Water Resources and Industry (Jun 2020)
Ras Tanura Refinery desalination plant case study towards operational excellence
Abstract
Ras Tanura Refinery desalination plants production has been historically limited for a number of factors. Major obstacles for low performance were heat transfer, plugging of spray nozzles, operating under severe scaling process, brine and distilled water level control, seawater velocity, chemical dosing, and poor strainers performance.Major challenges for the low performance in desalination plants were discussed for both Multi-Stage Flash unit (MSF) and Multi-Effects Desalination unit (MED).Based on the resulted outputs, discussion and analysis, it was concluded that thermal desalination process is sensitive process where many factors can lead to performance reduction. However, thermal desalination process is easy to be maintained and restore its production capacity.The paper includes troubleshooting, analysis, actions taken, and the results. The conclusion includes nine recommended tips to enhance the performance and restore the desalination units’ production.
