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15

CHAPTER 2
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF THE RO
DESALINATION PROCESS

The scenario for the demand of portable water in the world and in
India, the process of reverse osmosis desalination, objective of the present
study and the scope of the present work have been described in previous
chapter. Based on the outcome, as described in chapter 1, it is proposed to
carryout experimental work for setting up scaled up plants of higher capacity
to meet the demand for water. The experimental facility is described in this
chapter.
2.1

INTRODUCTION
Potable water is produced from sea / brackish water, using

desalination with the RO method. Domestic and industrial waste waters are
also treated by this technique. RO has the potential to remove TDS, organic
compounds and all classes of pathogens. The raw feed (sea/brackish water)
enters the mixing tank and is pumped through the RO membranes. The
resulting product is potable water, part of which is stored in the permeate
tank. The other by product is brine, part of which is recycled, and the rest is
concentrated for reuse and generation of value added salt-products.

The

entire system consists of the integration of the mixing tank, pump, RO


membranes and permeates / brine tanks. The main objective of this chapter is
to report the experiments conducted to collect data from the different units

16

that comprise

the RO desalination system, and to develop simple

experimental models which may be used to predict the performance of each


unit of the RO desalination system. The purpose of the modelling is to scale
up/down the process for the design, the calculation of the optimal operating
conditions, output predictions and for the fabrication of commercial units. An
experimental facility (3.8 MLD Desalination plant at Ramanathapuram, TN)
consisting of the mixing tank, dual media filter, polished dual media filter,
disc filter, cartridge filters, high pressure pump, RO brine tank and the
permeate tank, has been chosen to carry out the experiments to characterize
the system. Figure 2.1 shows the 3.8 MLD Reverse Osmosis Plant set up in
Ramanathapuram.

Figure 2.1

Experimental desalination plant set up with reverse osmosis


in Ramanathapuram (3.8MLD)

It is required to build two types of models for this study: steady


state and transient. The experimental set-up / plant operates at optimal steady
state conditions. The transient characteristics of the output can be obtained by
introducing external excitation / perturbations in the input variables. During

17

the operation of the RO system, the conditions, such as pressure, temperature


and feed water quality, can cause variations in the product water quality and
productivity. The dynamic and steady state performance operation of the RO
was obtained from the experimental work. The experimental runs were
performed on different units of the RO plant, such as a mixing tank, RO
membrane, brine tank and permeate tank. The inlet and outlet parameters of
each unit of desalination process, such as the flow rate, pH and total dissolved
solids (TDS) were recorded. The inlet and outlet flows are measured by the
Paddle wheel flow meter. At the end of each test, samples were taken from
each unit, and the TDS was measured using the conductivity meter and the
pH by using the pH meter. The main aim of the experiment is to enhance
higher diffusion of the solute away from the membrane, to reduce the
magnitude of the salt concentration at the membrane wall, cw , relative to the
concentration in the bulk of the feed cF .This leads to a higher permeate flux
(Jw ) , decrease in the salinity of the product water, increased recovery, and
an acceptable rejection rates.
2.2

DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENTAL SET UP


A sea water based desalination plant has been installed in

Narippaiyur village of Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu, India, with a


capacity of 3.80 MLD of drinking water. This is the first Desalination plant
for the production of potable water in South Asia. The arrangement of the
experimental set up is shown in Figure 2.2.

18

Figure 2.2

Schematic of the experimental set-up for the desalination of


sea water

2.2.1

Filters and Pumps


A well with an inner diameter of 1000 mm is dug in the sea and is

covered with a basket with small holes and mesh (100x15 mm GRP material)
so that fish and algae are not allowed to enter the well, which is connected to
an equalisation tank of 70sq m x 7m by two pipes (GRP material) of an inner
diameter of 450 mm and a length of 450 meters. GRP is a composite
consisting of two different materials such as glass fibre-reinforced plastic.
The pipe is connected to the equalisation tank with a certain slope, so that the
height of water in the equalization tank is equal to the height of the sea. The
tank is equipped with three vertical turbines and two horizontal centrifugal
pumps (capacity 450 500 m3/hr) that deliver water to the filters section with
a pressure of 3 - 3.5 kg/cm2. Three rough dual media filters (RDMF) of 3m
diameter and 7m height, with a capacity of 120 170 m3/hr filled with sand
and gravel, are employed in a series as the primary filters to remove coarse
particles and suspended solids from the water. The dirt and turbidity are also
reduced to some extent at the first and second stages of filtering. Water then

19

enters the third stage of filtering, viz, the polished dual media filters (PDMF)
where suspended solids, dirt and turbidity are reduced to yield colourless and
odourless water. Figure 2.3 shows the different layers of the PDMF

Figure 2.3 Schematic diagram of the typical PDMF filter


After PDMF, water enters the disc filter to eliminate particles larger
than 5 microns. Figure 2.4 shows the cross sectional view of the disc filter.

Figure 2.4 Cross sectional view of a disc filter


Water enters through the inlet pipe at the bottom of the disc filter
housing through the hydraulic valve way 1&2 and way 3 is closed. As the
water enters at the base of the filter chamber it passes through fin plate blades

20

which force the water to enter the filter chamber with a vortex effect. As the
water swirls within the filter chamber, some of the dirt particles are forced
outwards and upward and collect on the wall of the upper part of the filter
chamber, where they remain until the next flushing cycle. The water flows
from outside of the disc stack to the inside, passing along the specially
designed grooves on the surface of the disc which catch the suspended
material. The stack of discs is held compresses by the piston at its top. Clean
filtered water flows out of the filter from the centre outlet through the
hydraulic valve way 2 & 3 and way 1 is closed.
Then the feed water enters the cartridge filter, which will remove
particles sized more than 3 microns. Fig 2.5 shows the front view of the
cartridge filter.

Figure 2.5 Front view of a cartridge filter


The feed water is pumped (discharge pressure > 50 Kg/cm2) to the
RO sections, using a high pressure centrifugal pump.

21

2.2.2

RO Section
RO operates over a pH range of 2 to 11 with excellent performance,

in terms of flux, salt, organic rejection, and microbiological resistance, with a


free chlorine tolerance of less than 0.1 ppm. The water and solute
permeability characteristics depend on the performance of the membrane. The
feed water is allowed to enter the innermost radius of the spiral RO section.
The permeate comes out through the outermost layer of the RO. The ions are
attracted by the polyamide material of the membrane. The TDS reduces from
40000 ppm to 500 ppm for a running (operation) time of 12 hours through
168 ROs (spiral bound) of 1m length each. One RO consists of 30 membrane
leaves. Each leaf is made up of two membrane sheets glued together back to
back with a permeate spacer between them. The consistent glue line of about
1.5 inches wide seals the inner (permeate) side of the leaf against the outer
(feed/concentrated) side. The leaves are rolled up with a sheet of feed spacer
between each of them (shown in Figure 3), which provide the channel for the
feed and concentration to flow. The permeate (p) and brine (b) from all the
ROs are collected and passed to the opposite direction of the feed water
entering section of the RO. The brine from the RO section is collected, that
amounts to approx 50% of
(Figure 2.6)

the feed. A schematic process flow sheet

describes the flow rates in m3/hr, pressure in kgf/cm2 and the

TDS in ppm of different streams in the entire plant.

22

(25, 0.25, 850)

SEA WATER

MIXING TANK
(180, 11, 41350)

(115, 3, 40000)
HP PUMP

(180,60, 41350)
(80, 1, 850)

RO UNIT

(65, 8, 60000)

CAKE

( 90, 59, 60000)

(10, 60000)
ENERGY
RECOVERY
DEVICE

PERMEATE
TANK

PRODUCT
TANK

(80, 0.75, 850)

BRINE TANK

( 90, 59, 60000)


SEA
(25, 51, 60000)

Figure 2.6

Process flow scheme of the desalination plant with streams


under operating conditions in (m3/hr, kgf/cm2, ppm)

About 70% of the brine is recirculated to the feed-mixing tank.


The rest of the brine can be used for the recovery of salts. 10% of the feed
precipitates or forms scales that get adhered to membrane. About 35-40% of
the feed goes to the permeate tank, and can be used for potable purposes.

23

To boost the feed water pressure from 3 kg/cm2 to 60 kg/cm2,


(centrifugal type of energy recovery devices, electromechanically operated
butterfly dump valve and a flow control valve) are used by taking (energy
conservation /recovered) the energy from the brine stream.. The percentage of
salt rejection is found to be 97.5%. The designed recovery is calculated as 50
%. Figure 2.7a and 2.7b show the cross sectional view of one RO vessel and
one RO (from Filmtech) . One RO vessel consists of six RO modules. The
plant consists of 28 numbers of RO vessel for one bed. The plant has two
such beds.
The total feed flow rate of one RO bed is 180 m3/hr. Feed
flow/vessel=180/28=6m3/hr;

Permeate

flow/vessel=

4m3/hr;

Brine

flow/vessel= 2m3/hr

Figure 2.7a. Schematic flow of feed, brine, permeate in one RO


membrane module (TWAD board, Ramanathapuram)

24

Figure 2.7b. Cross sectional view of a typical RO membrane


Table 2.1 shows the technical details of the RO Plant. From
Figure 2.7a it is seen that

the permeate (due to the radial component of

velocity) comes out along the surface of

the membrane while the

concentrated brine (due to the axial component of velocity) flows axially


through the membrane. The RO process can be thought of as comprising a
grey box model (Figure 2.8) with one input or manipulated variable, several
disturbance and design variables, and output or control variables. Due to the
transverse diffusion across the walls of the

RO tubes (cylindrical), the

permeate comes out and gets accumulated in the product tank. The axial
stream flows out as rejection or brine. Part of the brine flow is recycled with
raw feed that enters to the mixing tank.

25

Pre-treated Feed Water

Permeate FP, CP PP
Kw

FF,CF,PF

Ks

Brine

Fb,Cb,Pb Brine
Figure 2.8 Representation of the RO process as a grey box model
Table 2.1 Important technical details of the RO plant (TWAD Board)
Serial
Components
No
1. Sea water intake
mouth
2. Connecting pipe
from intake mouth to
Equalization tank
3. Feed Pump motor
Squirrel Gauge
induction type
4
Feed Pump
(Vertical Centrifugal
Type)
5
RDMF(Horizontal)

PDMF(Horizontal)

Description

Specification

Intake mouth covering mesh 10015 mm slots


size
Inner diameter and outside
450mm, 490 mm
diameter
Speed
Rating

2900 rpm
30KW,415 V, 3 phase

Head

49/39 m of
column (wc)

i. Sand mesh size 14 height


ii. Gravel 1/81/16 height
iii. Gravel1/41/8 height
iv. Gravel 3/81/4
v. Gravel 3/43/8
vii Diameter
viii Length
i. Anthracite height
ii. Gravel 1/81/16 height
iii. Gravel1/41/8 height
iv. Gravel 3/81/4
v. Gravel 3/43/8
vi. Refilling freq
vii. Diameter
viii Length

400 mm
150mm
150mm
150mm
600mm
3000 mm
7000 mm
300 mm
100 mm
100 mm
100 mm
600 mm
5 year once
3000 mm
7000 mm

water

26

Table 2.1 (Continued)


Serial
No
7.

8.

Components
Disc Filter:2ADF

Cartridge Filter

Description

Specification

i. Disc element: Polyethylene


ii. Flushing cycle time

15-25 secs

iii.Max flowrate

25 m3/hr

iv. Max working pressure

10 bar

i. Material: Polypropylene

2.6OD1.1ID
40Length

ii. Filter element size


iii. No of Catridge
elements/Filter
9.

10.

11.

Energy Recovery
Device

HP Pump

HP pump motor

i. Material:Duplex
steel

30 nos
stainless

ii. Feed flow

158 m3/hr

iii. Brine flow

79 m3 /hr

i. Centrifugal pump
ii. Total discharge head

634 m of WC

iii. Suction pressure Min

5 m of WC

Sq. cage motor

450KW, 2980rpm,

rating

50 HZ, 6.6 KV,


3 phase,

12.

RO Membrane

i. Type:Filmtech,SW30HR380
Outer material:Polyamide
Center material:Polysulphone
ii. Length

1 meter

iii. Outer diameter

iv. One vessel length(6 ROS)

6.6 meter

v. Vessel inner dia

210 mm

vi. Top most vessel pressure

2 kgf/cm2

vii Feed flow/vessel

6 m3/hr

viii Permeate flow/ vessel

5m3/hr

ix. Brine flow /vessel

1.5m3/hr

27

2.3

UNIT OPERATIONS IN THE DESALINATION PROCESS

2.3.1

Pre- treatment and Post- treatment (or) Demineralization


As the feed water comes from the sea / brackish source, it contains

clay, dirt and suspended materials that need to be separated . Hence pre and
post treatment using clarifiers are done in the factory. Chlorination and dechlorination are done to remove bacteria & pathogens; turbidity is removed
during pre-treatment. Calcium and bi-carbonate ions are removed from the
feed during post treatment when the pH is raised slightly above 7. The details
of these methods are not under the scope of this research.
2.3.2

Data Collected across Each Unit of the Experimental Setup


The experiments were performed on the RO desalination process

equipped with spiral membranes. First, the data for the feed flow rate, TDS,
pH and the HP (high pressure) pump were collected across the mixing tank,
for the verification of the dynamic and steady state operation of the mixing
tank during the starting of the process, after the power shut down of the plant
for nearly15 minutes. The data are listed in Table 2.2. The corresponding
graphs are shown in Figure 2.9. It can be seen from Figure 2.9(a) that after
1000 sec of startup time, the feed flow rate attains steady value of 0.05
m3/sec. Figure 2.9(b) reveals that after 1000 sec of startup time, the
concentration in mixing tank attains steady value of 4.176104 ppm, pH
becomes 12.83 (Figure 2.9c) and the pressure of HP pump after 150 sec of
startup time changes to 6105 pascals (Figure 2.9d)

28

Table 2.2 Data to describe the dynamic characteristics of the feed in


mixing tank

Serial
No

Time in sec

HP pump pressure
in Pascal*10000

Feed flowrate
in m3/sec

Feed TDS
in ppm

Feed pH

1.

41400

12.938

2.
3.
4.

10
20
30

3.3
3.5
3.7

0
0.0055
0.00833

41444
41500
41580

12.934
12.90
12.89

5.
6.

40
50

4
4.2

0.0111
0.01388

41600
41700

12.89
12.87

7.
8.
9.

60
70
80

4.5
4.8
5

0.01944
0.0222
0.025

41760
41765
41780

12.865
12.85
12.84

10.
11.

90
100

5.2
5.4

0.02666
0.029166

41800
41820

12.83
12.825

12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.

150
200
250
300
350
400

5.6
5.8
5.9
6
6
6

0.031944
0.0388
0.04388
0.04666
0.04833
0.04888

41840
41845
41825
41805
41790
41780

12.82
12.81
12.805
12.812
12.815
12.82

18.
19.

450
500

6
6

0.04944
0.049722

41770
41767

12.83
12.832

20.
21.
22.

550
600
650

6
6
6

0.05
0.050277
0.0501388

41767
41760
41760

12.835
12.836
12.84

23.
24.

700
750

6
6

0.05
0.05

41760
41760

12.84
12.837

25.
26.
27.

800
850
900

6
6
6

0.05
0.05
0.05

41762
41761
41762

12.837
12.836
12.835

28.
29.

950
1000

6
6

0.05
0.05

41473
41761

12.835
12.835

30.
31.
32.
33.

1050
1100
1150
1200

6
6
6
6

0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05

41760
41760
41761
41760

12.834
12.834
12.834
12.834

29

(a) Feed flowrate vs time

(c).Feed pH vs time

(b)Feed TDS vs time

(d) Feed Pump pressure vs time

Figure 2.9 Dynamic characteristics of the feed in mixing tank


Then, the data are collected for the brine flow rate, pressure, TDS
and pH of the brine tank, for studying the dynamic performance of the brine
tank during the start-up of the process, after the power shut down of the plant
for nearly15 minutes. The data are listed in Table 2.3. The graphs are shown
in Figure 2.10. It can be observed from Figure 2.10 that, after 1200 sec of
start uptime, the brine flow rate becomes 0.0258 m3/sec, the brine TDS
settles at 6.366 104 ppm and the brine pH attains a pH of 12.65.

30

Table 2.3 Data to describe the dynamic characteristics of the feed


stream in the brine tank
Serial
No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.

Time
in secs
1
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
700
750
800
850
900
950
1000
1050
1100
1150
1200

Brine flowrate
m3/secs
0
0
0.0001
0.0006
0.0011
0.0017
0.0022
0.0044
0.0069
0.0097
0.0181
0.0250
0.0256
0.0256
0.0258
0.0261
0.0256
0.0258
0.0256
0.0253
0.0253
0.0258
0.0258
0.0258
0.0258
0.0258
0.0258
0.0258
0.0258
0.0258
0.0258
0.0258
0.0258

Brine TDS
in ppm
61000
62000
62500
62700
62900
63000
63050
63100
63125
63200
63250
63300
63340
63355
63365
63374
63420
63450
63470
63480
63490
63520
63550
63530
63600
63600
63610
63620
63650
63650
63660
63660
63660

Brine pH
12.6824
12.6665
12.666
12.6659
12.6658
12.6656
12.665
12.6649
12.6648
12.6645
12.664
12.6658
12.6657
12.656
12.6535
12.651
12.65
12.649
12.648
12.647
12.646
12.647
12.648
12.649
12.65
12.651
12.652
12.651
12.651
12.65
12.65
12.65
12.65

31

(a)Variation of the brine flowrate with time (b) Variation of the brine TDS with time

(c) Variation of the brine pH with time


Figure 2.10 Dynamic characteristics of the feed stream in the brine tank
The data are collected for the permeate flow rate, pressure, TDS
and pH in the permeate tank, for studying the dynamic performance of the
permeate tank during the starting of the process after the power shut down of
the plant for nearly15 minutes. The data are listed in Table 2.4.The graphs
are shown in Figure 2.11. It can be observed from Figure 2.11 that, after 650
sec of start up period, the permeate flow rate reached a steady value of
0.0229 m3/sec; after 270 min, the permeate TDS drops down to 819.75 ppm
and the pH settled at 7.5163.

32

Table 2.4 Data to describe the dynamic characteristics of the feed


stream in the permeate tank

Serial No

Time in
secs

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.

1
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
700
750
800
850
900
950
1000
1050
1100
1150
1200

Permeate
flowrate
m3/sec
0
0.0002
0.0005
0.0012
0.0014
0.0022
0.0026
0.0042
0.0069
0.0133
0.0194
0.0217
0.0225
0.0228
0.0233
0.0236
0.0228
0.0233
0.0228
0.0231
0.0231
0.0228
0.0230
0.0230
0.0229
0.0229
0.0229
0.0229
0.0229
0.0229
0.0229
0.0229
0.0229

Permeate TDS
Permeate
pH
Time in
Permeate
secs*60
TDS in ppm
0
860
7.5160
5
862.65
7.5160
10
883
7.5160
20
881.35
7.5160
30
850.00
7.5161
40
870.70
7.5161
50
867.60
7.5161
60
864.30
7.5161
75
852.75
7.5162
90
863.75
7.5162
105
871.45
7.5162
120
847.80
7.5162
135
839.00
7.5162
150
846.70
7.5162
165
847.80
7.5163
180
845.05
7.5163
195
839.00
7.5163
210
840.00
7.5163
225
830.75
7.5163
240
828.00
7.5163
255
824.70
7.5163
270
819.75
7.5163
7.5163
7.5163
7.5163
7.5163
7.5163
7.5163
7.5163
7.5163
7.5163
7.5163
7.5163

33

(a)Permeate flow rate with time

(b) Permeate TDS with time

(c) Permeate pH with time


Figure 2.11 Dynamic characteristics of the feed stream in the permeate tank
The data are collected for potable water flow rate, pressure, TDS
and pH of the potable tank for the dynamic performance of the potable tank
during the start-up of the process, after the power shut down of the plant for
nearly15 minutes. The data are listed in Table 2. 5. The graphs are shown in
Figure 2.12. It can be seen from the graph ( Figure 2.12) that after 15 mins of
start up/shunt down, the potable water flow rate became 2510 l/min, the
TDS is fluctuating between 1000-1100 ppm, the pH fluctuates around 9.2;

34

the recovery comes down to 38% in 240 mins and the rejection becomes 97.4
% after about 200 mins.
Table 2.5 Data to describe the dynamic characteristics of the permeate in
the potable water tank
Potable
Potable
Time
%
Time
Potable
water flow water
in
%
Serial
in
water
Rejection
rate
TDS
mins
No
Recovery
mins
pH
Liters/min
ppm
1.
1
10
1000
9.13
5
97.3
46.65
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

200
500
750
960
1450
1750
2000
2225
2530
2490
2500
2520
2545
2530
2510

950
900
1050
1000
850
900
950
1050
1100
1050
1100
1000
1050
1100
1000

9.15
9.20
9.23
9.32
9.15
9.17
9.23
9.24
9.12
9.14
9.15
9.12
9.16
9.21
9.22

10
20
30
40
50
60
75
90
115
130
145
160
175
190
205
220
235
250
265
280

97
97
97.35
97
97.238
97.23
97.32
97.25
97.22
97.34
97.4
97.36
97.37
97.36
97.37
97.40
97.44
97.44
97.45
97.5

45.93
47.26
46.55
45.79
45.61
44.89
44.57
43.85
43.40
42.81
42.81
42.94
41.76
39.88
39.17
38.46
38
37.27
36.79
36

35

(a) Potable water flow rate

(b)Potable water TDS

(c)Potable water pH

(d) RO bed recovery

(e)RO bed rejection


Figure 2.12 Dynamic characteristics of the permeate in the potable tank

36

2.4

SUMMARY
A large scale SWRO Desalination plant has been studied to

evaluate the process development. The preliminary results obtained from the
experimental set up lead to some observations on the individual units, such as
the mixing tank, brine tank, permeate tank and potable tank to predict the
performance of each system. In this study, the flow rate of the feed water in
and out of the mixing tank is 0.05m3/sec, the feed TDS value is around
41,000, the feed pH value is 12.8 and the operating pressure of the HP pump
pressure is 600000 Pascal. During this study the steady operating flow rate of
the brine water in and out of the brine tank is 0.0258 m3/sec, the brine TDS
value is around 61,000, and the brine pH value is 12.6 . The steady flow rate
of the permeate water in and out of the permeate tank is 0.0229 m3/sec. The
steady permeate TDS value is around 800 ppm and the steady permeate pH
value is 7.5163. The results show that the steady flow rate of the potable
water out of the potable tank is 0.04167m3/ sec (2500 litter/min). The potable
TDS steady value is around 1,000 and the potable pH steady value is 9.22.
These experimental results will be helpful in developing step response models
across different units for step changes in inlet feed flow rate, concentration
and pressure exerted by HP pumps using reaction curve method. Based on the
experiment, the following conclusion can be drawn in the present study, viz,
the percentage rejection of salt by the RO is 97.5% and the percentage
recovery is around 40%. With the above results on system investigation and
the quality of the feed water, the modelling, design and simulation of large
scale Seawater Reverse Osmosis process (SWRO) are developed and is
described in the next Chapter.

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