Abstract
This paper is Part-I of a series of papers concerning the control of multistage flash (MSF) seawater desalination plants. MSF desalination happens to be a major means of producing potable water from the sea in several arid regions of the world. This process is one of thermal evaporation and condensation in a cascade of chambers through which heated seawater flows and flashes. The present day MSF plants are very large and complex. Their operation is energy intensive and the control of these plants is very crucial to the maintenance of life support in the related regions. The present set of three papers is based on a major scientific investigation believed to be the first of its kind in the field of desalination. This paper outlines the principle of MSF desalination and highlights the importance of the various control systems for a large MSF plant.An 18-stage MSF plant is considered for study. The following aspects are presented in this paper:1.An outline of the flowsheet simulation of the complete MSF plant model.2.Derivation of a linearized state-space model corresponding to several operating points, spanning the normal operating range.3.System theoretic analysis of the linearized model at all the operating points under consideration.4.Parameter variations of the linearized model over the operating region and their implications on control system design.5.Discussion and setting for the next phase of study.
Published Version
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