CHAPTER III

MULTISTAGE FLASH DISTILLATION

3.1._____ Design Features

Basic principle of multiple-stage flash distillation is described in
the previous chapter 2.1.3 and explained with the help of a
simplified flow diagram shown in Fig. 2-2. The production of
distillate is done be expanding the hot brine in a series of small
steps or stages. Each of these stages produces a small quantity of
distillate. The formation of this small fraction of water is the
reason why a large quantity of water must be circulated in flass
distillation plants. The question arises as to whether this large
quantity of water is to be pumped from the sea, used on a "Once
Through" basis and returned to the sea, or whether it can be cir­
culated to advantage. Water recirculation seems to show significant
economics as compared to the "Once Through" operation, because the
warm brine saves the heat energy that would otherwise be required to
warm the cool incoming seawater to the desired brine temperature.
Furthermore, seawater must be treated to prevent scale formation
before it can be circulated through the high temperature end of the
plant. The cost of this treatment increases with the amount of water
pumped from the sea; particularly the amount is significantly high
in case of large paltns. Recirculation is practiced in nearly all
modern large flash-distillation plants.

The condensation of many increments of vapour formed in a series of

decreasing temperature steps becomes the source of heat for warming
the incoming feedwater. The higher the temperature that this
incoming feed-water can achieve through this step-by-step conden­
sation of the flashing vapour, the smaller the amount of external
heat which must be added to the feedwater, and hence higher the heat
economy.
 30

In designing a plant it is conceivable that either temperature dif­

ferential between the stages or pressure differentials could be made
equal. From a practical viewpoint the former course is generally
chosen since equal temperature drops result in approximately equal
amounts of vapour produced and require nearly the same amount of
heat transfer surface per stage. If equal pressure decreases were
used, the amount of vapour produced per stage would vary greatly and
the area required for heat transferred would need to be varied
accordingly. The use of equal heat transfer areas in the several
stages simplifies the design and constrution of the distiller units,
and hence is the preferred practice.

The conventional type of multiple-stage flash distillers have two

basic geometric designs for the arrangement of the condenser tubes
relative to the direction of brine flow. If the brine is pictured as
flowing along a horizontal channel in which submerged orifices
control passage of the brine from stage to stage, it is conceivable
that the condenser tubes could be either parallel to the direction
of brine flow or horizontally across the flow. The former one is
known as long-tube configuration while the latter one is termed as
cross-tube.

Sectional views of these chambers are shown in Fig. 3-1. The major
disadvantage of the long-tube configuration is the large amount of
ground area required and the need, during tube replacement, of
having a clear space at the end of the casing which is at least as
long as the tubes. In order to reduce this space requirement where
ground area is limited, short cross tubes have been developed. For
large MSF-plants, where the width of the chamber is about 7-8 m,
cross tube configuration is prefered.

In comparing these design aspects it should be noted that the long-

tube arrangement has fewer tube ends that must be sealed to tube
sheets. This results in less hydraulic resistance to flow and hence
a saving in pumping power. In the long-tube design the stage length
is controlled by the length of the condenser tubes, rather than by
 31

Structure
Tube support Water chamber
Condenser tube

Demister

Brine
Cross Tube Type

Partition
Tube support
Condenser tube

Cooling
seawater

Brine
Demister

Long Tube Type

Fig. 3-1. Sectional views of chambers

vapour release from the brine. In the cross-tube arrangement the

stage length is determined by the vapour release from the brine and
must be long enough for the vapour formed to escape from the surface
of the flowing brine.

3.2._____ Effect of boiling point elevation (BPE)

Boiling point of a solution increases as the concentration of the
solution is increased. Boiling point rise is the difference between
the boiling point of a solution and the boiling point of pure water
at the same pressure. As the brine flashes in a stage, pure water
vapour separates out from the bulk of concentrated brine and conden-
 o
ajnjDjaduuax
■J
ig. 3-2. Temperature profile of MSF plant
32
 33

ses on the cold surface of the condenser tubes at a saturation tem­

perature of pure water which is slightly lower than the temperature
of the concentrated brine boiling or flashing at the bottom of the
stage. It will be noticed in a stage, that the mean condensing tem­
perature is less than the temperature of the flashing brine leaving
the stage.

Solutions like seawater do not quite follow the laws of dilute solu­
tion and therefore properties like BPE for different concentration
and temperature are determined experimentally. One such equation as
published by OSW, Reaearch and Development Progress Report is given
in Appendix-2 of this thesis.

The effect of boiling point elevation can be examined by studying

the temperature profile diagram as shown in Fig. 3-2.

The line segment a-b shows the temperature at which external steam
is condensed in the brine heater, and the line 2-3 shows the temper-
ture change in the brine which occurs simultaneously. The line 3-4
represents the temperature drop during the flashing process as the
heated brine passes through the orifice into the first stage. The
boiling point rise of the brine here results in the temperature drop
in the vapour from 4 to 4', so that condensation of the vapour takes
place along the line 4'to 5'. Liquid in the tubes of this stage is
heated from 2a to 2, so that the brine enters the brine heater at
temperature 2. The unevaporated brine, leaving the first stage,
expands through an orifice into the second stage, with its expansion
temperature drop represented by the line 5-6. Vapour produced
thereby is condensed in the second stage along the line 6'to 7',
while the liquid in the tubes of this stage is heated from 2b to 2a.
The processes of expansion, evaporation and condensation are
repeated in each stage until the brine leaves the plant at point 23,
and the condensate leaves at point 23' in the 10-stage plant
depicted.
 34

3.3._____Economic Parameters GOR and Performance Ratio

3.3.1. GOR
"Gain Output Ratio" is defined by the ratio of the distillate pro­
duced to the weight of the external steam added.

From an examination of the temperature profile diagram, Fig. 3-2. it

will be clear that the amount of heat added by the external steam
must be just sufficient to raise the temperature of water from tem­
perature 2 to temperature 3. The number of steps on the curve could
be increased or decreased, provided only that the temperature 4‘ is
sufficiently above temperature 2 to produce the required heat
transfer. Thus it can be deduced from the diagram that there are
some minimum number of stages which would result in a situation in
which 4‘ would be so close to temperature 2 that transfer of heat
would be impaired and therby would require a maximum heat transfer
area. At the other extreme, a very large number of steps on a curve
with fixed points 2, 3 and 22 would create sufficiently great dif­
ferences between the temperature of evaporation and the
corresponding temperature of the warming brine in each stage, that
it would result in the need for a minimum heat-transfer area.

The relationship between the temperatures in the plant and the GOR
can be readily formulated. The amount of vapour formed and condensed
will be proportional to the temperature drop, t3-t22» the total
flashing range of the brine. The amount of heat added by external
steam will be proportional to the temperature rise, t3-t2*

Then from definition GOR can be expresses as:

GOR = C(t3-t22)/(t3-t2) (3.3-1)

Since C is a constant for any set of values for t2, t3, and t22> the
GOR will have a single fixed value regardless of the number of sta­
ges, i.e., the number of steps on the curve between t3 and t22*
 35

3.3.2. Performance Ratio

The steam economy of MSF plant is internationally expressed in terms
of "Performance Ratio" (R). It is defined as the number of pounds of
distillate produced per 1000 Btu of heat input. Thus, e.g. a plant
producing x lbs of distillate per 1000 Btu of heat input has a per­
formance ratio of x.

Thermal economy (Q1) of a distillation plant can be expressed in

terms of quantity of heat needed per unit of distillate produced.
Therefore, it is the reciprocal value of performance ratio. With
appropriate units, the following relation can be obtained:

Q' = 555.555 Kcal/kg (3.3-2)

R

or Q' = 2326 kJ/kg (3.3-3)

R

3.4.____ Description of the chosen large MSF plant

The plant size chosen in this thesis, for the parametric study of
the design synthesis, is fairly large having a capacity of 18 000
m2/d. To get an idea of large plants, a list of significant and
recent MSF installation is shown in the Appendix 1. The plant chosen
is a multistage flash type to operate at top brine temperature of
90°C. Crosstube, brine recirculating type with polyphosphate dosing
for scale prevention. A brief description of this Plant along with
the principal auxiliary equipments is given in this section. Process
flow diagram is shown in the Fig. 3-3.

3.4.1. Outline of Process

The key component of the plant is the flash evaporator, which is
divided into a series of evaporating chambers each provided with a
condenser for cooling the vapor produced in the chamber to transform
it into pure water and to collect the water thus produced.
 36

OESUPERHEATER

plant MSF
Fig. 3.3. Process flow diagram of

£
............l^-^i—
i«3AinD
/ Vw' 30dVHDS»0 01

~ *NVi
39Vd0iS 01
 37

The seawater pumped from the sea first passes through three chambers
constituting the heat reject stages, to cool and condense the vapor
generated from the brine in its final stages of distillation at the
lowest pressures and temperatures of its cycle through the plant. To
assure sufficient cooling of the brine, the brine recirculating pump
assures a large flow of fresh sea-water through the condenser pipes
in this part of the evaporator, and much of this cooling water is
then discharged to waste, carrying with it whatever amount of heat
it may have acquired from the brine, hence the name "heat reject
stages".

A part of the sea water emerging from the heat reject stages is
diverted to constitute the feed for distillation, and is circulated
through the heat recovery stages of the evaporator. In each stage,
as the feed passes through the condenser tubes, it acquires heat
from the surrounding vapor, which is thereby cooled and condensed,
to give up latent heat to the feed. After thus warming up stage by
stage, the feed enters the brine heater where it is heated further
by external steam supply. The heated feed then passes into the first
stage of the evaporator.

The pressure in the flash chamber of each stage is maintained at its

proper level of vacuum by the action of condensation taking place in
its condenser. This action is aided and controlled by steam ejec­
tors, which are connected to the first and the last stages of the
evaporators and which extract the non-condensing gases released from
the feed. The feed introduced into the first stage of the evaporator
flashes at reduced pressure in the chamber; the remaining liquid
passes into the next stage drawn by the still lower pressure pre­
vailing therein, and flashes at that pressure. This procedure is
repeated until the brine reaches the final chamber of the heat
reject stages.

In the last chamber, the thickened brine mixes with new feed
diverted from the heat reject circuit, and is sent back through the
brine recirculating pump into the evaporator again to repeat the
cycle. Between the pump and the evaporator a predetermined portion
 38

of the brine is diverted and discharged through a control valve

which regulates the rate of rejection. This removal of part of the
concentrated brine is necessary to preserve the specified con­
centration of the recirculating brine.

The steam evaporated in the flash chambers is cooled and condensed

by the incoming sea water or feed. The condensate collectes at the
condenser bottom and flows toward the final stage, from where it is
pumped out as distilled water from the plant.

3.4.2. Prinicipal Items of Equipments

3.4.2- 1 Evaporator
The evaporator constitutes the key Component of the whole plant.

The brine that flows in from the adjacent stage is reduced in

pressure in the flash box, and the vapor, from which drips of salt
water entrained are removed by demisters, is condensed by conden­
sers, collected in distillate troughs and is then transferred to the
following stage.

3.4.2- 2 Brine Heater

This heater further heats the recirculating brine received from the
condensers of heat recovery sections. It is identical to a horizon­
tal heat exchanger of shell and tube type which is commonly used,
and no special considerations are given to its structure. However,
because the size is greatly increased as compared with conventional
ones, consideration is given to the following points in designing.

a) Distribution effect of inlet steam

b) Extraction of non-condensable gases

In addition, water boxes are equipped with zinc anodes for the pre­
vention of galvanic corrosion.
 39

3.4.2- 3 Steam Jet Air Ejector (SJAE)

SJAE plays two important roles in the plant, that is,

a) To evacuate the evaporators to a certain extent when starting up

the plant, and

b) To maintain the pressure in the evaporators at a constant level

by extracting the non-condensable gases which are generated from
the feed and recirculating brine and the air leaked from the
exterior during operation of the plant.

SJAE is comprised of the ejector body, an after-cooler and an inter­

cooler. Since outage of SJAE will result in stoppage of the plant,
sufficient consideration is given to the materials used for the com­
ponents. Furthermore, to improve the operating efficiency by shor­
tening the start-up time of the plant, various devices such as
speedy drainage are provided.

3.4.2- 4 Pumps
The type of sea water supply, Brine recirculating and Distillate
pumps is vertical mixed flow.

The drives of pumps are electric motor except for brine recir­
culating pump which can be driven by vertical steam turbine.

3.4.2- 5 Chemical Dosing Equipment

The injection of anti-scaling compound is to inhibit the adherence
of scale on condenser tube surfaces, which would impair plant per­
formance, and would necessitate frequent acid cleaning operations to
maintain effective heat transfer.

A solution ofthe compound (polyphosphate) is formed by mixing it

with water and stirring in the chemical tank. This solution is
injected into the sea water make-up system by suction, utilizing the
vacuum prevailing in the evaporator, and the rate of compound addi­
tion is regulated to maintain a concentration of 4 ppm in the flow
rate of make-up sea water.
 40

3.4.3, Process Control System

To simplify the operation and maintenance and to maintain a stabi­
lized continuous running, the palt is provided with an automatic
control system. The control room is equipped with an instrument
control board. In addition, local control boards are provided at
major locations to facilitate the operation and control.

The control system of multi-stage flash type distillation plant is

shown in Fig. 3-4 and it is comprised of the following control
items. This system is considered to be the most satisfactory of all.

The control system is generally divided into temperature control,

liquid level control, concentration control and pressure control,
and these are further divided as described below.

Temperature control Main heater outlet brine

Raw sea-water

Heating steam to main heater

Liquid level Evaporator final stage brine

Main heater drain

Evaporator final stage distillate

Concentration control Recirculating brine

Distilled water

Condensate

3.4.3-1 Heater Outlet Brine Temperature Control

This control which plays an important role senses the main heater
outlet temperature and controls the rate of steam for heating at the
 CONTROL DIAGRAM

EJECTOR
CONDENSER DESUPERHEATER
LP STEAM
r—
N}
HP STEAM

SEA WATER
SUPPLY PUMPf , J

MW hc) TR C A ! TEMR RECORDING CONTROLLER WITH ALARM

CONTACT
TIC I TEMR INDICATING CONTROLLER
LICA : LEVEL INDICATING CONTROLLER WITH ALARM
CONTACT
ARC ! CONDUCTIVITY RECORDING CONTROLLER
ARA I CONDUCTIVITY RECORDER WITH A LA R M
CONTACT
HC : HAND CONTROLLER

Fig. 3-4. Process control diagram of MSF plant

41
 42

inlet by the temperature recording controller and thus controls the

main heater outlet temperature. Because the percentage of the time
required by recirculating brine for passing the main heater from the
total time required for one complete recycle is 3 or 4 percent, it
takes a considerable length of time to reach the state of
reequilibrium after a certain temperature variation. It is therefore
required to determine the setting of control with utmost care.

It is the key point which determines the stability of this plant

against continuous running. From this standpoint it becomes essen­
tial to sufficiently analyze and understand the dynamic charac­
teristic of the evaporator.

3.4.3- 2 Final Stage Brine Liquid Level Control

This control is provided with a sensing end in the final stage flash
chamber and controls the liquid level by controlling feed rate of
make-up feed sea-water through a level-indicating controller. In the
respective stages of the evaporator the liquid levels are cascade
controlled through brine orifices (submerged), and the variation in
liquid level due to a certain disturbance is concentrated in the
final stage. Consequently, the liquid level in the final stage is
sensitive to various disturbances.

3.4.3- 3 Brine Salinity Control

If the brine salinity is excessive, it causes scaling and BPE is
seen to increase. This control is adopted to limit the increase of
salinity of recirculating brine and to maintain it at a constant
ratio with the raw sea-water. This control is in relationship with
the final stage brine liquid level control. The control receives the
rate of feedwater and rate of brine discharge as control parameters.
Furthermore, the speed of variation of brine salinity is generally
slower than that of liquid level variation. Consequently a relative
adjustment among these control systems delicately affects stability
of the plant.

3.4.3- 4 Main Heater Inlet Steam Temperature Control

The heating steam to the main heater used in plant is superheated.
 43

Therefore the desuperheating water rate from heater drain pump

outlet is controlled by using a deheating device of atomizing type,
which thus maintains the inlet vapor temperature at 90°C.

3.4.3-5 Miscellaneous
A control is employed which automatically dumps off unsatisfactory
distilled water if the salinity of distilled water becomes 25 ppm or
higher due to some disturbance like overs pilling of demisters etc.