SOME THOUGHTS ON THE LIMITATIONS ON INCREASING THE UNIT SIZES OF CONVENTIONAL CROSS-TUBE MSF DISTILLATION PLANTS

The thermal design of conventional cross-tube MSF plant is reviewed in the context of investigating the possibilities for extending the unit sizes from the present maximum of 10-12 mIgd to something of the order of 30 mIgd. Those parts of the design process that are size-independent are applied to the design of a plant of indeterminate size but with specified numbers of stages, performance ratio and temperature range. A parametric study is then made of the effect of plant size on the major design variables. The ability to operate at higher specific brine flows than the present limit (approximately 280 kg/s.m) is identified as a prerequisite to extending conventional cross-tube MSF unit sizes to any significant extent.