SALINE WATER CONVERSION CORPORATION

RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

The Desalting

Prepared by 0. K. Buros
For the International
Desalination Association
ABC 's

Modified and Reproduced by

Research Department
Saline Water Conversion Carporation
1990
The Desalting ABCs
This publication has been prepared by the International Desalination Association (IDA)
with a grant from the Saline,Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, to provide a simplified explanation of some of the basics of desalting. It
was edited and modified by the Research Department at Saline Water Conversion
Corporation. Additional information about desalination and its use in Saudi Arabia and
other Arab countries provides the reader with the extent of the use of this technology for
the benefit of the people.

Material in this booklet may be used freely. If portions are used, then credit must be
given to this publication or the original source of the material.
Contents

Introduction Page No.

Desalting: A Treatment Process 1 Concentrate Disposal
The Development of Desalting 2 Hybrid Facilities
Worldwide Acceptance 4 Economics
All Countries Producing Desalinated Water
in Order of Capacities 5
All Countries Producing Desalinated Water Acknowledgements
With Processes in Alphabetical Order 9 Bibliography
Arab Countries Using Desalination Technology 20
Map of Saudi Arabia Showing Swcc Activities 24
Existing Desalinated Water Pipe Line 25
Existing Desal Plants Along the Red Sea 26
Existing Desal Plants Along the Gulf 28
Desalting Technologies
Thermal Processes 29
Multi-Stage Flash Distillation 30
Multiple Effect Distillation 31
Vapor Compression Distillation 32
Membrane Processes 33
Electrodialysis 34
Reverse Osmosis 37
Other Processes
Freezing 42
Membrane Distillation 42
Solar Humidification 43
Other Solar and Wind-Driven Desalters 44

Other Aspects of Desalting

Cogeneration 45
Introduction
Desalting: A Treatment Process
Desalting, as discussed in this booklet, refers to a water
treatment process that removes salts from water. It is
also called desalination or desalinization, but it means
the same thing. Desalting can be done in a number of
ways, but the result is always the same: fresh water is
produced from brackish or sea water. Desalting technolo-
gies can be used for a number of applications, but the
purpose of this booklet is to discuss the use of desalting
to produce potable water for domestic or municipal
purposes.

The ability to treat salty water so that it can be used for

drinking and agriculture is one people have sought for a
long time. Over three quarters of the earth’s surface is
covered by salt water and, although this water is impor-
tant for transportation and fisheries, it is too salty to
sustain human life or farming. Desalting techniques have
increased the range of water resources available for use
by a community.
Previously, only water with a dissolved solids (salt)
content generally below about 1000 milligrams per liter
(mg/l) was considered for a community water supply.
This limitation has sometimes restricted the size and
location of communities around the world and often led
to hardship to many who could not afford to live near a
ready supply of fresh water. The application of desalting
technologies over the past 40 years has changed this in
MSF Plant
many places. Villages, cities, and industries have now
developed or grown in many of the arid and water-short
areas of the world where sea or brackish waters are
available and have been treated with desalting
techniques.
This change has been noticeable in parts of the arid
Middle East, North Africa, and some of the islands of the
Caribbean, where the lack of fresh water severely limited
development. Now, modern cities and major industries
have developed in some of those areas thanks to the
availability of fresh water produced by desalting sea
water.
The Development of Desalting and funding of the Office of Saline Water (OSW) in the
early 1950s and its successor organizations like the
Desalting is a natural, continual process and an essen- Office of Water Research and Technology (OWRT). The
tial part of the water cycle. Rain falls to the ground.
Once on the ground, it flows to the sea, and people use
the water for various purposes as it makes this journey. I I I -4
As it moves over and through the earth, the water
dissolves minerals and other materials, becoming
increasingly salty. Once it arrives in the world’s oceans Worldwide growth of
or other natural low spots like the Dead Sea or the Great A
Salt Lake, a part of the water is evaporated by the sun’s
energy. This evaporated water leaves the salts behind,
and the resultant water vapor forms clouds that produce
rain, continuing the cycle.

The technical process for desalting sea water has been

known for a long time. The problem was that the pro-
cess was costly and inconvenient. One of the continuing
needs for desalted water was on ocean-going ships that
spent prolonged periods of time away from land. Aside
from carrying stores of water, attempts were made to
distill water with heat from the ship’s cook stove or
engine. This technique was used during the 19th cen-
tury and was only partially successful because of the
expense involved to produce fresh water.

A major step in development came in the 1940s during

World War II when various military establishments in
arid areas needed water to supply their troops. The
potential that desalting offered was recognized more
widely, and work was continued after the war in various
countries. One of the most concentrated efforts was
taken by the American government through the creation

2
American government actively funded research and
development for over 30 years, spending about 300 Commercially Available Desalting Processes
million dollars in the process. These monies helped to
provide much of the basic investigation and development Major Processes
of the different technologies for desalting sea and brack-
ish waters.
- Multi-Stage Flash Distillation
By the late 1960's commercial units of up to 8000 cubic - Multiple Effect Distillation
meters per day (cum/d) [2 million gallons per day (mgd)] - Vapor Compression Distillation
were beginning to be installed in various parts of the
world. These mostly thermal-driven units were used to l Membrane
desalt sea water, but in the 197Os, commercial mem- - Electrodialysis
brane processes began to be used. Originally, the distil- - Reverse Osmosis

Minor Processes

l Freezing
l Membrane Distillation
l Solar Humidification

lation process was used to desalt brackish water. This

technique was expensive and inhibited the development
of this type of water resource. When electroclialysis was
introduced, it could desalt brackish water much more
economically, and many applications were found for it.
Similarly, reverse osmosis (KO) was used originally for
desalting brackish waters although the process has
proven to be suitable for sea water desalination also.

By the 198Os, desalination technology was a fully com-

mercial enterprise. The technology benefitted front the
Thermal Process, MSF Plant operating experience (sometimes good, sometimes bad

3
achieved with the units that had been built and operat- Most of the capacity in the USA consists of plants in
ing in the previous decades. A variety of desalting tech- which the RO process is used to treat brackish ground
nologies has been developed over the years and, based on water.
their commercial success, they can be classified into
major and minor desalting processes shown on page 3. Wangnick’s inventory indicates that the world’s installed
capacity consists mainly of the multi-stage flash distilla-
Worldwide Acceptance tion and RO processes. These two processes make up
about 86 percent of the total capacity. The remaining 14
An inventory completed in 1990 for IDA by Klaus percent is made up of the multiple effect, electrodialysis,
Wangnick indicated that the total capacity of installed and vapor compression processes while the minor pro-
desalination plants worldwide was about 13.2 million cesses amounted to less than one percent.
cum/d (3480 mgd). Desalting equipment is now used in
about 120 countries. Almost half of this desalting capac-
ity is used to desalt sea water in the Middle East and
North Africa. Saudi Arabia ranks first in total capacity
(about 27 percent of the world’s capacity), with most of it
being made up of sea water desalting units that use the
distillation process. The United States of America (USA)
ranks second in overall capacity, with about 12 percent.

Summary of the I990 /IDA Inventory

Desalting % of Total Capacity Capacity
Process World Capacity million cum/d mgd

Multi-Stage Flash 56 7.4 1950

Reverse Osmosis 31 4.1 1080
Multiple Effect 5 0.7 180
Electrodialysis 5 0.6 160
Vapor Compression 3 0.4 110

TOTAL CAPACITY 100 13.2 3480

4
All countries producing desalinated water in order of capacities from
maximum to minimum amount of fresh water in M3/day.

S/NO. COUNTRY CAPACITY M3/DAY

l- SAUDI ARABIA 3503,082

2- KUWAIT 1,334,650

3- UAE 1,306,846
4- USA 1,272,625

LIBYA 576,119

6- IRAN 368,689

7- BAHRAIN 311,620

8- QATAR 308,138

9- ITALY 261,066
10- USSR 259,951
ll- SPAIN 218,608

12- IRAQ 211,707

13- HONG KONG 183,582

14- ALGERIA 164,912

15- NETH. ANTILLES 156,170

16- JAPAN 148,251

17- OMAN 129,659

18- HOLLAND 95,888

19- VIRGIN ISLANDS 90,666
20- GREAT BRITAIN 84,869
21- AUSTRALIA 79,487
22- MEXICO 77,707

23- GERMANY D 69,338

24- MALTA 66,245
S/NO. COUNTRY CAPACITY M3/DAY

25- EGYPT 52,510

26- ISRAEL 51,422
27- GERMANY DDR 50,470
28- SOUTH AFRICA 48,005
29- UNKNOWN 47,917
30- INDONESIA 42,428
31- BAHAMAS 31,758
32- GREECE 27,199
33- FRANCE 24,490
34- INDIA 20,943
35- TUNISIA 20,370
36- ANTIGUA 19,641
37- SINGAPORE 16,509
PERU 14,852
39- VENEZUELA 14,175
40- CHILE 13,240
41- KOREA 12,585
42- CHINA 11,768
43- CUBA 11,356
44- BERMUDAS 9,325
45- GIBRALTAR 8,707
46- CYPRUS 7,710
47- COLUMBIA 7,465
48- NIGERIA 7,070
49- SAHARA 7,002
S/NO. COUNTRY CAPACITY M3/DAY

50- MALAYSIA 6,968

51- JORDAN 6,861
52- CANADA 6,764
53- CZECHOSLAVAKIA 6,192
54- SYRIA 5,623
55- ECUADOR 5,614
56- CAPE VERDE 5,363
57- THAILAND 5,284
58- AUSTRIA 5,229
59- YEMEN 5,214
60- POLAND 5,032
61- CAYMAN ISL. 4,876
62- BELGIUM 4,832
63- LEBANON 4,691
64- MAURITANIA 4,654
65- PORTUGAL 4,420
66- FRENCH ANT. 4,150
67- PHILIPPINES 3,787
68- SWITZERLAND 3,671
69- MOROCCO 3,324
70- ASCENSION 2,128
71- ARGENTINA 2,053
72- MARSHALL ISLAND 2,050
73- DOMINICA 1,514
74- TURKEY 1,374
S/NO. COUNTRY CAPACITY M3/DAY

75- JAMAICA 1,363

76- YUGOSLAVIA 1,102
77- SUDAN 976
78- MADEIRA 800
79- NAMIBIA 775
80- HONDURAS 651
81- HUNGARY 615
82- NICARAGUA 600
83- CONGO 550
84- IRELAND 545
85- SWEDEN 542
86- PAKISTAN 502
87- BRAZIL 390
88- ANGOLA 380
89- EL-SALVADOR 378
90- ANTARCTICA 300
91- SOMALIA 288
92- DJIBOUTI 254
93- DENMARK 242
94- MOZAMBIQUE 189
95- TRINIDAD 189
96- LEICHTENSTEIN 151
97- SENEGAL 132
98- FINLAND 121
99- SOLOMON ISLANDS 100
TOTAL 11,982,595
All land based desalination plants producing more than 100 m3/day.
This data is compiled from the 1988 IDA worldwide desalting plants inventory dated
June 1988.

Capacity NO. OF NO. OF

S. No. m 3Day Process Units Plants Feed Water

l- Algeria 10,570 ED 12 12 Brack

955 ME 4 2 Sea
60,535 MSF 26 13 Sea
961 Other 1 1 Sea
78,226 RO 52 30 Brack/Sea
13,665 VC 16 11 Sea/Brack
164,912 111 69

2- Arab Emirate (U.A.E)

5,102 ED 12 12 Brack
2,800 Other 1 1 Brine
8,266 ME 22 15 Sea/Brine/Brack
1,195,732 MSF 100 43 Sea
77,314 RO 75 43 Brack/Sea
17,632 V C 55 26 Sea
1,306,846 265 140

2- Australia 1,925 ED 4 4 Brack

1,418 ME 6 2 Brack
3,407 MSF 5 4 Brack/Sea
65,387 RO 79 50 Brack/Sea/Waste
7,350 VC 5 3 Sea/Waste/Brine
79,487 99 63

4- Angola 380 ME 1 Sea

5- Antigua 9,080 ME Sea

10,446 MSF Sea
115 RO Sea
19,641 6

6- Argentina 1,046 ME 4 Brack

768 Other 2 Brack
239 RO 1 Brack
2,053 7

7- Antarctica 300 MSF 2 Sea

8- Austria 5,229 RO 17 Brack

 Capacity NO. OF NO. OF
S. No. m3/Day Process Units Plants Feed Water

9- Ascension 389 VC 1 1 Sea

1,739 MSF 5 4 Sea
2,128 6 5

lO- Bahamas 114 ED 1 1 Brack

576 ME 3 2 Sea/Brack
24,505 MSF 6 5 Sea
6,563 RO 15 10 Brack/Sea
31,758 25 18

1l- Bahrain 187,713 MSF 15 8 Sea

106,987 RO 49 25 Sea/Brack
13,156 ED 44 44 Brack
2,629 V C 11 6 Sea
1,135 ME 1 1 Brack
311,620 120 84

12- Bermudas 3,137 ED 4 3 Brack

2,974 MSF 10 10 Sea
2,836 RO 9 7 Brack/Sea
378 VC 2 1 Sea
9,325 25 21

13- Brazil 125 RO 1 1 Brack

265 ME 1 1 Brack
390 2

14- Belgium 1,885 ME 3 3 Brack/Sea

2,947 RO 4 4 Brack
4,832 7 7

15- Chile 2,443 ED 3 3 Brack

121 ME 1 1 Sea
6,771 MSF 9 7 Sea
3,905 RO 8 7 Brack/Sea
13,240 21 18

16- China ED 2 1 Brack

MSF 2 1 Sea
3,768 RO 7 5 Brack
11,768 11 7

17- Canada 1,487 ME 4 3 Brack

5,277 RO 13 10 Brack
6,764 17 13
 Capacity NO. OF NO. OF
S. No. m3/Day Process Units Plants Feed Water

18- Cayman Isl. 2,000 ME 1 1 Sea

2,876 VC 5 Sea
4,876 7 6

19- Cyprus 110 ME 1 1 Sea

5,283 MSF 11 7 Sea
2,167 RO 10 3 Brack
150 VC 1 1 Sea
7,710 23 12

20- Cape Verde Isl. 4,700 MSF 4 3 Sea

663 RO 3 1 Sea
5,363 7 4

21- Cuba 11,356 MSF 4 2 Sea

22- Columbia 4,965 RO 6 3 Sea

2,500 VC 4 1 Sea
7,465 10 4

23- Czechoslovakia 6,192 RO 8 5 Brack

24- Congo 550 VC 2 2 Sea

25- Denmark 242 ME 1 1 Brack

26- Dominica 1,135 ED 1 Brack

379 RO 1 Brack
1,514 2

27- Djibouti 130 RO 1 Sea

124 VC 1 Sea
254 2

28- Ecuador 1,334 MSF 3 3 sea

1,703 RO 1 1 Sea
2.577 VC 8 7 Sea
5,614 12 11

29- Egypt 17,984 RO 23 14 Brack

22,669 ED 29 27 Brack
2,317 ME 7 6 Sea/Brack
5,000 VC 10 6 sea
4,340 MSF 12 7 sea
52,510 81 60
 Capacity NO. OF NO. OF
S. No. m3/Day Process Units Plants Feed Water

30-El Salvador 378 RO 2 2 Brack

31- Finland 121 ME 1 1 Brack

32- France 7,031 ME 6 5 Sea/Brack

4,840 MSF 11 7 Sea
363 Other 2 1 Sea
7,566 RO 13 10 Brack
4,690 V C 10 6 Sea
24,490 42 29

33- French Ant. 1,500 MSF 2 Sea

2,650 V C 7 Sea
4,150 9

34- Germany D. 50,849 RO 68 54 Brack/Sea/Waste

1,300 ED 2 2 Brack
10,389 ME 29 24 Brack
5900 Other 1 1 Sea
1,300 MSF 2 2 Brack/Sea
500 VC 1 1 Sea
69,338 103 84

35- Germany DDR 11,268 MSF 3 2 Brack

10,994 RO 16 11 Brack
28,108 ME 5 5 Waste/Brack
50,470 24 18

36- Gibraltar 1,363 ME 1 1 Sea

6,564 MSF 12 10 Sea
780 RO 3 2 Sea
8,707 16 13

37- Great Britain 4,558 ED 10 8 Brack

43,334 ME 124 42 Brack/Sea
7,355 MSF 4 3 Sea
2,725 Other 5 2 Brack
25,617 RO 38 33 Brack
1,280 VC 6 3 Sea/Brack

48,869 187 91
- -

38- Greece 1,948 RO 7 6 Brack/Sea

16,900 ED 4 4 Brack
6,902 MSF 7 5 Sea
1,449 VC 7 3 Sea
27,199 25 18
 Capacity NO. OF NO. OF
S. No. m3/Day Process units Plants Feed Water

39- Holland 6,580 ED 2 Brack

4,673 ME 4 3 Sea/Brack
70,234 MSF 12 9 Brack/Sea
14,401 RO 17 14 Brack
95,888 44 28

40- Honduras 651 MSF 1 1 Sea

41- Hungary 500 MSF Brack

115 RO Brack
615

42- Hong Kong 182,028 MSF 7 2 Sea

1,554 RO 4 4 Brack/Sea
183,582 11 6

43- India 1,693 ME 8 4 Sea/Brack

19,250 RO 23 17 Brack
20,943 31 21

44- Indonesia 1,000 ME 2 1 Sea

40,484 MSF 32 18 Sea
704 Other 4 4 Sea
240 V C 1 1 Sea
42,428 39 24

45- Iran 5,710 ED 8 7 Brackish

18,065 ME 27 13 Sea/Brack
291,199 MSF 84 35 Seawater
252 Other 2 1 Seawater
32,754 RO 34 29 Brackish
20,709 V C 63 19 Seawater
368,689 218 104

46- Iraq 77,235 ED 42 35 Brackish

1,175 ME 6 5 Sea/Brack
10,824 MSF 2 1 Brackish
122,473 RO 62 37 Brackish
211,707 112 78

47- Ireland 545 ME 1 1 Seawater

48- Israel 2,400 ED 1 1 Brackish

21,028 ME 2 2 Seawater
7,191 MSF 2 2 Seawater
18,199 RO 13 13 Brackish
2,604 VC 8 8 Sea/Brackish
51,422 26 24
 Capacity NO. OF NO. OF
S. No. m 3/Day Process Units Plants Feed Water

49- Italy 187,629 MSF 39 29 Seawater

15,940 RO 25 20 Brack/Sea
32,451 ED 33 31 Brackish
6,118 ME 5 4 Seawater
15,300 VC 22 13 Seawater
3,628 Other 7 7 Seawater
261,066 131 103

50- Jamaica 1,363 RO 2 1 Brackish

51- Jordan 719 ED 1 1 Brackish

6,142 RO 10 6 Brack/Sea
6,861 11 7

52- Japan 33,993 ED 77 18 Sea/Brack/Waste

36,025 MSF 19 17 Seawater/Brack
66,912 RO 88 73 Brack/Sea/Waste
10,783 ME 12 11 Seawater
538 Other 2 2 Wastewater
148,251 198 121

53- Korea 480 ME 2 1 Brackish

12,105 RO 8 4 Brackish
12,585 10 5

54- Kuwait 1,295,911 MSF 70 28 Seawater

27,786 RO 34 14 Brack/Sea
4,133 ED 12 12 Brackish
4,904 ME 9 2 Sea/Brine
1,766 Other 2 2 Brine
150 VC 1 1 Seawater
1,334,650 128 59

55- Leichtenstein 151 RO 1 1 Brackish

56- Lebanon 520 MSF 1 1 Seawater

711 RO 4 3 Sea/Brack
3,460 VC 5 2 Seawater
4,691 10 6

57- Libya 414,253 MSF 92 46 Seawater

83,777 RO 142 59 Brack/Sea/Waste
66,894 ED 110 90 Brackish
5,956 ME 7 5 Seawater
4,039 VC 14 9 Seawater
1,200 Other 1 1 Brine
576,119 366 210
 Capacity NO. OF
S. No. m 3/Day Process Units Plants Feed Water

58- Madeira 300 vc Seawater

500 RO Seawater

59- Malaysia 4,844 MSF Seawater

2,124 RO Brack/Sea
6,968 8

60- Malta 41,660 RO 21 12 Sea/Brack

24,585 MSF 6 4 Seawater
66,245 27 16

61- Marshall Island 1,100 ME 1 Sea

950 MSF 1 Sea
2,050 2

62- Mauritania MSF 1 Sea

1,654 V C 4 Sea
4,654 5

63- Morocco 284 ED Brack

400 Other Sea
676 RO Brack
1,964 V C Sea/Brack
3,324 19 10

64-Mexico 4,000 ED 1 1 Brack

ME 2 2 Sea/Brack
46,207 MSF 35 20 Sea/Brack
26,321 RO 46 36 Brack/Waste/Sea
667 VC 4 4 Sea/Brack
77,707 88

65-Mozambique 189 RO Brack

66- Namibia 545 MSF Sea

230 ME Brack
775

67- Neth Antilles 30,875 ME 5 9 Sea

122,595 MSF 60 24 Sea
1,700 RO 2 2 Sea
VC 2 1 Sea

156,170 69 36
 Capacity NO. OF NO. OF
S. No. m3/Day Process Units Plants Feed Water

68- Nicaragua 600 MSF 2 1 Sea

69-Nigeria 434 ME 2 1 Brack

636 RO 6 1 Brack
VC 3 1 Sea
7,070 11 3

70-Oman 1,504 VC 9 2 Sea

896 ED 4 4 Brack
4,200 ME 7 5 Sea
108,065 MSF 10 8 Sea
14,994 RO 37 26 Brack/Sea
129,659 67 45

71-Pakistan 200 RO Brack

302 Other Brack
502

72- Peru 10,978 MSF 4 4 Sea

1,654 RO 3 3 Brack/Sea
2,220 VC 6 2 Sea
14,852 13 9

73- Philippines 928 ME 4 2 Sea

265 MSF 1 1 Brack
302 Other 2 1 Brack
2,292 RO 7 7 Brack
3,787 14 11

74- Poland 5,032 RO 10 8 Brack

75-Portugal 4,420 RO 6 4 Brack

76-Qatar 4,715 RO 9 7 Brack/Sea

1,844 V C 9 7 Sea
140 ED 1 1 Brack
3,642 ME 10 4 Sea
297,797 MSF 27 13 Sea
308,138 56 32

77-Sahara 7,002 MSF 2 2 Sea

 Capacity NO. OF NO. OF
S. No. m3/Day Process Units Plants Feed Water

78-Saudi Arabia 2,533,639 MSF 206 70 Sea/Brack

832,913 RO 830 552 Brack(Sea/Waste
82,536 ED 193 180 Brack
16,466 ME 53 31 Sea/Brine
37,528 VC 56 25 Sea/Brack
3,503,082 1,338 858

79- Senegal 132 Other 1 1 Waste

80-Singapore ME 2 2 Sea
10,509 RO 20 18 Brack/Sea
16,509 22 20

81- Soloman Isl 100 RO 1 1 Sea

82- Somalia 288 RO 1 1 Brack

83-South Africa 7,125 RO 8 Brack/Waste/Sea

29,833 VC 14 Brine/Waste
10,938 ED 5 Brack
109 ME 1 Brack
48,005 28 22

84-Spain 27,060 54 42 Sea/Brack

84,848 RO 67 54 Sea/Brack
65,260 MSF 19 12 Sea
143 Other 1 1 Sea
47,451 ED 21 11 Brack
2,846 ME 6 3 Sea/Brack
218,608 168 123

85-Sudan 750 ME 1 Sea

226 MSF 2 Brack
976 3

86-Sweden 542 ME 2 2 Sea/Brack

87- Switzerland 321 ME 1 1 Brack

3,350 RO 13 13 Brack/Waste
3,671 14 14

4,423 RO 8 Brack
1,200 ED 3 Brack
5,623 11
 Capacity NO. OF NO. OF
S. No. m3/Day Process Units Plants Feed Water

89- Thailand 2,176 RO Brack

1,798 MSF sea
1,310 Other Brack
5,284

90- Trinidad 189 RO 1 1 Brack

91- Tunisia 9,397 RO 13 6 Brack

4,220 V C 12 7 Sea
6,056 ED 9 7 Brack
ME 2 1 Brack
121 Other 1 1 sea
336 MSF 1 1 sea
20,370 38 23

92- Turkey 246 ME 1 1

1,128 RO 6 5 Brack
1,374 7 6

93- USA 52,884 MSF 20 15 Sea/Brack

982,625 RO 862 531 Waste/Brack/Sea
77,329 ED 109 59 Brack
54,872 ME 93 73 Brack/Sea
61,893 V C 67 49 Brack/Waste/Sea
43,022 Other 57 52 Sea/Brack
1,272,625 1,208 779

94- USSR 230 ED 1 1 Brack

190,558 ME 14 12 Sea/Waste
49,671 MSF 5 4 Sea/Waste
19,292 RO 21 9 Brack/Waste/Sea
259,951 41 26

95- Unknown 35,929 ED 150 3 Brack

11,738 RO 44 12 Brack/Sea
250 V C 2 1 sea
47,917 196 16

96- Venezuela 4,524 ME 3 2

9,651 RO 15 6 Brack/Sea
14,175 18 8

97- Virgin Islands 50,334 ME 11 8 Sea

37,729 MSF 13 12 Sea
1,051 RO 7 6 Sea/Brack
1,552 V C 6 6 Sea
90,666 37 32
 Capacity NO. OF NO. OF
S. No. m3/Day Process Units Plants Feed Water

98- Yemen 125 VC 1 1 Sea

1,336 RO 10 7 Sea/Brack
1,800 MSF 5 2 Sea
1,953 ME 4 2 Sea
5,214 20 12

99- Yugoslavia 1,102 RO 2 2 Brack

 ARAB COUNTRIES USING DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY

NO. OF NO. OF FEED WATER

COUNTRY PROCESS PLANTS UNITS M 3/DAY

1- ALGERIA ED 12 12 10,570 BRACK

2 4 955 SEA
MSF 13 26 60,535 SEA
OTHER 1 1 961 SEA
RO 30 52 78,226
VC 11 16 13,665 SEA/BRACK
69 111 164,912

2- ARAB EMIRATES ED 12 12 5,102 BRACK

ME 15 22 8,266 SEA/BRINE/BRACK
MSF 43 100 1,195,732 SEA
OTHER 1 2,800 BRINE
RO 43 75 77,314 BRACK/SEA
VC 26 55 17,632 SEA
140 265 1,306,846

3- BAHRAIN ED 44 44 13,156 BRACK

ME 1 1 1,135 BRACK
MSF 8 15 187,713 SEA
RO 25 49 106,987 SEA/BRACK
V C 6 11 2,629
84 120 311,620

4- EGYPT ED 27 29 22,669 BRACK

ME 6 7 2,317 SEA/BRACK
MSF 7 12 4,540 SEA
RO 14 23 17,984 BRACK
VC 6 10 5,000 SEA
60 81 52,510

5- IRAQ ED 35 42 77,235 BRACK

ME 5 6 1,175 SEA/BRACK
MSF 1 2 10,824 BRACK
RO 37 62 122,473 BRACK
78 112 211,707

6- JORDAN ED 1 719 BRACK

RO 10 6,142 BRACK/SEA
11 6,861
 NO. OF NO. OF CAPACITY FEED WATER
COUNTRY PROCESS PLANTS UNITS

7- KUWAIT ED 12 12 4,133 BRACK

2 9 4,904 BRINE/SEA
MSF 28 70 1,295,911 SEA
OTHER 2 2 1,766 BRINE
RO 14 34 27,786
VC 1 1 150 SEA
59 128 1,334,650

8- LEBANON MSF 1 520 SEA

RO 4 711 BRACK/SEA
VC 5 3,460 SEA
10 4,691

9- LIBYA ED 90 110 66,894

5 7 5,956 SEA
MSF 46 92 414,253 SEA
OTHER 1 1 1,200 BRINE
RO 59 142 83,777 BRACK/SEA/WASTE
VC 9 14 4,039 SEA
210 366 576,119

l0- MOROCCO ED 2 2 284 BRACK

OTHER 1 4 400 SEA
RO 2 4 676 BRACK
VC 5 9 1,964 SEA/BRACK
10 19 3,324

ll- OMAN -ED 4 4 BRACK

5 7 4,200 SEA
MSF 8 10 108,065 SEA
RO 26 37 14,994 BRACK/SEA
VC 2 9 1,504 SEA
45 67 129,659

12- QATAR ED 1 140 BRACK

4 10 3,642 SEA
MSF 13 27 297,797 SEA
RO 7 9 4,715 BRACK/SEA
VC 7 9 1,844 SEA
32 56 308,138
 NO. OF NO. OF CAPACITY FEED WATER
COUNTRY PROCESS PLANTS UNITS

13- SAUDI ARABIA ED 180 193 82,536 BRACK

ME 31 53 16,466 SEA/BRINE
MSF 70 206 2,533,639 SEA/BRACK
RO 552 830 832,913 BRACK/SEA/WASTE
VC 25 56 37,528 SEA/BRACK
858 1338 3,503,082

14- SYRIA ED 1 3 1,200 BRACK

RO 6 8 4,423 BRACK
7 11 5,624

15- TUNISIA ED 7 9 6,056 BRACK

ME 1 2 240 BRACK
MSF 1 1 336 SEA
OTHER 1 1 121 SEA
RO 6 13 9,397 BRACK
VC 7 12 4,220 SEA
23 38 20,370

16- YEMEN ME 4 1,953 BRACK

5 1,800 SEA
RO 10 1,336 BRACK
VC 1 125 SEA
20 5,214
TOTAL NO. OF PLANTS IN ARAB COUNTRIES WITH CAPACITY & PROCESS

NO. OF NO. OF CAPACITY % OF

PROCESS PLANTS UNITS TOTAL

ED 428 474 291,590 3.67

ME 79 132 51,209 0.64
MSF 241 567 6,111,665 76.92
OTHERS 7 10 7,248 0.09
(Thermal Process)
RO 1362 1,389,854 17.50
VC 108 208 93,760 1.18
1700 2753 7,945,326 100.00

Water produced by desalination in Arab countries = 7,945,326 M3/day

% of water produced by desalination in Arab countries in comparison to overall worldwide production of

desalinated water = 66.3 %

% of water produced by desalination in Saudi Arabia in comparison to overall worldwide production of

desalinated water = 29.1%
24
 Existing Desalinated Water Pipelines
NAME OF DESIGN PIPELINE PIPE MATERIAL PUMP STATIONS
MISCELLANEOUS
THE PROJECT FLOW RATE LENGTH AND DIAMETER TERMINALS

Jubail-Riyadh 830,000 m3/day 465 kms- Steel API Std: 6 pump stations From Jubail Desal
Transmission Or Double line 60 in. dia. 430 MW capacity plants to Riyadh, via
219 million Terminal at H PT, D hahran., S h edgum,
IJSG/D Riyadh Hofuf, Khurais
300,000 rn 3 storage and Wasia,
in 6 Conc. tanks

Shoaibah-Makkah-Taif 182.000 m:‘/day 247 kms - Steel API Std: 4 pump stations Tunnel: 13.2 km in
Water Transmission 96 km Double line 56 in. dia. 85 MW capacity length. through Taif
Facility 48 million 55 km Single line 42 in. dia. Two terminals 30 million IJSG to
IJSG/D 4 X 50,000 m 3 storage Makkah
2 X 25,000 m,’ storage 18 million I JSG to
Taif

Assir Phase One 113,636 m3/day 215 kms - Steel API Std: 4 pump stations A series of tunnels
Water Transmission o r 140 km Pressure line Concrete cyl. pipes 108 MW capacity Total length 10.5 km
Facility 30 million 75 km Gravity line 42 in. 8r 36 in. dia. Large terminal Storage Total-
USGID 48 in. 8r 20 in. dia. A bh a 125,000 m3
Smalll - Bin Nauman
IJkad

Yanbu-Madina 104.000 m3/day 176 km - Madina Steel API Std: 2 pump stations 22 million IJSG/D
Water Transmission o r 50 km - Yanbu 32 in. dia. 17 MW capacity to Madina
System 28 million (Pressure lines) Asbestos Cement 6 million IJSG/D
IJSG/D Pipe 24 in. dia. to Yanbu

Al Khobar 2 190,000 m’/day 84.5 km Concrete c I pipes 1 pump station Stora eat:
Water Transmission or 1100 mm x ia. - 30 km and 1. Ala Khobar-96,000 ml1
System 50 million 1000 mm dia. - 71.5 km 7 blending stations 2. Dhahran-15,000Mr3
USC/D 900 mm dia. - 37.0 km Storage capacity Airport
500 mm dia.-25.25 km = 459,000 rn’ 3. Dammam-200,000 m 3
4. Sayhat-20,000 rn”
5. Qatif-88,000, rn”
6. Safwa-20,000 rn”
7. Rahemah-20,000 rn’j

Water Transmission 380,000 m3/day 389 km Steel API Std: 4 pump stations Branch lines
from Jubail to or Single line pressure 60 in. dia. - 389 km between 1. Zulfi line
Washem-Sudayr 100 million 384 km Prestressed concrete Jubail-Riyadh 400 mm dia. CCP
& Qasim IJSG/D Double line pressure 16,OO mm dia.-205 km Qasim 37.4 km
& Gravity 2,000 mm dia.-165 km Storage at 2. Sha qra Steel
Steel 48 in.-163 km Buray dah = 300,000 m3 Pipel ine 20 in.
Riya da h = 300,000 m3 96.8 km

25
 Existing Desal Plants Along The Red Sea
Installed Capacity
Phase Process No. of Unit , Year of
Megawatts Operation

HAQL I MSF 1 900 1979*

II RO 1989

DUBA I MSF 1 230 1968*

II MSF 1 550 1978*
III RO - 4400 1989

AL WAJH I MSF 1 230 1968*

II MSF 1 550 1978
(Transfered from
Two units Reheat RH 960 Ummlajj)
RH 1200 (Transfered from
Four units Reheat Al-Khafji)

UMM LAJJ I MSF 1 550 1974*

II R-0 3788 1986

YANBU I MSF (5) 107954 (5)250 1980

MEDINAH II MSF + RO 4+RO 227000 150 1991

(*) Plant is not Operating l

Continued :
r

Installed Capacity
Phase Process No. of Unit _ Year of
Cubic m/day Megawatts Operation
- -

RABIGH I MSF 2 1400 -I 1980

JEDDAH I RO Rehab 56800 1989

II MSF 4 43181 w 4 1977
RO Reverse Osmosis 12120
III MSF 10 87878 (5)240 1978
IV MSF 10 220075 1980

MAKKAH I MSF 10 181818 (5)320 1988

TAIF

AL BIRK I RO 2272 -- 1982

ASSIR I MSF 94696 (2)128 1988

FARASAN I MSF 500 2.3 . 1978 -

Rush Units MSF 1250 1978
- - -
Al-LEETH Planned 3788

QUNFUDA I 3788
Planned

(*) Plant is not Operating.

27
 Existing Desal, Plants Along The GULF
Installed Capacity
Phase Process No. of Unit Year of
Cubic m/day Megawatts Operation

AL KHAFJI I MSF 1 550 1972

II MSF 2 22727 1985

- - -
AL JUBAIL I MSF 6 136363 (5)360 1980

II MSF 4 958333 (l0)1295 1982

AL KHOBAR II MSF 10 195075 (5)750 1982

(*) Plant is not Operating.

28
Desalting Technologies
A desalting device essentially separates saline water into
two streams: one with a low concentration of dissolved
salts (the fresh water stream) and the other containing
the remaining dissolved salts (the concentrate or brine
stream). The device requires energy to operate and can
use a number of different technologies for the separation.
This section briefly describes the various desalting
processes commonly used to desalt saline water.
Thermal Processes
Over 60 percent of the world’s desalted water is produced
with heat to distill fresh water from sea water. The
distillation process mimics the natural water cycle in
that saline water is heated, producing water vapor that is
in turn condensed to form fresh water. In a laboratory or
industrial plant, water is heated to the boiling point to
produce the maximum amount of water vapor.
For this to be done economically in a desalination plant,
the boiling point is controlled by adjusting the atmo-
spheric pressure of the water being boiled. (The tempera-
ture required to boil water decreases as one moves from
sea level to a higher elevation because of the reduced
atmospheric pressure on the water. Thus, water can be
boiled on top of Mt. McKinley in Alaska [elevation 6200
meters (20300 feet)] at a temperature about 16OC (28°F)
less than boiling it at sea level.) The reduction of the
boiling point is important in the desalination process for
two major reasons: multiple boiling and scale control.
To boil, water needs two important conditions: the proper
temperature relative to its ambient pressure and enough
energy for vaporization. When water is heated to its
boiling point and then the heat is turned off, the water
will continue to boil only for a short time because the
water needs additional energy (the heat of vaporization)
to permit boiling. Once the water stops boiling, boiling
can be renewed by either adding more heat or by reduc-
ing the ambient pressure above the water. If the ambient
pressure is reduced, then the water would then be at a
temperature above its boiling point (because of the
reduced pressure) and will boil with the extra heat from
the higher temperature to supply the heat of vaporization
needed. As the heat of vaporization is supplied, the
temperature of the water will fall to the new boiling point.
To significantly reduce the amount of energy needed for
vaporization, the distillation desalting process usually
uses multiple boiling in successive vessels, each operat-
ing at a lower temperature and pressure. This process of
reducing the ambient pressure to promote boiling can
continue downward and, if carried to the extreme with
the pressure reduced enough, the point at which water
would be boiling and freezing at the same time would be
reached.
Aside from multiple boiling, the other important factor is
scale control. Although most substances dissolve more
readily in warmer water, some dissolve more readily in
cooler water. Unfortunately, some of these substances
like carbonates and sulfates are found in sea water. One
of the most important is gypsum (CaSO,), which begins
to leave solution when water approaches about 95OC
29
(203°F). This material forms a hard scale that coats any
tubes or containers present. Scale creates thermal and
mechanical problems and, once formed, is difficult to
remove. One way to avoid the formation of this scale is to
keep the temperature and boiling point of the water
below that of temperature.

These two concepts have made various forms of distilla-

tion successful in locations around the world. The pro-
cess which accounts for the most desalting capacity is
multi-stage flash distillation commonly referred to as the
MSF process.

Multi-Stage Flash Distillat ion

In the MSF process, sea water is heated in a vessel called Large MSF plant
the brine heater, This is generally done by condensing The concept of distilling water with a vessel operating at
steam on a bank of tubes that passes through the vessel a reduced pressure is not new and has been used for well
which in turn heats the sea water. This heated sea water
then flows into another vessel, called a stage, where the
ambient pressure is such that the HEATING
water will immediately boil. The SECTION FLASH AND
HEAT RECOVERY SECTION , I
sudden introduction of the heated 1st Stage 2nd STAGE Nth STAGE
water into the chamber causes it
to boil rapidly, almost exploding
or_flashing into steam. Generally,
only a small percentage of this
water is converted to steam
(water vapor), depending on the
pressure maintained in this stage
since boiling will continue only
until the water cools (furnishing Condensate

the heat of vaporization) to the

boiling point.

30
 of salt wit
developed. In this unit, the feed water could pass the evapo
from one stage to another and be boiled repeatedly rative
without adding more heat. Typically, an MSF plant can process.
contain from 4 to about 40 stages. Some of the
early water
The steam generated by flashing is converted to fresh distillation
water by being condensed on tubes of heat exchangers plants used
that run through each stage. The tubes are cooled by the the MED
incoming feed water going to the brine heater. This, in process,
turn, warms up the feed water so that the amount of but this
thermal energy needed in the brine heater to raise the process was
temperature of the sea water is reduced. displaced MED Plant
by the MSF
Multi-stage flash plants have been built commercially units because of cost factors and their apparent higher
since the 1950s. They are generally built in units of about efficiency. However, in the past decade, interest in the
4000 to 30000 cum/d (1 to 8 mgd). The MSF plants MED process has renewed, and a number of new designs
usually operate at the top feed temperatures (after the have been built. Most of these new MED units have been
brine heater) of 90- 120°C (194-248°F). One of the factors built around the concept of operating on lower tempera-
that affects the thermal efficiency of the plant is the tures.
difference in temperature from the brine heater to the
condenser on the cold end of the plant. Operating a plant MED. like the MSF process, takes place in a series of
at the higher temperature limits of 120°C (248°F) tends to vessels (effects) and uses the principle of reducing the
increase the efficiency, but it also increases the potential ambient pressure in the various effects. This permits the
for detrimental scale formation and accelerated corrosion sea water feed to undergo multiple boiling without sup-
of metal surfaces. plying additional heat after the first effect. In an MED
plant, the sea water enters the first effect and is raised to
Multiple Effect Distillation the boiling point after being preheated in tubes. The sea
water is either sprayed or otherwise distributed onto the
surface of evaporator tubes in a thin film to promote
The multiple effect distillation (MED) process has been rapid boiling and evaporation. The tubes are heated by
used for industrial distillation for a long time. One popu- steam from a boiler, or other source, which is condensed
lar use for this process is the evaporation of juice from on the opposite side of the tubes. The condensate from
sugar cane in the production of sugar or the production the boiler steam is recycled to the boiler for reuse.

31
Only a portion of the sea water 1st EFFECT
applied to the tubes in the first
effect is evaporated. The remain-
ing feed water is fed to the second Seawater
Feed
effect, where it is again applied to
a tube bundle. These tubes are in Steam
from
turn being heated by the vapors Boiler
created in the first effect. This
vapor is condensed to fresh water - Pump
product, while giving up heat to
evaporate a portion of the remain-
Usually, the remaining sea water in each effect must be
pumped to the next effect so as to apply it to the next
tube bundle. Additional condensation takes place in each
effect on tubes that bring the feed water from its source
MED plants are typically built in units of 2000 to 10000
cum/d (0.5 to 2.5 mgd). Some of the more recent plants
have been built to operate with a top temperature (in the
first effect) of about 70°C (1580F), which reduces the
potential for scaling of sea water within the plant but in
turn increases the need for additional heat transfer area
in the form of tubes. Most of the more recent applications
for the MED plants have been in some of the Caribbean
areas. Although the number of MED plants is still rela-
tively small compared to MSF plants, their numbers have
been increasing.
32
2nd EFFECT 3rd EFFECT Note: P i > P2 > P3
T, > T2 > Tg
P = Pressure
Vacuum
Vacuum Vacuum T = Temperature
Brine
Vapor
NZG
Effect
3 - L
Vapor Compression Distillation
The vapor compression (VC) distillation process is gener-
ally used forsmall- and medium-scale sea water desalt-
ing units. The heat for evaporating the water comes from
the compression of vapor rather than the direct exchange
of heat from steam produced in a boiler.
The plants which use this process are generally designed
to take advantage of the principle of reducing the boiling
point temperature by reducing the pressure. Two primary
methods are used to condense vapor so as to produce
enough heat to evaporate incoming sea water: a mech-
anical compressor or a steam jet. The mechanical com-
pressor is usually electrically driven, allowing the sole
use of electrical power to produce water by distillation.
VC units have been built in a variety of configurations to
promote the exchange of heat to evaporate the sea water.
The diagram illustrates a simplified method in which a
mechanical compressor is used to generate the heat for
evaporation. VC units are usually built in the 20- to 2000-cum/d
The com- (0.005- to 0.5-mgd) range. They are often used for re-
pressor sorts, industries, and drilling sites where fresh water is
creates a not readily available.
vacuum in
the vessel Membrane Processes
and then
compresses
In nature, membranes play an important role in the
the vapor
separation of salts. This includes both the processes of
taken from
dialysis and osmosis that occur in the body. Membranes
the vessel
are used in two commercially important desalting pro-
and con-
cesses: electrodialysis and RO. Each process uses the
denses it
ability of membranes to differentiate and selectively
inside of a
separate salts and water. However, membranes are used
tube bundle
differently in each of these processes.
also in the same vessel. Sea water is sprayed on the
outside of the heated tube bundle where it boils and
partially evaporates, producing
more vapor. A portion of the hot brine is
recirculated to the spray nozzles for
further vaporization on the tube
With the steam jet-type of VC unit, bundle. The vapor gains heat energy by
being compressed by the vapor

venturi orifice at the steam jet

creates and extracts water vapor COMPRESSOR
from the main vessel, creating a A steam jet ejector could replace
the vapor compressor where
lower ambient pressure in the main surplus steam is available.
vessel. The extracted water vapor is . EXCHANGER
compressed by the steam jet. This *.::::
- - -

mixture is condensed on the tube ::*

::
walls to provide the thermal energy ::
*.-.
(heat of condensation) to evaporate
the sea water being applied on the
other side of the tube walls in the
vessel.
selectively through a membrane, leaving fresh water
behind as product water. In the RO process, pressure is
used for separation by allowing fresh water to move
through a membrane, leaving the salts behind.

Both of these concepts have been explored by scientists

since the turn of the century, but their commercialization
for desalting water for municipal purposes has occurred
in only the last 30 years.

Electrodialysis
Electrodialysis was commercially introduced in the early
196Os, about 10 years before RO. The development of
electrodialysis provided a cost-effective way to desalt
brackish water and spurred considerable interest in this
area.

Electrodialysis depends on the following general

principles:
l Most salts dissolved in water are ionic, being positively
(cationic) or negatively (anionic) charged.
These ions are attracted to electrodes with an opposite
electric charge.
passage of either anions or cations.
The dissolved ionic constituents in a saline solution such
as sodium (+), chloride (- ), calcium (+ +), and carbonate
( - - ) are dispersed in water, effectively neutralizing
their individual charges. When electrodes connected to
an outside source of direct current like a battery are
placed in a container of saline water, electrical current is
carried through the solution, with the ions tending to
migrate to the electrode with the opposite charge.
For these phenomena to desalinate water, membranes
that will allow either cations or anions (but not both) to
pass are placed between a pair of electrodes. These
membranes are arranged alternately with an anion-
selective membrane followed by a cation-selective mem-
brane. A spacer sheet that permits water to flow along

34
the face of the membrane is placed between each pair of
membranes.
One spacer provides a channel that carries feed (and
product) water, while the next carries brine. As the
electrodes are charged and saline feed water flows along
the product water spacer at right angles to the elec-
trodes, the anions in the water are attracted and diverted
toward the positive electrode. This dilutes the salt con-
tent of the water in the product water channel. The
anions pass through the anion-selective membrane, but
water and brine to emerge from the stack. Depending on
the design of the system, chemicals may be added to the
streams in the stack to reduce the potential for scaling.
An electrodialysis unit is made up of the following basic
components:
r
Raw
Fe&water

cannot pass any farther than the cation-selective mem-

brane, which blocks its path and traps the anion in the
brine. Similarly, cations under the influence of the
negative electrode move in the opposite direction through
the cation-selective membrane to the concentrate chan-
nel on the other side. Here, the cations are trapped
because the next membrane is anion-selective and
prevents further movement towards the electrode.
Basic components of an ED plant.
By this arrangement, concentrated and diluted solutions
are created in the spaces between alternating mem-
branes. These spaces, bounded by two membranes (one l Pretreatment train
anionic and the other cationic) are called cells. A cell pair
consists of two cells, one from which the ions migrated l Membrane stack
(the dilute cell for the product water) and the other in
which the ions concentrate (the concentrate cell for the l Low-pressure circulation pump
brine stream).
l Power supply for direct current (a rectifier)
The basic electrodialysis unit consists of several hundred
cell pairs bound together with electrodes on the outside l Post-treatment
and is referred to as a membrane stack. Feed water
passes simultaneously in parallel paths through all of The raw feed water must be pre-treated to prevent mate-
the cells to provide a continuous flow of desalted product

35
channels in the cells from entering the membrane stack. and other
The feed water is circulated through the stack with a low- deposits in
pressure pump with enough power to overcome the the cells
resistance of the water as it passes through the narrow before they
passages. A rectifier is generally used to transform can build
alternating current to the direct current supplied to the up and
electrodes on the outside of the membrane stacks. create a
problem.
Post-treatment consists of stabilizing the water and Flushing
preparing it for distribution. This post-treatment might allows the
consist of removing gases such as hydrogen sulfide and unit to An EDR plant
operate with
fewer pretreatment chemicals and minimizes membrane
Electrodialysis Reversal Process (EDR) fouling.

In the early 197Os, an American company commercially Application

introduced the EDR process for electrodialysis. An EDR
unit operates on the same general principle as a stan-
dard electrodialysis plant except that both the product
and the brine channels are identical in construction. At
intervals of several times an hour, the polarity of the
electrodes is reversed, and the flows are simultaneously
switched so that the brine channel becomes the product
water channel, and the product water channel becomes
the brine channel.
The result is that the ions are attracted in the opposite
direction across the membrane stack. Immediately
following the reversal of polarity and flow, enough of the
product water is dumped until the stack and lines are
flushed out, and the desired water quality is restored.
This flush takes about 1 or 2 minutes, and then the unit
can resume producing water. The reversal process is
useful in breaking up and flushing out scales, slimes,
Electrodialysis has the following characteristics that lend
it to various applications:
l Capability for high recovery (more product and less
brine]
l Energy usage that is proportional to the salts removed
l Ability to treat water with a higher level of suspended
solids than RO
l Lack of effect by non-ionic substances such as silica
l Low chemical usage for pretreatment
Electrodialysis units are normally used to desalinate
brackish water. The major energy requirement is the

36
direct current used to separate the ionic substances in Without this controlled
the membrane stack. discharge, the pressurized
feed water would continue
Reverse Osmosis to increase in salt concen-
tration, creating such
In comparison to distillation and electrodialysis, RO is problems as precipitation
relatively new, with successful commercialization occur- of supersaturated salts
ring in the early 1970s. and increased osmotic
pressure across the mem-
RO is a membrane separation process in which the water branes. The amount of the
from a pressurized saline solution is separated from the feed water discharged to
solutes (the dissolved material) by flowing through a waste in this brine stream
membrane. No heating or phase change is necessary for varies from 20 to 70
this separation. The major energy required for desalting percent of the feed flow,
is for pressurizing the feed water. depending on the salt
content of the feed water.

An RO system is made up
MEMBRANE of the following basic
HIGH ASSEMBLY
components:
Freshwater
POST-
PRE-
’ TREATMENT
*TREATMENT
. l Pretreatment
Stabilized
Freshwater
l Highpressure pump
Brine RO Plant
Discharge l Membrane assembly
Basic components of a reverse osmosis p/ant.
l Post-treatment
In practice, the saline feed water is pumped into a closed
Pretreatment is important in RO because the feed water
a portion of the water passes through the membrane, the must pass through very narrow passages during the
remaining feed water increases in salt content. At the process. Therefore, suspended solids must be removed
same time, a portion of this feed water is discharged and the water pre-treated so that salt precipitation or
without passing through the membrane. microorganism growth does not occur on the

37
Rotated 180o

The Hollow Fine Fiber System

39
40
 membranes. Usually, wound sheet and hollow fine fiber. Both of these configu-
the pretreatment rations are used to desalt both brackish and sea water,
consists of fine filtra- although the construction of the membrane and pressure
tion and the addition vessel will vary depending on the manufacturer and
of acid or other chemi- expected salt content of the feed water.
cals to inhibit precipi-
tation. Post-treatment consists of stabilizing the water and
preparing it for distribution. This post-treatment might
The high-pressure consist of the removing gases such as hydrogen sulfide
pump supplies the and adjusting the PH.
pressure needed to
enable the water to Two developments have helped to reduce the operating
pass through the costs of RO plants during the past decade: the develop-
membrane and have ment of membranes that can operate efficiently with
the salts rejected. This
pressure ranges from
17 to 27 bar (250 to
400 psi) for brackish
water and from 54 to
80 bar (800 to 1180
psi) for sea water.
Internal View of RO Plant
The membrane assembly consists of a pressure vessel
and a membrane that permits the feed water to be pres-
surized against the membrane. The membrane must be
able to withstand the drop of the entire pressure across
it. The semi-permeable membranes are fragile and vary
in their ability to pass fresh water and reject the passage
of salts. No membrane is perfect in its ability to reject
salts, so a small amount of salts passes through the
membrane and appears in the product water.

RO membranes are made in a variety of configurations.

Two of the most commercially successful are spiral- RO Plant

41
lower pressures and the use of energy recovery devices.
The low-pressure membranes are being widely used to
desalt brackish water. The energy recovery devices are
connected to the concentrate stream as it leaves the
pressure vessel. The water in the concentrate stream
loses only about 1 to 4 bar (15 to 60 psi) relative to the
applied pressure from the high-pressure pump. These
energy recovery devices are mechanical and generally
consist of turbines or pumps of some type that can
convert a pressure drop to rotating energy.
Other Processes
A number of other processes have been used to desalt
saline waters. These processes have not achieved the
level of commercial success that distillation, electrodialy-
sis, and RO have, but they may prove valuable under
special circumstances or with further development. The
most significant of these processes are freezing, mem-
brane distillation, and solar humidification.
Freezing
Extensive work was done in the 1950s and 1960s to
develop freezing desalination. During the process of
freezing, dissolved salts are naturally excluded during
the formation of ice crystals. Sea water can be desali-
nated by cooling the water to form crystals under con-
trolled conditions. Before the entire mass of water has
been frozen, the mixture is usually washed and rinsed to
remove the salts in the remaining water or adhering to
the ice crystals. The ice is then melted to produce fresh
water.
42
Theoretically, freezing has some advantages over distilla-
tion, the predominant desalting process at the time the
freezing process was developed. These advantages include
a lower theoretical energy requirement, minimal potential
for corrosion, and little scaling or precipitation. The
disadvantage is that it involves handling ice and water
mixtures that are mechanically complex to move and
process.
A small number of plants have been built over the past 40
years, but the process has not been a commercial success
in the production of fresh water for municipal purposes,
The most recent significant example of a freezing desalt-
ing plant was an experimental solar-powered unit con-
structed in Saudi Arabia in the late 1980s. The experi-
mental work has been concluded, and the plant disas-
sembled. At this stage, freezing desalting technology
probably has a better application in the treatment of
industrial wastes rather than the production of municipal
drinking water.
Membrane Distillation
Membrane distillation was introduced commercially on a
small scale in the 1980s. As the name implies, the pro-
cess combines both the use of distillation and mem-
branes. In the process, saline water is warmed to enhance
vapor production, and this vapor is exposed to a mem-
brane that can pass vapor but not water. After the vapor
passes through the membrane, it is condensed on a
cooler surface to produce fresh water. In the liquid form,
the fresh water cannot pass back through the membrane,
so it is trapped and collected as the output of the plant.
Thus far, the process has been used only in a few areas
Compared to the more commercially successful pro-
cesses, membrane distillation requires more space and
may use considerable pumping energy per unit of pro-
duction. Being essentially a distillation process, it is
subject to some of the same performance limitations as
are experienced with that process.
The main advantages of membrane distillation lie in its
simplicity and the need for only small temperature
differentials to operate. Membrane distillation probably
has its best application in desalting saline water where
inexpensive low-grade thermal energy is available, such
as from industries or solar collectors.
Solar Humidification
Variations of this type of solar still have been made in an
effort to increase efficiency, but they all share the follow-
ing difficulties, which restrict the use of this technique
for large-scale production:
l Large solar collection area requirements
l High capital cost
l Vulnerability to weather-related damage
A general rule of thumb for solar stills is that a solar
collection area of about one square meter is needed to
produce 4 liters of water per day (10 square foot/ 1
gallon). Thus, for a 4000-cum/d facility, a land area of
about 100 hectares would be needed (250 acres/mgd).

The use of direct solar energy for desalting saline

water has been investigated and used for some time.
During World War II, considerable work went into BASIC ELEMENTS IN A SOLAR STILL

making small solar stills for use on life rafts. This

work continued after the war, with a variety of de-
vices being made and tested.

These devices generally imitate a part of the natural

hydrologic cycle in that the saline water is heated by
the sun’s rays so that the production of water vapor
(humidification) increases. The water vapor is then
condensed on a cool surface, and the condensate
collected as product water. An example of this type of TROUGH BASIN
process is the green house solar still, in which the The inside of the basin is usually black to efficiently absorb radiation
saline water is heated in a basin on the floor and the and insulated on the bottom to retain heat.

water vapor condenses on the sloping glass roof that

Diagram of a solar still.
covers the basin.

43

Experimental Solar Desalination Unit
This operation would take up a tremendous area and
could create problems if located near a city where land
was scarce and expensive.
The stills themselves are expensive to construct, and
although the thermal energy may be free, additional
energy is needed to pump the water to and from the
facility. In addition, careful operation and maintenance is
needed to prevent scale formation caused by the basins
drying out and to repair glass or vapor leaks in the stills.
44
An application for these types of solar humidification
units has been for desalting saline water on a small scale
for a family or small village where solar energy is abun-
dant but electricity is not.
Other Solar and Wind-Driven Desalters
Desalting units that use solar collectors or wind energy
devices to provide heat or electrical energy also have
been built to operate standard desalting processes like
RO, electrodialysis, or distillation. The economics of
operating these plants tend to be related to the cost of
producing energy with these alternative energy devices.
At this point in time, the cost tends to be high, but are
expected to improve as development of these energy
devices continues.
At the present time, using conventional energy to drive
desalting devices is generally more cost-effective than
using solar and wind-driven devices, although appropri-
ate applications for solar and wind-driven desalters do
exist. An inventory of known wind- and solar-powered
desalting plants (Wangnick, 1990) listed units in about
100 locations scattered over 25 countries. Most of these
installations had capacities of less than 20 cum/d (0.005
mgd). This inventory does not account for many small
solar stills used by families in many parts of the world.
Other Aspects of Desalting
Cogeneration
In some situations, it is possible to use energy so that
more than one use can be obtained from it as the energy
moves from a high level to an ambient level. This occurs
with cogeneration where a single energy source can
perform several different functions.

Certain types of desalination processes, especially the

distillation process, can be structured to take advantage
of a cogeneration situation. Most of the distillation plants
installed in the Middle East and North Africa operate
under this principle. These units are built as part of a
facility that produce both electric power and desalted sea
Large Dual Purpose Plant
water for use in the particular country.

The electricity is produced with high-pressure steam to
run turbines which in turn power electric generators. In
a typical case, boilers produce high-pressure steam at
about 540°C (1 ,OOOOF). As this steam expands in the
turbine, its temperature and energy level is reduced.
Distillation plants need steam whose temperature is
about 120°C (248°F) or below, and this can be obtained
by extracting the lower temperature steam at the low
pressure end of the turbine after much of its energy has
been used to generate electricity. This steam is then run
through the distillation plant’s brine heater, where it is
condensed in the tubes, thereby increasing the tempera-
ture of the incoming sea water. The condensate from the
steam is then returned to the boiler to be reheated for
use in the turbine.
The main advantage of a cogeneration system is that it
can significantly reduce the consumption of fuel when
compared to the fuel needed if two separate plants were
required. Since energy is a major operating cost in any
desalination process, this can be an important economic-
benefit. One of the disadvantages is that the units are
permanently connected together and, for the desalination
plant to operate efficiently, the steam turbine must be
operating. This can create a problem with water produc-
tion when the turbine or generator is down for repairs.
This type of power and water production installation is
commonly referred as a dual-purpose plant. Since many
of the oil-producing countries of the Middle East and
North Africa were engaged in building up their total

45
infrastructure, these types of installations fit in well with may involve dilution, injection of the concentrate into a
the overall development program in these countries. saline aquifer, evaporation, or transport by pipeline to a
suitable disposal point. All of these methods could add to
Other types of cogeneration facilities benefitting desalina- the cost of the process.
tion can derive lower-cost steam from industrial pro-
cesses or from burning solid wastes in an incinerator. The means of properly disposing of the concentrate flow
should be one of the items investigated first in any study
Concentrate Disposal of the feasibility of a desalination facility. The cost of
disposal could be significant and could adversely affect
the economics of desalination.
The common element in all of these desalination pro-
cesses is the production of a concentrate stream (also
called a brine, reject, or waste stream). This stream
contains the salts removed from the saline feed to pro-
duce the fresh water product as well as some of the
chemicals that may have been added during the process.
This stream varies in volume depending on the process,
but will almost always be a significant quantity of water.

The disposal of this wastewater in an environmentally

appropriate manner is an important part of the feasibility
and operation of a desalting facility. If the desalting plant
is located near the sea, the potential for a problem will be
considerably less. The major pollutant in the concentrate
stream is salt, and disposing of salt in the sea is gener-
ally not a problem. At the same time, care must be taken
relative to possible problems from added constituents,
dissolved oxygen, and water temperature.

The potential for a more significant problem comes when

a desalting facility is constructed inland, away from a
natural salt water body. Care must then be taken so as
not to pollute any existing ground or surface water with
the salts contained in the concentrate stream. Disposal Reject Stream

46

Another method of reducing the overall costs of desalting
can be the use of hybrid systems. Such hybrid systems
are not applicable to most desalination installations, but
can prove to be an economic benefit in some cases. A
hybrid system is a treatment configuration made up of
two or more desalination processes. An example is using
both distillation and RO processes to desalt sea water at
one facility to use and to combine the different character-
istics of each process productively.
An example of such a hybrid system would be where
steam is used in a dual-purpose plant (electricity and
desalination). The steam is used in a distillation plant to
desalt sea water. The product water from the distillation
unit has a low level of total dissolved solids, perhaps 20
mg/l. Alongside the distillation plant could be a sea
water RO plant that would be run only in off-peak power
periods so as to stabilize the load on the generator and
therefore use lower cost electricity. The RO plant will
produce water with a higher level of total dissolved solids
in the range of 500 mg/l. The water from the two pro-
cesses can be combined to produce a water that has a
reasonable level of total dissolved solids while helping to
level the electrical load on the generators.
Economics
Desalination facilities exist in about 120 countries
around the world, so specifying exact costs for desalting
is not appropriate. What can be said with certainty is
that the capital and operating costs for desalination have
tended to decrease over the years, although the increase
in energy prices during the 1970s affected production
costs. At the same time desalting costs have been de-
creasing, the costs of obtaining and treating water from
conventional sources has tended to increase because of
the increased levels of treatment being required in vari-
ous countries to meet more stringent water quality
standards. This rise in cost for conventionally treated
water also is the result of an increased demand for water,
leading to the need to develop more expensive conven-
tional supplies since the readily obtainable water sources
have already been used.
Many factors enter into the capital and operating costs
for desalination: capacity and type of plants, plant
location, feed water, labor, energy, financing, concentrate
disposal, and plant reliability. In general, the cost of
desalted sea water is about 3 to 5 times the cost of
desalting brackish water from the same size plant.
During the past decade in a number of areas in the USA,
the economic cost of desalting brackish water has be-
come less than the alternative of transferring large
amounts of conventionally treated water by long-distance
pipeline.
In 1990, the total production costs, including capital
recovery, for brackish water systems with a capacities of
4000 to 40000 cum/d (1 to 10 mgd) in the USA typically
ranges from $0.25 to $0.60 per cum ($1.00 to $2.40 per
1000 gallons). The probable costs for sea water desalting
for plants in the capacity of 4000 to 20000 cum/d (1 to 5
mgd) in the USA is estimated at $1 to $4 per cum ($4 to
47
$16 per 1000 gallons). These estimates give some idea of application at hand. Local circumstances may play a
the range of costs involved, but site- and country-specific significant role in determining the most appropriate
factors will affect the actual costs. process for an area.

In any country or region, the economics of using desali-
nation is not just the number of dollars, pesos, or dinars
per cubic meter, but the cost of desalted water versus the
other alternatives. In many water-short areas, the cost of
alternative sources of water is already very high and
often above the cost of desalting.
The “best” desalination system should be more than
economically reasonable in the study stage. It should
work when it is installed and continue to work and
deliver suitable amounts of fresh water at the expected
quantity, quality, and cost for the life of a project.

Summary
Desalination technology has been extensively developed
over the past 40 years to the point where it is reliably
used to produce fresh water from saline sources. This
has effectively made the use of saline waters for water
resource development possible. The costs for desalination
can be significant because of its intensive use of energy.
However, in many arid areas of the world, the cost to
desalinate saline water is less than other alternatives
that may exist or be considered for the future. Desali-
nated water is used as a main source of municipal
supply in many areas of the Caribbean, North Africa, and
the Middle East. The use of desalination technologies,
especially for softening mildly brackish water, is rapidly
increasing in the southeastern USA.

There is no “best” method of desalination. Generally,

distillation and RO are used for sea water desalting,
while RO and electrodialysis are used to desalt brackish
water. However, the selection of a process should be
dependent on a careful study of site conditions and the

48
Acknowledgements
The purpose of this publication is to provide an up-to-
date replacement for the booklet entitled, The A-B-C of
Desalting, which was published by the U.S. Department
of the Interior’s Office of water Research and Technology
in about 1977. The text for this new booklet is based, in
part, on a previous paper by the A. K. Buros entitled, An
Introduction to Desalination (UN, 1987). The diagrams on
pages 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37,43 and 44 are adapted from The
USAID Desalination Manual and are used courtesy of the
U.S. Agency for International Development.

Bibliography
Buros et al. The USAID Desalination Manual. Produced by
CH2M HILL International for the U.S. Agency for Intema-
tional Development. 1980.

United Nations. Non-Conventional Water Resource Use in

Developing Counties. (UN Pub No. E.87.11.A.20. 1987.
Wangnick, Klaus. 1990 IDA Worldwide Desalting Plants
Inventory. Produced by Wangnick Consulting for the
International Desalination Association. 1990.

49