WSP00451

• File Number: 8273.100
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control - Federal Agency Reports - BOR
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 11/1/1969
• Title: Cost Analysis of Six Water Desalting Processes
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

13 was used for both the 10- and 50-mgd plants. The optimum PR of the

10-mgd plant would be expected to be slightly lower, since the fixed

....
<:0
OJ
--l

part of water cost increases as plant size decreases.

6
The effect of varying steam costs from 10 to 40~/lO Btu on water

production costs
6
30~ 110 Btu

is shown in Fig. 9. Reducing the steam cost from the
6
10~/10 Btu reduces the water cost by

used in the study to

l6.5~/kgal, i.e., the water cost is 22.5~/kgal. The higher steam costs

shown in Fig. 9 are representative of fuel-deficient areaS of the country,

whereas the lOwer steam costs are possible in large dual-purpose electric

power-water desalting plants.

Future Development of the VTE-MSF Process

There is an excellent possibility that within the next 5 to 10 years

the VTE-MSF combination process will become the leading desalting process

for very large water conversion plants* Present plans are conceptual,

but they are based on many field-proven designs for operating MSF and

long tube vertical plants. The next step in the development of the

concept will be to evaluate certain key components such as the tube

bundles, then to construct a complete demonstration plant in the 5- to

10-mgd range.

A large VTE tube bundle (10 ft X 10 ft) now under construction by
OSW will be used to evaluate a number of variables of the VTE-MSF design.

The variables that will be studied include:

Heat transfer and fouling characteristics of the fluted tubes

Flow of vapor into large tube bundles and the removal of
noncondensables

Vapor-liquid separation below the tube bundle

Brine and product water flow between the VTE and MSF sections

Flow of brine through the VTE tube orifice nozzles

37