Physical model study of thermal and chemical pollution in the Shuaiba offshore area of Kuwait

Abstract

Abstract The cooling and process waters of the industrial plants located in the Shuaiba Industrial Area in Kuwait are supplied by a complex system of seawater outlets and intakes. Discharge of heated water from the industrial plants is considered a major problem since it may recirculate directly through the intake towers, and the cooling water withdrawn may be at a higher temperature than is desirable. Higher cooling water temperature reduces the efficiency of industrial plants and causes thermal pollution, which adversely affects the water of the Arabian Gulf. In addition, the discharged process water may cause chemical pollution in the offshore area. An undistorted physical model with a scale of 1:50 was constructed and tested with the basic objectives of determining the temperature field in the Shuaiba offshore area identifying possible recirculation patterns and temperature increase at the intake, examining the flow and mixing characteristics of chemical effluents discharged, and investigated alternative remedial measures. The model test results showed that, in line with the field tests, the temperature of the sea water at the intakes was about 1.7–2.5°C higher than the ambient temperature. When heated water from the larger outlets was allowed to discharge into a channel running parallel to the shoreline and curved to stay parallel to the outside of the southern breakwater of the Shuaiba harbor, the temperature increase at the intakes was limited to 0.8–1.0°C and tests showed that the concentration of conservative chemical pollutants at the intakes was reduced by about 50%.