Salbukh reverse osmosis plant on stream

Abstract

An inspection test on the RO plant at Salbukh treatment plant was carried out during a period of operation of 96 hours, October 9–13, 1979. According to the results, the RO plant has been successfully brought into operation. The requirements on water quality, water production and water losses have been satisfied. Based on the performance test, VBB recommends that the RO installation be accepted. Raw water cooling in the pretreatment plant is, however, not acceptable at present. The temperature of the RO feed water was about 38–40°C instead of about 35°C due to the lower efficiency of the coolers than calculated. This failure must be rectified by the Contractor. During the last few months the pretreatment of raw water from Well 54 at Buwayb has been investigated by Ames Crosta Babcock by means of final operation of a pilot plant. Based on these results, the use of 140 mg/l lime and 100 mg/l soda for chemical softening has been recommended by VBB. The high TDS of the raw water in Well 54 indicates, that the final blended water at the same water production rate as originally designed, will contain around 750 mg/l total dissolved solids. However, there is now an indication that the average TDS with all the deep wells in operation will be around 650 mg/l in blended water due to the lower average TDS in the raw water. The pretreatment plant at Buwayb was partly brought into operation in October/November, and the pretreated water is discharged into the water distribution net and blended with desalinated water from Salbukh.