Operation processes affecting corrosion in MSF distillers

Abstract

Multi-stage flash (MSF) distillation of seawater is an established technique for desalinating seawater in coastal arid countries. Although MSF distillers differ in design, size and capacity, their operation encompasses a number of standard processes which aim to overcome a performance difficulty or improve production efficiency. These processes affect the corrodability of certain elements of the distiller, either beneficially or detrimentally. The successful running of the distiller depends, therefore, on the proper execution of these operations and the understanding of their mutual interaction. In the following we describe in short six various operations commonly carried out during seawater desalination by MSF distillation. The impact of each of these processes on the corrosion of members of the distiller and the precautions recommended to annihilate or minimize the adverse effects are briefly outlined.