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Tiered Modeling Approach for Desalination Effluent Discharges

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Intakes and Outfalls for Seawater Reverse-Osmosis Desalination Facilities

Part of the book series: Environmental Science and Engineering ((ENVSCIENCE))

Abstract

The mixing behavior of desalination plant effluents in the receiving waters is significantly influenced by the effluent density, which is dominated by the varying effluent salinity and temperature. The dense RO (reverse osmosis) effluent flow has the tendency to fall as a negatively buoyant plume. The MSF (multi-stage-flash) effluent is distinguished by a neutral to positive buoyancy flux that causes the plume to rise. This chapter describes the principle steps to model effluent dispersion in the receiving environment and to improve discharge design and siting. The different modeling tools are described and applied for typical case studies. A modelling framework for the environmental-hydraulic design of the outfall system for desalination plants has been developed and combined with a tiered approach to facilitate discharge assessments. Furthermore, environmental regulations and opportunities for site-specific, ecologically relevant criteria are discussed. The tiers include initial screening methods, using rapid assessment tools to determine the significance of the discharge. Length-scale based flow classification, nomograms, and empirical dilution equations are applied for that. Subsequent application of mixing zone models improves the discharge design and allows for assessment of potential environmental impacts. The discharge siting is then improved by considering also water quality parameters using a combined modeling approach coupling a near-field model to a far-field model. The final tier presents a dynamically coupled modeling system, which is necessary for large discharge flows and complex environmental conditions, where a feedback mechanism is necessary to couple both models. Results indicate that the tiered approach applied to modeling methods is capable to assess potential impacts of desalination plant effluents on the receiving waters and to improve the discharge system.

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Abbreviations

b :

jet width (radial distance from centerline where 1/e of centerline quantity) (m)

C :

substance concentration (mg/ℓ,kg/m3)

D :

internal pipe diameter (m)

F o :

initial (source) densimetric Froude number (–)

g :

gravitational acceleration (m/s2)

g′:

reduced gravity, g′ = ∆ρ/ρg (m/s2)

H :

head above datum/water depth (m)

j o :

buoyancy flux per diffuser length, j o  = g′q o (m3/s2)

J o :

buoyancy flux (m4/s3)

h o :

height of discharge port (m)

ℓ :

riser spacing (m)

L :

length of the considered pipe section (m)

L M :

momentum length scale (m)

ℓ M :

slot jet/plume transition length scale ℓ M  = m o /j 2/3 o (m)

ℓ m :

crossflow length scale ℓ m  = m o /u 2 a (m)

ℓ m ′:

stratification length scale ℓ m ′ = m 1/3 o /ε1/3 (m)

ℓ b ′:

stratification/plume length scale ℓ b ′ = j 1/3 o /ε1/2 (m)

ℓ a :

stratification/crossflow length scale ℓ a  = u a /ε1/2 (m)

m :

momentum flux per diffuser length (m3/s2)

M :

momentum flux (m4/s2)

Q :

total flow through outfall system (m3/s)

q :

mass flux per diffuser length (m2/s)

Re :

Reynolds number Re = VD/ν (–)

S :

dilution, S = Co/C (–)

t :

time (s)

t M :

jet/plume time scale t M  = m a /j o (s)

t m :

jet/crossflow time scale t m  = m a /u 3 a [s] (s)

T 90 :

the time taken for 90 % of the bacteria to die-off (h)

u, v, w :

velocity (m/s)

U, V, W :

mean velocity (m/s)

x, y, z :

Cartesian coordinates (m)

μ:

dynamic viscosity (Ns/m2)

ν:

kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

ε:

stratification parameter, ε = −(g/ρa)(dρa/dz)

θ:

slope or discharge angle (°)

ρ:

density (kg/m3)

a :

ambient

b :

background

B :

bottom/bed

c :

centerline

e :

effluent

ff :

far-field

i :

impingement point

min :

minimal

max :

maximum

nf :

near-field

o :

initial quantity

tot :

total

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dpto. de Engenharia Ambiental (DEA), Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, Brazil

    Tobias Bleninger

  2. Hydraulic Engineering, Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands

    Robin Morelissen

Authors
  1. Tobias Bleninger
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  2. Robin Morelissen
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Correspondence to Tobias Bleninger .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, USA

    Thomas M. Missimer

  2. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Burton Jones

  3. Schlumberger Water Services, Fort Myers, Florida, USA

    Robert G. Maliva

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Bleninger, T., Morelissen, R. (2015). Tiered Modeling Approach for Desalination Effluent Discharges. In: Missimer, T., Jones, B., Maliva, R. (eds) Intakes and Outfalls for Seawater Reverse-Osmosis Desalination Facilities. Environmental Science and Engineering(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13203-7_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13203-7_18

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