DESALINATION

PROCESS
By

Archana D Khandar
(Roll No.)

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
D.K.V ARTS AND SCIENCE COLEEGE
SURASTRA UNIVERSITY
JAMNAGAR
April-2016
 PREFACE

An industrial visit, at this level of B.sc (CHEMISTRY) has played a vital role for widening our
knowledge and providing experience. Also it has provided a great chance of being familiar with
industry.
For this visit, I have chosen DESALINATION process of ULTRATECH CEMENT PLANT
(NALIYA, KUTCH) for getting experienced with theoretical and practical knowledge related to
chemistry.
This visit report is a short review of advancement in desalination technology which has gained an
alternative for meeting the challenges of global water crises.
DESALINATION PLANT of here is one of these units, which has developed a great technology
and has successfully established many advanced processes as per international standards.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am very much pleased to present this industrial project before you and I expect that you will
acknowledge it. I am thankful to our college and the University for providing the opportunity of
industrial visit project.
I express my gratitude to the teachers..............for providing a valuable guidance.
I am even thankful to the staff and the department of chemistry of DKV Science College, for their
precious support.
 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The desalination plant is a successful unit for solving out the water problems which the world is
facing nowadays. It has some important objectives as follows:
1. Converts salty water into drinkable water by removing salts and other solids from
seawater or brackish water.
2. Allows large scale treatment of water.
3. Meets or exceeds standards for water qualities.
Thus, it can be concluded that desalination processes helps in solving the chemical problems in
environment and also satisfying the water problems going around the world.
 INTRODUCTION

Water treatment is an engineering practice based on chemical principles and dependent upon
chemical analysis for control. Many useless proprietary gad gets have been promoted due to
difference in the language of an engineer and a chemist. Water conditioning in easiest terms means
“Intentional Shifting of equilibrium of chemical reaction to alter the properties of the solution".

We know that Natural water contains dissolved as well as undissolved impurities. These impurities
are undesirable in many industrial application. Thus if this water is to be treated an analysis of
water has to be done. Analysis of water is done not only for designing a water treatment plant but
also for control and as well conditioning after treatment. Raw water analysis is divided into parts
– Physical and chemical.

Physical parameters: pH
Turbidity
Total suspended solids
Conductivity
Colour

Chemical parameters: Calcium-Hardness

Magnesium-Hardness
Sodium
Iron
Alkalinity M and P both
Chloride
Sulfate
Nitrate
Silica
Carbon-di-oxide.
Though the above list are not exhaustive but are the most important in any water analysis “Water
Analysis” has more broader perspective then just analyzing the impurities in raw water a or treated
water. Resin used for treatment gets deteriorated due to various reasons and hence must checked
from time to time. Industrial water analysis addresses these also. Boiler and cooling water may be
subjected to scaling and corrosion due to water & which element of water was responsible for the
effect is also one of the studies done in water analysis. Types of analysis are as follows:

 Raw water analysis

 Treated water analysis
 Boiler water analysis
 Cooling water analysis
 Resin testing

Importance of Water analysis:

The water analysis is very important for the following reason:

 Analysis of Raw water for designing the required water treatment.

 Analysis of water at each stage of purification to check the performance of each unit.
 Monitoring of water treatment plants.
 Analysis of Boiler water to check scaling, corrosion and blow down.
 Analysis of boiler water to check if internal chemicals are working as intended.
 Analysis of cooling water to check for corrosion, scaling and bacterial growth.
 Analysis of discharged water to meet legal and statutory requirements.
 Analysis of water to be used for process.
 WATER IMPURITIES

Water contains various impurities.The impurities can be

ionic or nonionic.Nonionic impurities is also known as
Undissolved impurities.These colloidal impurities are so
small that it can not be removed by mere settling and
filtration but would require additional treatment .

Sedimentation:
Sedimentation or settling is a process used to separate
the settable suspended solids from water by gravity.
Sedimentation can be plain or aided by coagulants &
flocculent. Sedimentation is also done after chemical
treatment to remove settable solids that have been
rendered more settable by addition of coagulants to
remove organic, colour and turbidity.

Filteration:
Filtration is a process of removing suspended impurities
and turbidity from water. It is used to remove suspended
impurities which may be present initially or as a result of
coagulation or precipitation process. There are various
type of filters but one most used in conjunction with ion
Exchange treatment is Pressure Sand Filter.

Coagulation And Flocculation:

Chemicals are added to destabilize the particles .Once
destabilized they easily clump together. The chemicals
added to destabilize the particles are known as
COAGULANTS and the process is called COAGULATION.
The process of bringing together the destabilized or
coagulated particles to form large aggolermation or FLOC
is known as FLOCCULATION.

Coagulants are chemicals which when added to water

destabilizes the repulsive charges on particles enabling
the Van Der Waal cohesive forces to hold the particles
together once they collide. Coagulants are classified as
primary coagulant and coagulant aids. Primary
coagulants neutralizes the charges on particles and
Coagulant aids help in adding density and toughness to
flocs formed so that it does not break in subsequent
operation. For this reason coagulants are also referred to
as flocculent aid.
The most widely used coagulants are:
• Aluminium sulphate Al2(SO4)214H2O
Alum
• Ferrous sulphate FeSO47H2O Copperas
• Ferric Sulphate Fe2(SO4)3 Ferrisul

Chlorination:
Chlorine is a chemical which has wide application in water
and waste water treatment.The reason is that chlorine is
very powerful oxidant and hence finds application in many
major water removal process.
Chlorine is used for
1. disinfecting water
2. for ammonia removal
3. colour reduction
4. for microorganism control
5. Taste & odour control
6. In iron & Mangnese removal
7. H2S Removal
8. Destruction of organic matter

As a disinfectant:
Sedimentation, coagulation and filtration are efficient in
removing bacterias but the finished water may still contain
pathogenic organism which needs to be destroyed before
water is taken for use. Sterilization which means the total
destruction of all living things in water is not normally
practiced because of huge requirements of chemicals.
Sterilization is usually done by boiling for special use.
Disinfection which means the destruction of pathogenic
bacterias is more commonly employed.
Chlorine and its compound, u.v., boiling, silver ionization
etc are the methods used to ensure that pathogens are
kept at a safe level.The choice of disinfectant depends on
the following characteristics:

1. Effective kill of pathogens

2. Non toxic to human or domestic animals
3. Non toxic to aquatic animals
4. Easy and safe to transport and dispense
5. Low cost
Ease of availability
6. Provide residual in water
There are many disinfecting methods which are more
efficient than chlorination. But none meets all the
characteristics mentioned above as chlorine does. One
more advantage of chlorine is that it is available in all
states of matter— solids, liquids and gases.
Removal of H2S:
Chlorine is used for removal of H2S and ammonia.
Chlorine reacts with H2S as follows
Cl2 + H2S + O2- S + H2O + 2 Cl-

The chlorine required to oxidize hydrogen sulfide to sulfur

and water is 2.08mg/liter of chlorine for every 1 ppm of
H2S. The complete oxidation will convert H2S to sulfate
form.
The reaction is as follows
4Cl2 + H2S + 4H2O H2SO4 +8HCl
Thus 8.32 ppm of chlorine is required for complete
oxidation of 1ppm H2S.
Removal of IRON and ORGANIC Removal
Chlorine being a powerful oxidant is used for iron
removal. 1ppm of chlorine is added for 1 ppm of iron.
Chlorination is always the first step in pretreatment
procedure. The reason of using chlorine is that it destroys
many of the organics by oxidation. Chlorination is
generally carried prior to coagulation because the
destruction of organics is more rapid at low pH.

Points of Chlorine Application:

Chlorine is added in various stages in water treatment and
depending upon the stages. Where chlorine is introduced
, terms like prechlorination, post chlorination, super
chlorination has come to use.

Pre chlorination :- Application of chlorine before any other

treatment method is known
as prechlorination. The benefits of prechlorination of
prechlorination is
1) Control of algae & slime growth
2) Better coagulation
3) Reduction in taste & odour( provided no phenolic
compound is present)
4) Increased chlorine contact time & increased safety
factor in disinfection of highly contaminated water.
One drawback of prechlorination is that it may increase
formation of trihalomethanes (THM) in raw water
containing organic precursor.

Post chlorination:- Post chlorination is the application of

chlorine after has been treated but before it enters
distribution system.

Rechlorination :- the practice of adding chlorine in the

distribution stage is known as Rechlorination
Iron & Manganese Removal:
Many water supplies contain quantities of iron &
manganese which may be detrimental to number of
domestic and industrial use if not removed. Iron &
manganese removal is very important pretreatment step
in Ion Exchange & R.O. treatment.
Depending on the type of iron & manganese present in
water different treatment methods are adopted.
T
Type of Impurity Removal Method
ype of
1 Insoluble iron & manganese No oxidation required. Simple
Coagulation in solid contact.
Unit followed by filtration

2 Soluble iron & manganese Oxidation by air, chlorine &

filtration.
Lime / Lime soda softening.
Ion Exchange

3 Organic bound iron Coagulation by alum, settling

& filtration.

Softening:
Softening is a process of removing Calcium and
Magnesium ions from water. Calcium and Magnesium are
the hardness forming constituent of water. This process is
also known as base exchange softening.
 TREATMENT SCHEME
The entire plant premises consists of four sections as
mentioned below :
• Pretreament System
• Reverse Osmosis System
• Chemical Dosing System
• Sludge Dewatering System
Pretreatment Water System:
Consists of the following equipments:
Stilling Chamber
Parshall Flumer
Flash Mixer
Flocculator
Lamella Clarifier
Rapid Gravity Filters(RGF)

Chorine Dosing System

Chemical storage and Dosing system
Filter water and reject brine water storage
tanks(FWT)
Thickener
Centrifuge
 Raw sea water by intake pumps will be taken at
stilling chamber then parshall flume and then
further taken at lamella clarifier. water first passes
through flash mixing tank where these chemicals
are thoroughly mixed.

FeCl3 after reacting with alkanity of raw water forms

gelatinous Fe(OH)3. This gelatenous substance
while setting down in flocculation tank sweeps
through the suspended solids & fine flocs. Polymer
present in raw water causesfine flocs to adhere to
each other & forms bigger flocs.These bigger flocs
slowly settles down on the smooth surface of
plates provided in the Lmaella Clarifier whereas
clear water overflows to the Gravity Sand Filters.
Sludge from the Lamella Clarifier is periodically
drained out to sludge pit from where it is partly
recirculated to flash mixing tank & balance to the
sludge collection sump.

Reverse Osmosis (RO):

 Plant Area: This includes RO plant hall,central
control room.The filtered water from RGF flows to
filtered water storage tank(FWT) by gravity. Here
onwards the water is pumped to PSF & from PSF to
cartridge filters. Chemicals such as acid,
antiscalant & antioxidant are dosed for membrane
protection.

Cartridge Filteration: The feed water will be passed

through a cartridge filter of 5 micron, which removes fine
suspended solids before entering the reverse osmosis
system. This is essential for RO feedwater to makebit free
from fine particulate matter to avoid any clogging of
Clogging of membrane element surface which severely
affects the performance of membrane elements. This also
eliminates problem in high pressure pumps due to
presence of particulate menbrane.

Desalination by Reverse Osmosis: Filtered water after

cartridge filtration is pumped to sea water reverse
osmosis(SWRO) system by means of multistage
centrifugal high-pressure pump coupled with energy
recovery device.
Ro feed water parameters such as pH, free residual
chlorine, turbidity and slit density index are monitored
continuously of appropriate instruments. A chemical
cleaning system is provided to clean RO membrane
elements periodically. This will ensure satisfactory
performance of the plant by removing scaling materials
and foulness from the membrane elements. Monitoring
and control of parameters at pretreatment section of the
plant is essential to minimize frequent cleaning
operations and have the desired life of membranes.
The reverse osmosis membranes are very sensitive to
suspended matters which affects the clogging of the
membranes. In light of this, gravity sand filter has been
provided after lamella clarifier to remove suspended
solids and colloidal impurities with the help of
polyelectrolyte usage. The suspended solids matter after
dual media filter shall be less than 1mg/lit.
RO flushing and cleaning: Flushing is done to remove all
the stagnant sea water. This is basically done to minimise
corrosion in the equipments.
Stoppage for longer period- Whenever RO plant will be
out of operation for more than 2 weeks, the membranes
will be protected from bio fouling by filling RO
membranes by metabusulphate solution. The solution
shall be replaced every fortnight if the stoppage
continues.
Also RO membranes shall be cleaned periodically
whenever one of the following condition occurs:
Permeate flow will drop by 10-15% than the normalised
flow.
Differential pressure between feed & reject increses by
25%.
Normalised salt rejection drops by 10-15%.

Energy Recovery Terbine:Terbine is considered for energy

recovery due to its following features:
It returns recovered brine energy to the RO system to
boost the RO feed pressure.
Additional motor, other than the motor of HP pump is not
required.
It is a rugged, maintenance free equipment.
It is a good energy recovery efficiency compared to other
devices.

Chemical Storage And Dosing System

The purpose of this system is to store, process and feed

chemicals required in the pretreatment and post
treatment of the RO process. This system consists of the
following:
Chemicals dosing: Chemicals are used for the purpose of
enhanced sendimentation-flocculation, antiscalents,
antioxidants and pH adjusments in the pretreatment.
These are considered to ensure efficient performance of
the system and to safeguard the membranes.

Chemical Dosage

Sodium hypochloride 5mg/l

Ferric chloride 50mg/l
Polyelectrolyte 1mg/l
Hydrochloric acid 45mg/l
Antiscalant 5mg/l
Anti-oxidant 10mg/l

Coagulant dosing system: Ferric chloride(FeCl3) is used

as the coagulant. A 10% FeCl3 solution is prepared by
mixing in water.
Flocculants dosing system/ Coagulant aid:
Polyelectrolyte is used to improve the coagulation
process also as a filter aid in clarification and filteration
process.

Acid dosing system: Hydrochloric acid is dosed in water

to maintain the feed water pH. HCl is dose to adjust the
pH of RO feed water. Also HCl react with bicarbonates
and produce carbonic acid.
Ca(HCO3) + HCl CaCl2 + H2CO3

Antioxidant dosing system: Sodium bisulphite is dosed in

water to remove the free chlorine. Normally 10 ppm
dosing is recommended. Dosing rate can be increase or
decrease accordingly free chlorine available in RO feed
water.

Antiscalant dosing system: Antiscalant is dosed in feed

water before reverse osmosis unit to prevent scaling on
membranes. Normally 3ppm to 5ppm dosing is
recommended.

Sludge Dewatering System

Sludge generated from pretreatment plant will be treated
through different processes as follows:
Sludge Pit: Sludge from lamella clarifier hopper bottom
will be removed manually by butterfly valves every four
hrs. alternatively. Sludge pit will be provided by ultrasonic
level pit for transfer of sludge. Thickner feed pump will be
operated manually. On-off operation will be initiated by
MCC-PLC. Low level in the tank will trip the pumps.

Thickner mechanism is provided at thickner. Sludge from

thickner will be transferred by manual gate valve to
thickner sludge pump after every 4 hrs.
Sludge from thickner will be collected at thickner sludge
sump. Thickner sludge pump will be provided by
ultrasonic level transmitter. Centrifuge feed pump will be
operated manually through push buttons provided at
MCC. Low level in the tank will trip the pump.
Overflow and filterate from centrifuge will be collected at
Filterate Collection sump. Thickner feed pumps will be
provided at filterate collection sump. Filterate transfer
pumps will be operated manually through push buttons
provided at MCC. Low level in the tank will trip the
pumps.