GB2256377A - Desalination plant - Google Patents

Desalination plant Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2256377A
GB2256377A GB9209459A GB9209459A GB2256377A GB 2256377 A GB2256377 A GB 2256377A GB 9209459 A GB9209459 A GB 9209459A GB 9209459 A GB9209459 A GB 9209459A GB 2256377 A GB2256377 A GB 2256377A
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GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
desalination
seawater
mobile
plant according
desalination plant
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB9209459A
Other versions
GB9209459D0 (en
Inventor
Seumeren Adelbert-Michael Van
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
INTERSEA RESEARCH AND DEV LIMI
Original Assignee
INTERSEA RESEARCH AND DEV LIMI
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by INTERSEA RESEARCH AND DEV LIMI filed Critical INTERSEA RESEARCH AND DEV LIMI
Publication of GB9209459D0 publication Critical patent/GB9209459D0/en
Publication of GB2256377A publication Critical patent/GB2256377A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02FTREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F1/00Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
    • C02F1/44Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by dialysis, osmosis or reverse osmosis
    • C02F1/441Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by dialysis, osmosis or reverse osmosis by reverse osmosis
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01DSEPARATION
    • B01D61/00Processes of separation using semi-permeable membranes, e.g. dialysis, osmosis or ultrafiltration; Apparatus, accessories or auxiliary operations specially adapted therefor
    • B01D61/02Reverse osmosis; Hyperfiltration ; Nanofiltration
    • B01D61/10Accessories; Auxiliary operations
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63JAUXILIARIES ON VESSELS
    • B63J1/00Arrangements of installations for producing fresh water, e.g. by evaporation and condensation of sea water
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02FTREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F1/00Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
    • C02F1/02Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating
    • C02F1/04Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating by distillation or evaporation
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02FTREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F1/00Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
    • C02F1/30Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by irradiation
    • C02F1/32Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by irradiation with ultraviolet light
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02FTREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F2103/00Nature of the water, waste water, sewage or sludge to be treated
    • C02F2103/08Seawater, e.g. for desalination
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02FTREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F2201/00Apparatus for treatment of water, waste water or sewage
    • C02F2201/001Build in apparatus for autonomous on board water supply and wastewater treatment (e.g. for aircrafts, cruiseships, oil drilling platforms, railway trains, space stations)
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02ATECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A20/00Water conservation; Efficient water supply; Efficient water use
    • Y02A20/124Water desalination
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02ATECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A20/00Water conservation; Efficient water supply; Efficient water use
    • Y02A20/124Water desalination
    • Y02A20/131Reverse-osmosis

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Hydrology & Water Resources (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
  • Nanotechnology (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Separation Using Semi-Permeable Membranes (AREA)

Abstract

A mobile desalination plant comprises desalination apparatus (4) on board a ship (1). The ship has an upperhold (2) for the desalination apparatus (4) and a lowerhold (3) for freshwater. Seawater to be processed is taken up and pumped to the desalination apparatus (4) from a seawater compartment in the underside of the ship, the level of which varies according to the draught of the ship (1) <IMAGE>

Description

DESALINATION PLANT The present invention relates to a desalination plant and particularly to a floating desalination plant.
Fresh drinking water can be made from a salt solution such as seawater by any of the following desalination methods: (a) EVAPORATION DISTILLATION. This method achieves desalination by boiling freshwater, collecting the resulting water vapour and then cooling the vapour until it condenses. The condensed water is vi < (ually free of contaminants and is known as distilled water, distillate or condensate.
The main disadvantage with the above phase transformation process (ie. liquid to vapour to liquid) is its high energy consumption.
(b) REVERSE OSMOSIS. When a selective or semipermeable membrane is placed between a solution (eg. seawater) and a pure solvent (eg.
water) the solvent will pass through the membrane to dilute the concentrated solution. Osmotic pressure is the pressure required in order to stop this natural flow driven by the different solute concentration on each side of the membrane. The above process is reversible and a pure solvent (freshwater) can be separated from a salt solution (seawater) by applying a pressure on the concentrated solution side that exceeds the osmotic pressure. This process is known as 'reverse osmosis' and offers an economical alternative to evaporation distillation in areas where there is no cheap source of energy, since the only energy required is that needed to drive a pump.
Conventional desalination plants are located onshore and suffer from a number of problems.
Channels need to be dredged from the shoreline to the plants. These are typically between 500 and 2000 metres long and their formation adds considerably to the overall construction costs of the onshore plant.
As the sources of saltwater for the onshore plant are limited to those in the immediate vicinity, the continued operation of the plant is under constant threat from pollution of its water source by oil spillages, etc., as was dramatically demonstrated during the recent Gulf War.
Another problem is that of pollution of the surrounding environment by discharge from the onshore plant of the high salt concentration solution which is produced as a by-product of the desalination process.
A further problem is that during periods of rainfall local demand for freshwater is reduced as rainwater can be collected and therefore an onshore plant cannot be operated at its maximum output throughout the year making the production of freshwater less cost effective. In regions where periods of rainfall are quite frequent this may mean that, although there is a high demand for freshwater at certain times of the year, the construction and operation of a desalination plant would not be a viable economic proposition.
The present inventors have recognized that the above problems can be overcome by constructing a mobile desalination plant.
According to the invention there is provided a mobile desalination plant for producing commercial quantities of freshwater comprising a floatable support and desalination apparatus.
The floatable support may comprise a barge or floatable dock or preferably a ship. A ship is preferred because it is more manoeuvrable, especially in bad weather conditions.
Preferably the ship includes connection means for connection with floating or sea-bottom pipes to allow the freshwater produced to be piped onshore.
Advantageously the ship includes means to facilitate the efficient uptake of seawater.
Preferably, said means comprises a 'moonpole', that is, a tank having a sealable aperture which is situated below the water line. The aperture can be opened and sealed to control the speed of seawater uptake into the moonpole and its subsequent uptake by the desalination apparatus via an inlet system which is connected to the moonpole. Preferably, the desalination apparatus is suitable for carrying out desalination via reverse osmosis. Alternatively, desalination apparatus for carrying out the evaporation distillation method or both desalination methods can be used The floatable desalination plant of the present invention has a number of advantages over conventional onshore plants. It can be moved from place to place in response to the demand for freshwater.Hence it can be used to satisfy the demand for freshwater in areas where, although there may be a large demand for freshwater at certain times of the year, the frequency of periods of rainfall makes the construction and operation of an onshore plant uneconomical. Since the floatable plant can be run at its maximum output all year round its operation is extremely cost effective. In addition, as the plant is actually floating on its seawater source, the cost of effecting seawater intake are considerably reduced.
Another advantage of the floatable desalination plant is that it can be moved away from areas in which the seawater has been polluted.
Further, the high salt concentration of the solution which is produced and discharged as a byproduct of the desalination process poses no ecological threat to the local environment since it is rapidly diluted by the surrounding seawater.
Thus, it is clear that the floatable desalination plant of the present invention overcomes the problems associated with conventional onshore desalination plants.
The invention also includes a method of desalinating water comprising providing a floatable support, providing desalination means on said floatable support, floating said support in seawater, drawing seawater into said desalination means to effect desalination, and discharging byproducts of desalination into the seawater in which the support floats.
A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an elevation of a desalination plant of the invention on board a ship with a cut away position showing the internal arrangement of desalination apparatus; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of the desalination apparatus; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the hull of a ship illustrating the seawater intake.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a floatable desalination plant of the invention comprises a ship (1) divided into upperhold (2) and lowerhold (3).
The lowerhold (2) is a stock tank for freshwater which is produced by desalination apparatus (4) in the upperhold (3).
As shown in Figure 3, the ship (1) also includes a sealed compartment (5) open to the sea at the bottom (6) and the top (7) of which is above the waterline (8). Leading from the compartment (5) at a position below the waterline is a sealable inlet (9) leading to the desalination plant (4) which ensures efficient and controlled uptake of seawater. The ship also includes flexible connection pipes (not shown).
In use, the flexible connection pipes are connected to floating or sea bottom pipes leading onshore. The seawater to be processed is taken up in the compartment (5) and pumped to the desalination apparatus (4) in the upperhold (2) via the inlet (9). As the inlet (9) is within the body of the ship, cleaning of the inlet is facilitated.
The desalination apparatus is preferably known per se, such as the apparatus manufactured by Promac B.V. NL., which achieves desalination via the reverse osmosis method and is capable of processing approximately 28,000 tons of seawater per day to produce 7,000 tons of fresh drinking water compatible with the World Health Organization quality requirements. The energy requirements for operating this apparatus are approximately 5Kwh per hour. As the apparatus is known, specific details thereof are not disclosed herein.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention constitutes a significant improvement over the limitations of conventional onshore desalination plants.

Claims (10)

1. A mobile desalination plant for producing commercial quantities of freshwater comprising a floatable support and desalination apparatus.
2. A mobile desalination plant according to claim 1, wherein the floatable support comprises a barge, floatable dock or a ship.
3. A mobile desalination plant according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the floatable support includes connection means for connection with floating or sea-bottom pipes to allow the freshwater produced to be piped onshore.
4. A mobile desalination plant according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein the floatable support includes means to facilitate the efficient uptake of seawater.
5. A mobile desalination plant according to claim 4, wherein said uptake means comprises a tank having a sealable aperture which is situated below the water line.
6. A mobile desalination plant according to claim 5, wherein the aperture can be selectively opened or sealed to control the speed of seawater uptake into the desalination apparatus.
7. A mobile desalination plant according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the desalination apparatus is suitable for carrying out desalination by means of at least one of reverse osmosis, or evaporation distillation.
8. A mobile desalination plant according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the floatable support comprises a ship divided into an upperhold for the desalination apparatus and a lowerhold forming a stock tank for freshwater.
9. A mobile desalination plant according to claim 8, further including, a further compartment open to the sea which receives seawater to a level corresponding to the draught of the ship, and inlet means whereby seawater is extracted from said further compartment to ensure efficient and controlled uptake of seawater.
10. A method of desalinating water comprising providing a floatable support, providing desalination means on said floatable support, floating said support in seawater, drawing seawater into said desalination means to effect desalination, and discharging by-products of desalination into the seawater in which the support floats.
GB9209459A 1991-05-02 1992-05-01 Desalination plant Withdrawn GB2256377A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB919109579A GB9109579D0 (en) 1991-05-02 1991-05-02 Desalination plant

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9209459D0 GB9209459D0 (en) 1992-06-17
GB2256377A true GB2256377A (en) 1992-12-09

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Family Applications (2)

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GB919109579A Pending GB9109579D0 (en) 1991-05-02 1991-05-02 Desalination plant
GB9209459A Withdrawn GB2256377A (en) 1991-05-02 1992-05-01 Desalination plant

Family Applications Before (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB919109579A Pending GB9109579D0 (en) 1991-05-02 1991-05-02 Desalination plant

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Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ES2165824A1 (en) * 2000-09-27 2002-03-16 Dyta En Y Medio Ambiente S A L Autonomous self-propelled desalination plant assisted by renewable energy
WO2005012180A2 (en) * 2003-08-02 2005-02-10 How Kiap Gueh Method and apparatus for hull integrated seawater reverse osmosis system
EP1551769A2 (en) 2002-10-08 2005-07-13 Water Standard Company, Llc Mobile desalination plants and methods for producing desalinated water
DE102005025428A1 (en) * 2005-06-02 2006-12-07 Siemens Ag Drinking water production and supply ship
DE102005040855A1 (en) * 2005-08-29 2007-03-01 Siemens Ag Sea vehicle e.g. ship, has drinking water production system with drinking water purification device, and produced drinking water filling device for filling water in commercial beverage packing and storage space for fulls or empties
DE102005052977A1 (en) * 2005-11-07 2007-05-16 Siemens Ag Ship for obtaining drinking water, has trunk shaped device for reception of sea water and device for generating drinking water from sea water according to principle of reverse osmosis
ES2301328A1 (en) * 2006-01-13 2008-06-16 Manuel Torres Martinez Seawater desalination plant comprises structural assembly comprising upper platform, which provides desalination medium and lower structure in form of radial arm
EP2436652A4 (en) * 2009-05-26 2017-04-19 Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd Seawater desalination plant to be installed on a barge, and method for installing same
US10513446B2 (en) 2014-10-10 2019-12-24 EcoDesal, LLC Depth exposed membrane for water extraction

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3440146A (en) * 1966-05-02 1969-04-22 Johan A Louw Desalination method and apparatus with plural vaporization chambers containing shallow layers of liquid
EP0062944A1 (en) * 1981-04-06 1982-10-20 Fernand Lopez Apparatsu for producing fresh water from sea water by means of reverse osmosis
US4356785A (en) * 1978-12-12 1982-11-02 Bailie Robert E Transportable process modules

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3440146A (en) * 1966-05-02 1969-04-22 Johan A Louw Desalination method and apparatus with plural vaporization chambers containing shallow layers of liquid
US4356785A (en) * 1978-12-12 1982-11-02 Bailie Robert E Transportable process modules
EP0062944A1 (en) * 1981-04-06 1982-10-20 Fernand Lopez Apparatsu for producing fresh water from sea water by means of reverse osmosis

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ES2165824A1 (en) * 2000-09-27 2002-03-16 Dyta En Y Medio Ambiente S A L Autonomous self-propelled desalination plant assisted by renewable energy
EP1551769A2 (en) 2002-10-08 2005-07-13 Water Standard Company, Llc Mobile desalination plants and methods for producing desalinated water
EP2208709A3 (en) * 2002-10-08 2011-03-09 Water Standard (CI), LP Mobile desalination plants and methods for producing desalinated water
WO2005012180A2 (en) * 2003-08-02 2005-02-10 How Kiap Gueh Method and apparatus for hull integrated seawater reverse osmosis system
WO2005012180A3 (en) * 2003-08-02 2006-07-20 How Kiap Gueh Method and apparatus for hull integrated seawater reverse osmosis system
DE102005025428A1 (en) * 2005-06-02 2006-12-07 Siemens Ag Drinking water production and supply ship
DE102005025428B4 (en) * 2005-06-02 2007-08-09 Siemens Ag Drinking water production and supply ship
DE102005040855A1 (en) * 2005-08-29 2007-03-01 Siemens Ag Sea vehicle e.g. ship, has drinking water production system with drinking water purification device, and produced drinking water filling device for filling water in commercial beverage packing and storage space for fulls or empties
DE102005052977A1 (en) * 2005-11-07 2007-05-16 Siemens Ag Ship for obtaining drinking water, has trunk shaped device for reception of sea water and device for generating drinking water from sea water according to principle of reverse osmosis
ES2301328A1 (en) * 2006-01-13 2008-06-16 Manuel Torres Martinez Seawater desalination plant comprises structural assembly comprising upper platform, which provides desalination medium and lower structure in form of radial arm
EP2436652A4 (en) * 2009-05-26 2017-04-19 Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd Seawater desalination plant to be installed on a barge, and method for installing same
US10513446B2 (en) 2014-10-10 2019-12-24 EcoDesal, LLC Depth exposed membrane for water extraction

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9109579D0 (en) 1991-06-26
GB9209459D0 (en) 1992-06-17

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WAP Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1)