Distillation and

Desalination
By Mark Henry
Desalination
What is desalination?
Desalination is basically a process that extracts minerals,
such as salts, from saline water. Desalination was designed
especially to produce potable water from saltwater. However,
the process is more costly than using fresh water from rivers,
groundwater, water recycling and water conservation sources.

Question 1:
1) Why cant we consume salt water?
 Principle of desalination
Desalination makes use of a common distillation process called vacuum distillation. In
normal distillation process- whether it be simple or fractional distillation- heat is applied
to the sample with enough energy to cause it to vaporize. The liquid sample with the
least boiling point vaporize first and is then passed through a Liebig condenser where it
condenses and reforms a liquid. In vacuum distillation, the principals of distillation still
applies but there is one important change.
Vacuum distillation rests on the principal that the boiling point of a substance occurs
when the vapour pressure is equal to or exceeds the atmospheric pressure. Therefore,
lowering the atmospheric pressure of a system will increase the vapour pressure, which
will then decrease the boiling point. This decreases the energy requirement for both the
heating and the cooling processes.

Question 2 & 3
2) What is the relationship between atmospheric pressure, vapour pressure and boiling
point?
3) State and explain one reason why vacuum distillation is used in large scale water
treatment plants instead of other distillation methods.
Methods of desalination/distillation

Multi-stage flash distillation

Reverse osmosis
Solar distillation
Electro-dialysis/ electro-dialysis
reversal
Freezing
Vapour compression distillation
Production of potable water by
desalination
71% of the earths surface is covered in water but yet, 1 in every 9 people
suffer from water scarcity, and this scarcity is said to only increase. 97%
of the water available to us is undrinkable sea water, 2.5% is fresh water
from glaciers, ice, etc. and only 0.5% is drinkable water.
Desalination is a broad term that includes a combination of water
treatment techniques to produce potable water. There are three stages
involved to produce water fit for human consumption:
1. Pre-treatment
2.Multi-stage flash distillation
3.Post-treatment
Contd

Flow chart showing the stages in the production of potable water by

desalination
 Production of potable water contd

1. Sea water is transferred from 10 metres below sea level or from water
wells 60-80 metres deep to the water treatment plant. In some plants
where sea water is used, the water is extracted three times slower than
the average speed of a fish to prevent any harm to aquatic life.
2. Pre-treatment- the sea water is screened and filtered to remove large
particles such as algae.
3. Multi-stage flash distillation- In this process saline water is distilled
under reduced pressure in a series of sealed tanks-each with
decreasing pressure. Due to the reduced pressure, the water
evaporates suddenly or flashes' at a temperature less than 100C. Pure
water condenses on cooling coils in the tanks and is collected.
 Production of potable water contd

4. Post-treatment- After treatment, the water needs to be re-mineralized.

This can be done by remineralization, aeration, corrosion control and
disinfection. Limewater and carbon dioxide are also added to the water
to maintain the necessary alkalinity levels and carbon dioxide helps to
dissolve the limewater. Chlorine is also added to kill bacteria.
5. The waste water (brine) then goes out to sea about 500m into a special
diffuser system mixture that mixes the concentrate with sea water.
 Advantages of desalination/distillation
method of water treatment
Multi-stage flash distillation is a better alternative to its main competitor-
reverse osmosis. This is because it requires less pre-treatment of the seawater
and less maintenance and energy.
Cogeneration is the process by which excess heat and electricity is generation
from a single process. MSF (multi-stage flash distillation) distillation plants,
especially large ones, can be paired with power plants in a cogeneration
configuration. Waste heat from the power plant is used to heat the seawater.
The water plant can also provide cooling for the power plant as well. This
reduces the energy needed by half to two-thirds.
Clean and fresh drinking water.- Desalination plants can provide drinking water
in areas where no natural supply of potable water exists. The water quality is
safe for consumption i.e. not dangerous or hazardous to any living thing.
 Disadvantages of desalination/distillation
method of water treatment
Not energy efficient- desalinating sea water requires more energy and thus, more
expenses, than desalinating fresh water. However, fresh water is not readily available
compared to sea water.
The desalination process is not a profitable business
Brine is denser than seawater, sinks to the ocean bottom and can damage the
ecosystem. Careful reintroduction can minimize this problem. Typical ocean conditions
allow for rapid dilution, thereby minimizing harm.
Desalination removes iodine from water and could increase the risk of iodine deficiency
disorders
Water intake structures cause adverse environmental impact by sucking fish and shellfish
or their eggs into an industrial system. There, the organisms may be killed or injured
Chemicals and waste produced- many chemicals are produced due to this process such
as chlorine and others.
Biodiversity is destroyed when building a water treatment plant because of the demand
for very large spaces.