Optimized copper alloy tubing confi guration for a multi-stage fl ash distiller

Abstract

Copper alloys have successfully served as heat exchanger tubing material in multi-stage flash (MSF) desalination plants over decades. They showed, in general, good performance and are still designers' first choice. The big drawback of these high-alloyed stainless steel materials, however, is the lack of experience that has been made with as a tubing material in thermal desalination so far. The present work describes the experiences and observations made for cupronickel and aluminum brass tubes in three different MSF evaporators located at the Persian Gulf during an operational period of more than three decades. Results of eddy current tests accomplished in the course of refurbishment works are used to determine losses in tube wall thickness after the operation period. Based on the findings obtained an economically optimized tube confi guration both in terms of material selection and wall thickness requirements is determined for an exemplary MSF desalination plant with a planned lifetime of thirty years. A...