Performance evaluation of SWCC SWRO plants

• Published in: Desalination 1989, Vol.74 (1/3), p.37-50
• Main Authors: Hassan, Ata M., Al-Jarrah, Saleh, Al-Lohibi, Thabet, Al-Hamdan, Abdullah, Bakheet, Lufti M., Al-Amri, Mohamed M.I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0011-9164; 1873-4464
• DOI: 10.1016/0011-9164(89)85041-6

The study deals with the performance evaluation of three SWCC SWRO plants, two supplying water to remote area towns and the third supplying water to Jeddah: • the 4400 m 3/d Umm Lujj Plant, commissioned July 1986, • the 2275 m 3/d Al-Brik Plant, commissioned Dec 1983 and • the 12000 m 3/d Jeddah Plant, commissioned 1979. No membrane replacement took place in any of the three plants. In spite of this, the three plants show only a modest annual decline (from design) in productivity ranging from 2.5% at Jeddah plant to 3.5% at Umm Lujj, and 7.17% at Al-Birk plant. The larger decline at Al-Birk plant is possible due to biological fouling of membrane. Product water quality at Umm Lujj and Al-Birk with TDS less than 250 ppm, is within WHO recommended standard of 500 ppm. Salt rejection by both stages of 99.5% at both Umm Lujj and Al-Birk plants indicates that their membranes did not suffer any serious structural damage. The decline in salt rejection at both plants is less than 0.2% per year. On the other hand there has been a decline in salt rejection in Jeddah plant, indicating structural damage to the membrane over the last 10 years. Both Umm Lujj and Jeddah plant had high plant availability, over 95% but their water recovery was modest 24 – 28%. Biological fouling was a problem with the Al-Birk plant in which the feed was chlorinated (4 ppm) & dechlorinated while no biological fouling was reported for the other two plants in which the feed was disinfected by (0.5 – 1 ppm) CuSO 4. Other problems encountered were material corrosion especially with SS 316 and SS 316L in both pretreatment and desalination parts of Jeddah plant.