How is fresh water different from Sea water ?
• Freshwaters differ substantially from
seawaters by the relative amount of salts found
in them.
Type Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
Fresh Water Up to 1500
Brackish Water 1500-10000
Salt Water 10000
Seawater 10000-45000
Standard Seawater 35000
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Seawater: Elemental Composition
Only six elements comprise about 99% of sea salts: chlorine (Cl-), sodium
(Na+), sulfate (SO4-2), magnesium (Mg+2), calcium (Ca+2), and potassium (K+).
The relative abundance (large quantity) of the major salts in seawater are
constant regardless of the ocean.
Only the amount of water in the mixture varies because of differences between
ocean basins because of regional differences in freshwater loss (evaporation) and
gain (runoff and precipitation).
The chlorine ion makes up 55% of the salt in seawater. Typically, seawater has a
salinity of 35 parts per thousand.
Relative proportions of dissolved salts
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in seawater
Desalination Processes
In order to produce freshwater from salt water a suitable separation process must be
devised. The task can be accomplished in many different ways, all of them based on
the principle that water and salts do not separate spontaneously, and thus require some
kind of energy source to power the separation process.
The first desalination units used for freshwater production were based on the
evaporation of pure water via the addition of heat provided by the sun or by
combustion processes.
In recent years, the development of modern polymer materials has led to the
production of membranes which allow the selective passage of water (semi-permeable
membranes) or ions (ionic exchange membranes), thus providing the basis for
membrane desalination processes.
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Desalination technologies can be classified according to
criteria: three
what is extracted from the seawater;
the type of separation process adopted;
the type of energy used.
Within thisclassification desalination process technologies
can be divided into two main groups:
a) processes in which water is removed from the main stream,
thus producing a salt-free product;
b) processes in which salts are removed from the main stream,
thus leaving the latter salt-free.
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Processes in which salts are removed
from the main stream
Since seawater salt content is generally lower than
4%, it may seem more convenient to select processes
where salts are removed from seawater, rather than
extracting pure water from seawater.
However due to technological constraints, up to now,
processes which remove water give better
performances and are thus preferred.
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processes in which water is removed
from the main stream
Among these processes, some accomplish the separation with
phase change of the produced freshwater, typically in the form
of vapour.
These processes are usually indicated as evaporative (or
thermal) processes and require a significant amount of energy,
given the high heat of vaporization of liquid water.
Two main types of evaporative desalination processes are used
worldwide,
1. Multiple Effect Distillation (MED) and
2. Multi Stage Flash (MSF) desalination.
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Multi Stage Flash (MSF) desalination
Seawater evaporates in flashing chambers, in which the pressure is kept below the feed
vapour pressure. This leads to a flash of seawater, resulting in the production of
vapour and the cooling of the remaining brine.
An arrangement of flashing stages connected in series, with decreasing pressure, allows the
production of large amounts of vapour which is then re-condensed on the external
surface of a tube bundle.
Condensation heat in the condensing bundle is used for preheating the seawater feed stream,
thus reducing thermal energy requirements for heating the feed to its Top Brine
Temperature, the temperature at which the feed enters the first flashing stage.
Thus, the only thermal energy input is in the Brine Heater, where pre-heated seawater is
further heated by means of low-pressure steam to its Top Brine Temperature.
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Multiple Effect Distillation (MED)
Evaporation occurs on the external surface of a tube bundle which
is heated by motive steam condensing inside the tubes.
Vapors produced in one effect is then used as motive steam in the
following effect, which operates at lower pressure and, therefore,
at a lower boiling temperature.
Such a heat integration arrangement allows the attainment of
very high energy efficiency for the process, resulting in a
performance ratio up to 10–12 kg of distillate per kg of motive
steam fed into the first effect.
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Other Desalination Processes
• The production of frozen desalted water, via the removal of heat
from a salt solution, is also a possibility.
• The energy requirements are significantly lower than the previous
case, as the heat of fusion of water ice is much lower than the heat
of vaporization.
• Nevertheless, both the technology of refrigeration cycles, and the
management of the relevant desalination process, presently prevent
a successful economical application of such an option.
Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 9
desalination processes (water
extraction without phase change)
• Other processes accomplish the separation of
freshwater from salt water without phase change, as
in the case of pressure-driven membrane separation
processes.
• Among these processes, Reverse Osmosis is the most
widely adopted.
• It achieves the separation of freshwater through the
use of a semi-permeable membrane which allows
the passage of water whilst preventing the passage
of salts into the permeate stream.
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desalination processes (Salt Extraction)
Salts can be removed from salty waters by using devices
able to capture the ionic content of the stream, either by
ionic exchange membranes or by ionic exchange resins.
In the first case (Electro Dialyses process) ions are forced to
pass through the membranes and thus separated from the
main stream.
In the second case (Ionic Exchange) ions are captured
within the solid matrix of the resin.
Both these processes are limited to brackish waters
only.
Figure 1 illustrates how conventional processes can be
classified according to the above classification criteria.
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Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 12
Type of separation process adopted
This classification is made on the basis of the separation process
adopted.
The first group is made up of membrane processes where
separation occurs by means of selective membranes.
The second group is made up of thermal processes, where
separation occurs by adding or removing heat to obtain pure water
from the saline solution.
Most commonly evaporation is adopted to produce pure water in
the form of a vapour from liquid salty water.
The vapour is then condensed, and the condensation heat is usually
recovered to preheat the feed stream or to evaporate further
vapour.
Figure 2 shows the technologies classified according to the
separation process adopted.
Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 13
Desalination technologies classification based
on the separation process adopted
Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 14
Desalination technologies
classification based on the type of
energy used
• The third criterion classifies desalination
technologies on the basis of the type of energy used,
i.e. thermal, mechanical or electrical.
• Most evaporative processes need not only thermal
energy, but also mechanical and electrical energy to
power circulation pumps and auxiliary units.
• The present classification only accounts for thermal
energy which is the prime mover for thermal
technologies.
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Desalination technologies classification
based on the type of energy used
• It is worth noting that the classification criterion based on
energy input requirements is of importance when considering
the possibility of coupling conventional desalination
technologies with alternative sources of energy,
• for example in order to determine the coupling potential of
desalination with solar thermal collectors, solar photovoltaic
panels, wind turbines, etc. A detailed description of all
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Desalination technologies classification
based on the type of energy used
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