See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/254225778

Optimization of the reverse osmosis seawater demineralization technologies

for a power producing industry

Article in Desalination and Water Treatment · January 2011

DOI: 10.5004/dwt.2011.1832

CITATIONS READS

5 993

3 authors, including:

Zakhar Maletskyi
Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
30 PUBLICATIONS 104 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Zakhar Maletskyi on 19 January 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Desalination and Water Treatment 25 (2011) 84–90
January
www.deswater.com
1944-3994 / 1944-3986 © 2011 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.
doi: 10.5004/dwt.2011.1808

Optimization of the reverse osmosis seawater demineralization technologies

for a power producing industry

Fredg Fendri, Tatyana Mitchenko, Zakhar Maletskyi*

National Technical University of Ukraine “KPI”, 37 Pobedi Av., Building 4, Room 117, 03056 Kiev, Ukraine
Tel. +380 (44) 406-83-22; Fax +380 (44) 277-34-43; email: [email protected]

Received 11 January 2010; Accepted in revised form 31 May 2010

ab s t r ac t
In the present work an optimization analysis of the main operating costs of the Black Sea water
demineralization processes has been carried out. Several conventional and unconventional tech-
nologies utilizing membrane and ion exchange methods were considered. It is demonstrated that a
double-stage reverse osmosis employing medium and low density membranes can be successfully
used instead of conventional high pressure reverse osmosis for the demineralization of the Black
Sea water. This allows decreasing main operating costs by 15–28%. Potable water can be obtained
in membrane process without final remineralization by applying double-stage process based on
nanofiltration and low density membrane elements. Main operating costs are by 15–35% lower
compared with conventional seawater treatment processes.
Keywords: Seawater desalination; Membrane technology; Costs optimization

1. Introduction technology comprising reverse osmosis and ion exchange

(H-cycle on strong acid cation exchanger and OH-cycle on
Thermal and nuclear power plants are considered as
strong base anion exchanger) [2]. Strict requirements to
large industrial water consumers. The requirement to use
demineralized water quality can be satisfied by inclusion
deeply demineralized water in technological processes of
of a final treatment stage — MB or electrodeionization.
these enterprises is conditioned by high heat loads on the
General scheme of a multistage seawater condition-
equipment which uses water as working medium (steam
ing process for power producing industry is presented
raising) or heat carrier (cooling circuits). Technological
in Fig. 1.
losses in circulating cycles of thermal plants and nuclear
In the context of optimization analysis aimed to eco-
power stations are compensated by makeup water, pre-
nomic and ecological parameters the water demineraliza-
viously treated on CWP station with a typical capacity
tion stage is of the highest interest, since the main part
150–300 m3/h [1].
of operating costs and energy consumption is provided
The need to solve energy problems of regions in
here. Wastes formed on this stage determine the ecology
coastal areas resulted in the emerging of energy generat-
of the process as a whole.
ing facilities, which use seawater containing 10–45 g/dm3
Reverse osmosis technologies based on the applica-
of TDS as feed. As a rule, demineralization technologies in
tion of SW membranes and high-pressure pumps with
these cases are double-stage reverse osmosis or combined
energy recovery devices are widely used for seawater
desalination [3]. They provide the possibility to decrease
* Corresponding author. seawater mineralization with initial TDS ~40 g/dm3 to
 F. Fendri et al. / Desalination and Water Treatment 25 (2011) 84–90 85

Cl 2 Cl2 Cl 2 Feed Water

Chlorination

Coagulation Flocculation
Slime

Ultrafiltration Sedimentation
Multistage
Slime
filtration
Service water

Dechlorination

Remineralization
Antiscalant dosing

Fine Filtration

High pressure
membranes Mixed Med
Concentrate

High-pressure pump
Energy recovery devices Demineralized Water
(conductivity 0,1-10 MΩ/cm)

Fig. 1. General scheme of the seawater conditioning process for a power producing industry.

~100–500 mg/dm3 in a one stage. In the economic context 2. Objective of the study
the weakest points of the technology are high power
In the frame of the present work an optimization
consumptions caused by high-pressure pumps and sig-
analysis of main operating costs of the Black Sea water
nificant capital and operation costs caused by high price
demineralization processes will be done. Several con-
of SW elements [4].
ventional and unconventional technologies are of prior
In the context of ecology membrane group of methods
interest: one-stage reverse osmosis utilizing high density
can be characterized as comparatively safe as it requires
membranes, double-stage reverse osmosis utilizing mid-
the use of minimum amount of chemical reagents.
dle and low density membranes and combined schemes
However all membrane processes result in formation of
comprising reverse osmosis and ion exchange stages.
concentrates containing mineral components. TDS of the
concentrates can exceed natural seawater mineralization
3. Objects and methods
more than 2–3 times. Discharge of such concentrates nega-
tively affects sea flora and fauna. According to a number The Black Sea water was considered as raw water
of studies, WW TDS can be considered as acceptable if it for all technological calculations. Typical composition is
does not exceed the mineralization of natural seawater shown in Table 1.
more than 1.5–2 times [5]. MOC of reverse osmosis technologies include:
Progress in fields of membrane synthesis and applica- • Expenditures for membrane elements taking into ac-
tion significantly extended the possibilities of membrane count their service life in control conditions (according
processes. It became possible to consider membranes of to the technical specifications);
different densities — high (SW), medium (BW) and low • Specific energy costs.
(TW, LE and NF) for non-conventional applications. For
example economic expediency of nanofiltration and re- MOC of ion exchange technologies include:
verse osmosis membranes instead of SW membranes for • Expenditures for ion exchange resins taking into ac-
desalination of the Caspian Sea water (TDS ~10 g/dm3) count additional annual expenses (10% from the total
was shown in the study [6]. extent);
86 F. Fendri et al. / Desalination and Water Treatment 25 (2011) 84–90

Table 1 Concentrate discharge

Composition of the Black Sea water Water after
fine filtration stage
Filmtec SW30XHR-400i Permeate to MB
Component Content, mg/dm3 or SW30XLE-400i
Ca2+ 146
Mg2+ 548 Fig. 2. Flowsheet of the seawater demineralization process
Na+ + K+ 4530 employing high density membranes (SW).
HCO3– 81
SO42– 1305
Cl– 8626 ized by the highest salt rejection. Filmtec SW30XLE-400i
TDS 15000 elements are characterized by higher productivity at
lower salt rejection. For this reason Filmtec SW30XLE-400i
is positioned by manufacturer as the most cost-saving in
the class of SW membranes. The technological scheme
• Expenditures for regenerating agents (acids and al- employing SW elements is based on a continuous separa-
kali). tion process (Fig. 2).
Seawater demineralization technologies based on
The estimation of ecological risks related to the use low and medium density membranes are designed as
of demineralization technologies includes the following double-stage processes: the permeate of the first stage is
factors: source water for the second stage and the concentrate of
• Volume of WW related to 1 m3 of produced permeate; the second stage returns into source water (Fig. 3).
• TDS of WW, which indicates increasing of natural The calculations were performed for three schemes
seawater salinity in a place of discharge; applying five types of membrane elements: for the first
• Specific salt disposal with WW referred to 1 m3 of the stage — Filmtec BW30LE-440, NF90-400, NF270-400; for
permeate. the second stage — Filmtec BW30-400, LE-400.
It should be noted that there is a significant difference
Type of membrane elements was considered as between nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (BW,
variable parameter both for membrane and combined LE) membrane elements, consisting in different densi-
schemes. Materials produced by Dow Chemical Com- ties of the membranes — nanofiltration membranes have
pany – Filmtec reverse osmosis and nanofiltration ele- significantly lower density than reverse osmosis mem-
ments and Dowex ion exchange resins were chosen for
the research due to their wide spread occurrence and
high reliability. The limitation TDS ≤ 100 mg/dm3 was
applied to demineralized water entering ion exchange Concentrate discharge
Water after
stage in a MB. fine filtration stage
The calculations were performed for the capacity of Stage I
200 m3/h by demineralized water using the computer-
aided design systems for membrane (ROSA) and ion
Concentrate recycling
exchange (CADIX) processes developed by Dow Chemi-
cal Company [9,10].
Two types of elements Filmtec SW30XHR-400i and Stage II
Filmtec SW30XLE-400i were chosen for the calculations
of one-stage conventional membrane technologies. Their Permeate to MB
characteristics are listed in Table 2. The polycomposite
polyamide membranes of the highest density are used in Fig. 3. Flowsheet of the seawater demineralization process
SW30XHR-400i elements. Therefore they are character- employing low and medium density membranes.

Table 2
Characteristics of high density membrane elements (SW) [9,10]

Characteristic Filmtec SW30XHR-400i Filmtec SW30XLE-400i

Active area, m 2
37 37
Productivity on permeate, m3/d 23 34
Salt rejection, % 99.8 99.7
 F. Fendri et al. / Desalination and Water Treatment 25 (2011) 84–90 87

branes. This simultaneously decreases salt rejection and ion-exchange resins used in the combined technology
working pressure. Among the elements considered the are given in Table 4.
lowest density membrane is used in NF270-400 element The MB filter is considered as the final water demin-
and the highest density — in BW30-400. eralization stage. The permeates, obtained after different
The characteristics of membrane elements are pre- technologies, were used as initial water for the MB. TDS
sented in Table 3. of water after the MB does not exceed 0.019 mg/dm3
The calculations of double-stage combined tech- (conductivity — 0.2 μS/cm). Characteristics of the ion
nologies were performed for the reverse osmosis–ion exchange resins used for the MB are given in Table 5.
exchange schemes. The configuration of the first stage
was the same as in the double-stage reverse osmosis
4. Discussion of the results
technologies, and the consequence H-cycle — OH-cycle
with counter-flow UPCORE regeneration system was The calculation results of the reverse osmosis stage
used for the second stage (Fig. 4). Characteristics of the of the seawater conditioning technology for a power

Table 3
Characteristics of the membrane elements of low and medium density [9,10]

Type of element Active area (m2) Productivity on permeate (m3/d) Salt rejection (%)
Nanofiltration elements
NF270-400 37 80 40–60
NF90-400 37 48.4 85–95
Reverse osmosis elements (for brackish water)
BW30LE-440 41 44 99
BW30-400 37 40 99.5
LE-400 37 44 99.3

Table 4
Characteristics of the ion exchange resins [9,10]

Characteristic Dowex UPCORE Mono C-600 Dowex UPCORE Mono A2-500

Type Strong acid cation exchange resin Strong base anion exchange resin, Type-II
Functional groups Sulfonic acid Dimethylethanolamine
Total exchange capacity, eq/dm3 1.8 1.2
Moisture content, % 50–56 46–55
Grain form type Monosphere
Shipping weight, g/dm3 800 690

Concentrate discharge
Water after
fine filtration stage
Stage I Stage II

WW WW

H+ OH-

HCL NaOH Water to MB

Fig. 4. Combined technology of seawater demineralization.

88 F. Fendri et al. / Desalination and Water Treatment 25 (2011) 84–90

Table 5
Characteristics of the ion exchange resins used in the MB [9,10]

Characteristic Dowex Monosphere 650C Dowex Monosphere 550A

Type Strong acid cation exchange resin Strong base anion exchange resin, Type-I
Functional groups Sulfonic acid Quaternary amine
Total exchange capacity, eq/dm3 2.0 1.1
Moisture content, % 46–51 55–65
Grain form type Monosphere
Shipping weight, g/dm3 785 657
Volume ratio, 1/1.7
cation exchanger/anion exchanger

producing industry employing high density membranes These data indicate that the self cost of potable water
are presented in Table 6. obtained by technology No. 5 is by 15–35% lower than
As follows from Table 6, the application of the the one for water obtained at the use of the traditional
SW30XHR-400 elements with a higher density membrane technologies (No. 1 and No. 2) even without accounting
than in the SWXLE-400i allows obtaining permeate with the remineralization costs.
more than 2 times lower salt content, however, in this The calculation results of the demineralization stage
case MOC are higher by 26%. employing combined reverse osmosis–ion exchange
The calculation results of the reverse osmosis stage technologies are presented in Table 8.
employing low and medium density membranes are The analysis of the data presented in Table 8 indicates
presented in Table 7. that proceeding to the nanofiltration elements in the com-
As follows from Table 7, water which passes the bined technologies results in the growth of MOC more
double-stage demineralization according to scheme No. than 2.5 times with simultaneous deterioration of process’
5 does not meet the criterion set for water before the ecology. MOC of the combined technologies contrast
MB (TDS ≤ 100 mg/dm3). Hence, such a scheme cannot be with the values obtained for the membrane technologies
used for a deep demineralization. At the same time TDS (Tables 6, 7), however, the salt content in demineralized
156 mg/dm3 meets the requirements for drinking water. water is minimal.
Thus, this method can be used for producing potable wa- The results of the calculations, obtained for different
ter from seawater without a final remineralization stage. configurations of the seawater demineralization stage

Table 6
Economic and ecological parameters of the seawater demineralization stage employing high density membranes

Technology No. Type of elements MOC TDS of the permeate Relative WW volume TDS of WW
($/m3) (mg/dm3) (m3-WW/m3-perm) (g/dm3)
1 SW30XHR-400i 0.134 30 1 29.94
2 SW30XLE-400i 0.106 83 1 29.89

Table 7
Economic and ecological parameters of the seawater demineralization stage employing low and medium density membranes

Technology No. Stage Type of elements MOC TDS of the perme- Relative WW volume TDS of WW
($/m3) ate (mg/dm3) (m3-WW/m3-perm.) (g/dm3)
3 I BW30LE-440 0.115 423 1.17 27.80
II BW30-400 9
4 I NF90-400 0.091 1611 1.43 25.47
II LE-400 56
5 I NF270-400 0.089 5650 2.08 22.12
II LE-400 156
 F. Fendri et al. / Desalination and Water Treatment 25 (2011) 84–90 89

Table 8
Economic and ecological parameters of the seawater demineralization stage employing combined technologies

Technology No. Configuration MOC TDS of the permeate Relative WW volume TDS of WW
($/m3) (mg/dm3) (m3-WW/m3-perm.) (g/dm3)
6 BW30LE-440 1.043 0.38 0.88 31.97
IE
7 NF90-400 2.781 0.38 1.27 26.21
IE

Table 9
Economic and ecological parameters of the seawater demineralization stage with the application of different technologies
employing final treatment stage in the MB

Technology No. Technology parameters MOC ($/m3) TDS of WW (g/dm3) WW volume (m3/h)
One-stage membrane technologies
1 SW30XHR-400i 0.821 29.93 200
2 SW30XLE-400i 0.973 29.89 200
Double-stage membrane technologies
3 BW30LE-440 BW30-400 0.700 27.79 234
4 NF90-400 – LE-400 0.863 25.47 286
Combined technologies
6 BW30LE440 – IE 1.662 31.97 175
7 NF90-400 – IE 3.400 26.21 253

(Tables 6–8), were taken as the basis for estimation of the No. 2). At the same time the use of combined technolo-
final treatment stage in MB. The summarized results are gies employing an ion exchange stage (No. 6 and No. 7)
presented in Table 9. increases MOC by 60–80% compared to scheme No. 3. It
It can be deduced from Table 9 that technology No. should be noted that technology No. 4 based on the use of
3, based on the application of the medium density mem- NF90-400 – LE-400 elements is close to the conventional
branes BW30LE-440 – BW30-400, turned out to be the schemes No. 1 and No. 2 by economic indicators.
optimal for the seawater demineralization in a power The data on ecological evaluation of the considered
producing industry. The use of this technology allows de- technologies are presented in Fig. 5.
creasing MOC by 15–30% compared to the conventional Summarizing the data in Fig. 5 and Table 9 it should
schemes utilizing high density membranes (No. 1 and be inferred that the optimal alternative in the context of

50 2,5
45 Specific salt disposal
Relative WW volume
m -WW / m -permeate

40 2
kg / m -permeate

35
30 1,5
3

25
3

20 1
15
3

10 0,5
5
0 0
6 1 2 3 7 4 5
Number of the Technology

Fig. 5. Ecological evaluation of different seawater demineralization technologies.

90 F. Fendri et al. / Desalination and Water Treatment 25 (2011) 84–90

ecology is absent among the considered technologies. Abbreviations

Thus, WW discharged during the operation of scheme
BW — Designation of membranes and elements for
No. 4 (exceeding of seawater TDS in ~1.8 times) possess
brackish water desalination
the lowest mineralization, however, the relative volume
CWP — Chemical water pretreatment
of WW (~1.5 m3/m3-perm.) and the specific salt disposal
IE — Ion exchange
(>35 g/dm3) are the highest. The most concentrated WW
LE — Designation of membranes and elements
(exceeding of seawater TDS in ~2.3 times) is discharged
for tap water desalination with low energy
in the volume of 175 m3/h at operation of the combined
consumptions
technology No. 6. It should be noted that in the case of
MB — Mixed bed
economically optimal technology No. 3 exceeding of
MOC — Main operating costs
seawater TDS is not beyond the limits of allowed value
NF — Designation of nanofiltration membranes and
and on the reduced volume and salt discharge it takes
elements
middle position among considered schemes.
SW — Designation of membranes and elements for
seawater desalination
5. Conclusions TDS — Total dissolved solids
TW — Designation of membranes and elements for
Thus, based on the results of the performed calcula-
tap water desalination
tions it was determined that:
WW — Wastewater
• The use of the double-stage reverse osmosis technol-
ogy employing medium and low density membranes
for the Black Sea water demineralization is economi- References
cally expedient comparing with the conventional [1] V.A. Kishnevskiy, Water Treatment Systems in Power Industry.
approach based on the use of the high density SW Odessa, Astroprint, 2003, 158 p.
elements; [2] A.D. Khawaji, I.K. Kutubkhanah and J.-M. Wie, Advances in sea-
• The economically optimal technological scheme of the water desalination technologies. Desalination, 221 (2008) 47–69.
[3] R.L. Stover, Energy Recovery Devices for Seawater Reverse
Black Sea water demineralization for a power produc- Osmosis. ERI Technology Office, November 2006.
ing industry includes a double-stage reverse osmosis [4] L.F. Greenlee, D.F. Lawler, B.D. Freeman and B. Marrot, Reverse
with the Filmtec BW30LE-440 – BW30-400 medium osmosis desalination: Water sources, technology, and today's
density membranes and a final treatment in a mixed challenges. Wat. Res., 43 (2009) 2317–2348.
[5] H.H. Al-Barwani and A. Purnama, Re-assessing the impact of
bed ion exchange filter. The operation costs for this
desalination plants brine discharges on eroding beaches. Desali-
technology are by 15–28% lower than for conventional nation, 204 (2007) 94–101.
technology. [6] A.G. Pervov, A.P. Andrianov, R.V Efremov, A.V. Desyatov and
• The water desalination of the Black Sea involving A.E Baranov, A new solution for the Caspian Sea desalination:
the double-stage membrane technology based on the Low-pressure membranes. Desalination, 157 (2003) 377–384.
[7] C. Fritzmann, J. Löwenberg, T. Wintgens and T. Melin, State-
NF-270-400 – LE-400 low density membranes allows of-the-art of reverse osmosis desalination. Desalination, 216
obtaining potable water that does not require a final (2007) 1–76.
remineralization. In this case the operation costs can [8] B. Riabchikov, Modern Methods of Water Treatment for Indus-
be decreased by 15–35% comparing with the conven- trial and Domestic Use. Moscow, DeLi Print, 2004.
[9] Filmtec Reverse Osmosis Membranes Technical Manual. Dow
tional technology even without taking into account
Water Solutions, Dow, 2008.
remineralization costs. [10] www.dowwatersolutions.com

View publication stats