THE DESALINATION PROCESSES SITE SELECTION, LAYOUT AND CIVIL WORKS - MSF Plant Layout - Klaus

Wangnick

MSF PLANT LAYOUT

Klaus Wangnick
Wangnick Consulting GmbH, Germany

Keywords : Ball cleaning system, Recirculation, MSF, Site Layout

Contents

1. General Conditions for the Site Layout

2. Small MSF seawater desalination plants
3. Medium and Large-size MSF Seawater Desalination Plants
3.1. Cross tube condensers, brine recirculation system, one tier
3.2. Long tube condensers, brine recirculation system, one tier
3.3. Long tube condensers, once-through, one tier

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3.4. Cross tube condensers, once-through system, one tier

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3.5. Others: new features which can influence the site layout
4. Floating MSF Seawater Desalination Plants
Glossary
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Bibliography and Suggestions for further study

Summary

MSF plants can be built in a number of configurations. The process can be of the brine
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recirculation or of the seawater once-through type. The once-through type leads to a

number of advantages. The design of an MSF plant can also vary considerably. More
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and more, the single-tier evaporator arrangement is being used, simplifying operation
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and maintenance. The cross-tube installation of the condensers is also widely applied,
but the long-tube version is built in exceptional cases only. Floating desalination plants
are used in cases of emergency.
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1. General Conditions for the Site Layout

The timely completion of a number of engineering tasks is a decisive factor for the
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success, in terms of time and costs, of the entire planning implementation and execution
of a seawater desalination plant:

• Detailed time schedules with all activities concerning the planning, purchasing and
installation;
• Binding agreements on the basic design documentation with final flow charts and
design rules for the equipment;
• Piping specification, and piping and instrumentation diagrams;
• Explanatory documents on the application for approval according to the relevant
local statutes;
• Safety analyses;
• Layout plans.

Layout plans can include the site layout as well as the plant layout. The site layout

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THE DESALINATION PROCESSES SITE SELECTION, LAYOUT AND CIVIL WORKS - MSF Plant Layout - Klaus
Wangnick

determines the arrangement of the individual systems within the plant site (for this, flow
charts of the fluids and main equipment drawings are needed), whereas the integration
of the sub-components listed in piping and instrumentation diagrams, such as
apparatuses, pumps, valves and instruments, belong to the plant layout.

For larger plants it was former practice to produce a layout model before drawing up a
site layout (also known as general arrangement plan or site plan), but in recent years it
has become usual to generate 3D views of all details of the arrangement with the aid of
CAD systems. These views can be explored dynamically, and give the observer an
extremely realistic impression of the future structure (see Figure 1).

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Figure 1. 3D planning view of the make-up water filters of an MSF seawater

desalination plant. (Photo courtesy of Fisia)
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In site layout drawings (plot plans) the outlines of the equipment, building, apparatus
racks and pipe bridges, and their distances apart, are dimensioned by the distances
between their centerlines. The distances are selected so that sufficient space remains
between the individual pieces of equipment, and also between them and the
corresponding racks and building limits, for

• The piping and valve installation to be executed at a later stage;

• The girders and supports of steel and concrete structures as well as building
platforms which still have to be dimensioned, as the static calculation will not have
been performed at this stage;
• The location of ancillary equipment;
• Installation, operation, maintenance and repair, including access with the relevant
heavy machinery.

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THE DESALINATION PROCESSES SITE SELECTION, LAYOUT AND CIVIL WORKS - MSF Plant Layout - Klaus
Wangnick

The layout should not be made too generous, however, since the investment costs would
then become too high. In order to satisfy these requirements it is generally also
necessary to produce various details and pipeline studies at the same time.

Plot plans are often drawn up in the scale of 1:50. Where there are several platforms or
building levels, plan views are needed for the additional height sections. For larger
desalination plants, several sheets are needed to depict the entire plant site. The site is
subdivided by a three-dimensional coordinate system using x and y on the plant’s site
level in the plan view, together with z as the height coordinate. In this manner, each
point of the plant can be accurately described and identified by specifying its
coordinates.

Common plot plans and plant layout drawings are usually only used for important parts
of the installation. These plans must be drawn in the scale of 1:25 to take account of the
necessary structural details. Smaller pipes, such as vent and drainage lines, are not

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shown here for reasons of clarity.

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The detailed piping diagram is chosen for small plants as well as the largest of plants, in
the form of isometric views (isometric drawings).
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Bibliography and Suggestions for further study

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THE DESALINATION PROCESSES SITE SELECTION, LAYOUT AND CIVIL WORKS - MSF Plant Layout - Klaus
Wangnick

Bryan Orchard, Christoph P. Pauly, Olga Villa Sallangos (2007)High pressure pumps for energy-efficient
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Yanbu 380 m3/hr desalination plant Desalination, Volume 31, Issues 1-3, Page 69
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Jacques Andrianne, Félix Alardin(2004) ,Desalination site selection on North-African coasts

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Nikolay Voutchkov (2004), location ,Filtration & Separation, Volume 41, Issue 7, Pages 24-26
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© Encyclopedia of Desalination and Water Resources (DESWARE)

THE DESALINATION PROCESSES SITE SELECTION, LAYOUT AND CIVIL WORKS - MSF Plant Layout - Klaus
Wangnick

environment ,Desalination, Volume 152, Issues 1-3, Pages 141-154

Roberto Borsani, Pietro Bozzini, Antonio Germanà, Patrizio Peluffo, Adel Al Radif (1994), 12 migd
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desalination ,Desalination, Volume 220, Issues 1-3, Pages 1-15
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environmental issues Desalination, Volume 221, Issues 1-3, Pages 576-584
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Young M. Kim, Seung J. Kim, Yong S. Kim, Sangho Lee, In S. Kim, Joon Ha Kim (2009),Overview of
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