination recovery ratio is not directly factored into the cost.

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