Desalination 153 (2002) 273–279

Design criteria of 10,000 m3/d SWRO desalination plant of

Tajura, Libya

Ibrahim Massaoud El-Azizi*, Abdu Alazizi Mohamed Omran

Tajura Research Center, SWRO Desalination Plant, P.O.Box 30878, Tajur, Tripoli, Libya
Tel. +218 (21) 607023; Fax +218 (21) 3614143; email: el_azizi2001@yahoo.com

Received 18 March 2002; accepted 30 March 2002

Abstract

Tajura seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant with a capacity of 10,000 m3/d is the biggest RO plant in
Libya. The plant is designed to produce high quality drinking and industrial water. The plant consists of a seawater
intake, pretreatment, two stages of reverse osmosis membranes in two lines, post-treatment and product water storage
tank. The plant has been working successfully with a capacity of 50% for over 18 years. Improvements of the plant
will be made to work with the 100% capacity to minimize the operation cost and to eliminate the water problems of
the area of Tajura. The objective of this paper is to present the design features of the RO plant and the improvements
to be made. The design parameters, operational processes and operational data are described.

Keywords: Seawater; Pretreatment; Reverse osmosis; Membranes; Intake

1. Basic design criteria of Tajura SWRO desalination plant are given below. Table 1 gives
desalination plant the analysis of the seawater and product water.
The 10,000 m3/d SWRO desalination plant of The plant design parameters are as follows:
Tajura, Libya was designed and built in 1983 by Production capacity 10,000 m3/d
Deutscher Verfahrenstechink (DVT). The plant Product purity 232 mg/L
has now been working successfully for over 18 Seawater TDS 38,000 mg/L
years. The basic design criteria of the SWRO Seawater temperature 15–35°C
Number of RO stages 2 in 2 lines
Conversion 30%
*Corresponding author.
Presented at the EuroMed 2002 conference on Desalination Strategies in South Mediterranean Countries:
Cooperation between Mediterranean Countries of Europe and the Southern Rim of the Mediterranean.
Sponsored by the European Desalination Society and Alexandria University Desalination Studies and Technology
Center, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, May 4–6, 2002.

0011-9164/02/$– See front matter © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
274 I.M. El-Azizi, A.A.M. Omran / Desalination 153 (2002) 273–279

Table 1 a seawater basin with a capacity of 1920 m3. The

Raw seawater and product water analysis design parameters of the pipes are the following:
Component Seawater Product water Pipe material PVC coated with iron
composition, composition, Pipe length 1300 m from the coast
mg/L mg/L Pipe diameter 60 cm
Calcium Ca++ 455 0
Magnesium Mg++ 1427 0 The seawater is then pumped to the pretreatment
Sodium Na+ 11,600 67 stage by three central controlled seawater pumps
Potassium K+ 419 3 (two in duty, one in standby).
Silica Si+ 2 0 The major design parameters of the seawater
Chloride Cl– 20,987 97
intake are the following:
Biocarbonate HCO3– 163 16.8
Sulphate SO4– 2915 Seawater flow rate 1576 m3/h.
Nitrate NO3– 0 0 Number of seawater feed pumps 3
TDS 38,000 232 Seawater pH 8.3
pH 8.3 8 Feed pressure 4.8 bar
Vacuum unit

A schematic diagram of the SWRO desalination

2. Pretreatment
plant is shown in Fig. 1.
The role of the pretreatment is to purify seawater
to a quality acceptable by RO membranes. The
1.1. Seawater intake
pretreatment consists of the following main parts:
Seawater from the Mediterranean Sea is fed • Dual media filters
by gravity through two submersed pipelines into • Backwash pump

Cartridge
filters
Seawater Feed First stage RO
basin pumps HPP & membranes
Dual media
ERTs
filters
Copper sulphate
Sodium hydrogen sulphide
Sulphuric acid
Ferric chloride sulphate
Polyelectrolyte

Sulphuric acid
Antiscalants
Buffer
tank
Second stage
RO membrane HPP &
ERTs
Product water
storage tank

Calcium Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the

hypochlorite lime
SWRO desalination plant.
 I.M. El-Azizi, A.A.M. Omran / Desalination 153 (2002) 273–279 275

• Air scour blowers of dosed chemicals of the size of 20 mm and

• Cartridge filters above. Clogging of the cartridge filters is indicated
• Chemical dosing systems by an increase of the differential pressure. Vessel
inlets are from the bottom. The cartridge filter
2.1. Dual media filters outlets are connected to the high-pressure pumps
suction header. Replacement of the cartridges is
The dual media filters (DMF) are provided to
required when the differential pressure reaches a
reduce the suspended solids, organic matter and
specific level.
inorganic particles in the raw seawater. The Tajura
The major design parameters of cartridge filters
RO plant has eight parallel running dual media
are the following:
filters. The filters are automatically controlled and
the data of each filter is indicated in the central Number of cartridge filter vessels 5
control room. If the pressure loss of one filter is Nominal filtration size 20 mm
too high it can be backwashed with seawater and Capacity of each filter 300 m3/h
Design pressure 4 bar
air while the other filters are still in operation.
Filtered medium Pretreated seawater
Media depth and grain size of DMF are presented Material:
in Table 2. Vessel housing Carbon steel
Nozzle Carbon steel
Table 2 Cartridges Polypropylene
Media depth and grain size of DMF From the water analysis of the RO feed water
it was noticed that the suspended solid in the water
Filtering material Grain mix, Layer depth,
layer mm m
is about 3.5 mg/L. It means that the cartridge filters
with nominal size of 20 µm cannot reject all sus-
Supporting layer 0.3
Quartz sand 0.7–1.2 0.85
pended particles. It is recommended to change the
Hydro anthracite 1.4–2.5 0.85 cartridge to nominal filtration size of 5 µm instead
of 20 µm to avoid any particle deposition (fouling)
in RO membranes.
The major design parameters of DMF are the
following: 2.3. Chemical dosing systems
Number of DMF 8 Depending on the seawater composition, there
Filtration velocity 11.7 m/h are several chemical pretreatment processes required
Backwash water velocity 60 m3/m2 filter area/h for the reduction of suspended and dissolved orga-
The backwash air volume 100 m3/m2 filter area/h nic and inorganic particles. The dosing quantities
Water flow rate through 187 m3/h
of the required chemicals are automatically con-
each filter
Design pressure 4.5 bar trolled in accrodance with the feed water quality.
The volume of each filter 60 m3
Filter tank diameter/length 4.5 m/2.912 m 2.3.1. Seawater disinfection
Filter tank wall thickness 16 mm
Copper sulfate solution (CuSO4) is added at
Filtered medium Pretreated seawater
the beginning of the pretreatment for disinfection
of the raw seawater.
2.2. Micron cartridge filters
Micron cartridge filters are provided after 2.3.2. Dechlorination
DMF to remove suspended matters and impurities Sodium bisulfate (NaHSO3) is added to the feed
276 I.M. El-Azizi, A.A.M. Omran / Desalination 153 (2002) 273–279

water if it contains free chlorine. Dechlorination not used because the SDI of the feed water is about
process reduces the risk of membrane biofouling. 4.2%.

2.3.3. Acid dosing 2.3.5. Antiscalants

Acidification process is necessary to prevent
precipitation of CaCO3 scale in the RO membranes.
Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) is added to the raw feed
water in two steps. The first dosing is upstream
of the DMF to bring the pH value from 8.3 to 7
for the neutralization process. The second dosing
is downstream of the DMF to bring the pH to 6.5.
Now H2SO4 is dosed downstream only to reduce
the consumption quantity of sulphuric acid.
2.3.4. Coagulant dosing
Ferric chloride sulphate solution (FeClSO4) is
dosed for destabilization and agglomeration of the
colloidal particles. The destabilization and the
agglomeration of the particles are necessary to
get filterable particle sizes. Polyelectrolyte solution
is dosed to support this process.
Coagulation and flocculation processes were
AF200 is added to inhibit CaSO4 precipitation
on the surface of the RO membranes. Antiscalants
are added before the cartridge filters.
3. Reverse osmosis membrane systems
The Tajura SWRO desalination plant consists
of two RO stages in two lines to produce
10,000 m3/d of desalted water with a quality of
170 mg/L TDS. The racks are arranged in two lines
to run the plant either with 50% or with 100%
capacity. The first RO stage consists of four
parallel RO racks with 99 pressure vessels each.
Each pressure vessel contains six spiral wound RO
membranes. The design recovery rate of the plant
is 30%. The product water of the first stage is
collected in the buffer tank with a capacity of 50 m3.
The major design parameters of RO membrane
systems are presented in Table 3.

Table 3
Design parameters of first and second stage RO membranes

Item First stage Second stage

Number of RO racks 4 2
Pressure vessels configuration 1 stage 3 stages (24-12-6)
Number of pressure vessels 396 84
Number of membranes 2376 504
Number of membranes per pressure vessel 6 6
Nominal diameter, inch 6 8
Membrane model TFC 1501 PA TFC 8600 PA
Design pressure, bar 69 41
Working pressure, bar 55 25
pH 5–6 5–6
Maximum temperature, °C 45 45
Feed flow, m3/h 1576 552
Permeate flow, m3/h 552 468
Concentrate flow, m3/h 1024 84
Design salt rejection, % 98.6 98
Recovery, % 35 85
Permeate salinity, mg/L 1940 170
Feed salinity, mg/L 36,204 1940
 I.M. El-Azizi, A.A.M. Omran / Desalination 153 (2002) 273–279 277

4. High-pressure feed pumps — first stage 7. High-pressure feed pump — second stage
There are six high-pressure feed pumps in the The major design parameters of the first stage
RO plant with four pumps feeding the first stage high-pressure feed pumps are the following:
and two pumps feeding the second stage. These Manufacturer KSB, Germany
pumps generate the pressure required for desali- Type HDAO 150
nation. The major design parameters of the first Pumping medium Permeate of second stage
stage high-pressure feed pumps are the following: Flow rate 275 m3/h
Pump efficiency 72%
Manufacturer KSB, Germany
Working pressure 45 bar
Type HDAO 150
Construction Horizontal type, multistage,
Pumping medium Seawater
with vertical split casing
Flow rate 394 m3/h
Power required 500 kW
Pump efficiency 76%
Working pressure 71 bar
Construction Horizontal type, multistage, 8. Post-treatment
with vertical split casing
Power required 1040 kW Desalted water after passing the second RO
stage is fed to an intermediate storage tank with a
capacity of 21 m3. From this tank the desalted water
5. Power recovery turbines (ERT)
is pumped to the decarbonater where dissolved
The concentrate discharged through the con- CO2 is eliminated by air from a blower with a
centrate line is still highly pressurized. In order capacity of 14,000 m3 air/h. After the desalted water
to recover this pressure energy, the concentrate is passes the decarbonator, the following chemicals
fed to the turbine, which is in fact a reverse motion are dosed:
pump. This pump is coupled through a free-wheel
clutch to the high-pressure pump and, once on line, 8.1. Product chlorination
supplies about 30% of the high-pressure pump’s Calcium hypo chlorite [Ca(OCl)2] solution is
energy requirement. The major design parameters added to the product water to prevent any biological
of the energy recovery turbine are the following: growth in the pipelines and in product water storage
Manufacturer KSB, Germany tank. The dosing system provided can maintain
Type HDANO 100 residual chlorine level of up to 0.3 mg/L.
Rated capacity 256 m3/h
Pumping medium Seawater 8.2. Product neutralization
Efficiency 78%
Construction Horizontal type, multistage, Soda (NaOH) is added to maintain pH value
with vertically split casing of 8 and for perfect neutralization.

6. Buffer tank 9. Control system

Tank volume 50 m 3
Simatic Step 5 (S5-150 K) is the central con-
Tank diameter 3.2 m
troller system designed to provide the operator
Tank length 6.1 m
Tank wall thickness 10 mm
intervention for safe operation. The control system
Tank material Fiberglass-reinforced of the SWRO plant consists of a PLC basis system
plastic with a software package for ease of operation.
Medium Permeate of first stage This operating and controlling system was manu-
Construction Cylindrical, vertical factured and installed by Siemens Company in 1983.
278 I.M. El-Azizi, A.A.M. Omran / Desalination 153 (2002) 273–279

Siemens Company will install a new control Membrane material PA

system (Simatic Step 7) this year. The new Simatic Membrane model TFC 2822SS-360
S7 consists of a power supply unit, a computer- Element construction High area
Designed salt rejection 99.6%
processing unit (CPU), and input and output
Design permeate productivity 22.7 m3/d
modules. Maximum operating pressure 82.8 bar
Allowable operating pH range 4–11
Pressure vessel type Codeline No. 45 fiber-
10. Product water storage tank glass-reinforced plastic
vessels
The product water is pumped to an under-
ground storage tank. The capacity of this tank is
50,000 m3. The storage tank consists of pre-
fabricated concrete elements coated with a thin 13. Production quantity of industrial water
film foil. The flat roof of the tank is covered with The quantity of high quality water required
stones for good insulation. by Tajura Research Center (TRC) is limited. The
normal consumption of high quality water by TRC
is about 500 m3/d. The quantity of industrial water
11. Membrane cleaning system produced by the SWRO plant during 1984–2001
Mineral scale, biological matter and insoluble is shown in Fig. 2.
organic matter build up on the membrane surface From this figure, one can notice that the pro-
during the operation process. This affects the duction quantity of industrial water in the first 4
membrane productivity, salt rejection and the years is high due to the high quantity requirement
bundle pressure drop. The complete cleaning system of industrial water by Tajura Research Center. The
is provided. production quantity has decreased since 1989 and
was almost stable until 2000 (less consumption).
Since 2001 the production quantity of industrial
12. Replacement of one RO stage water started to increase due to the demand of
high quality water by Tajura Research Center,
Eight-inch RO membranes were widely used,
Libo Car Factory and other companies located
especially in large plants, because they provide a
near the plant.
designed salt rejection level of 99.6%, whereas
the 6-inch membranes offer a design salt rejection
level of 98% only. Two RO skids with an 8-inch
800000
diameter pressure vessels, and seawater RO mem-
700000
branes were replaced in 1998 by a Canadian com-
600000
pany Jadmedic to produce potable water with
Quantity (m3)

500000
maximum TDS of 200 mg/L at a rate of 3000 m3/d 400000
for each RO skid using one stage only. 300000
The design parameters of recently replaced 200000
two RO skids are: 100000

0
Number of pressure vessels 90 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002
Number of membranes 540 Year
Number of membranes per 6
pressure vessel Fig. 2. Quantity of industrial water produced per year, 1984–
Nominal diameter 8 inch 2001.
 I.M. El-Azizi, A.A.M. Omran / Desalination 153 (2002) 273–279
14. Improvements of the plant
In order to operate the plant with 100% pro-
duction capacity and to produce high quality
industrial water (max. 200 mg/l TDS) necessary
for Tajura Research Center and other companies,
and to provide potable water to the area of Tajura,
the following improvements will be made this year:
• Replacement with new complete two SWRO
skids with 6000 m3/d capacity.
• Replacement with new complete two brackish
water RO skids with 10,000 m3/d capacity.
• Replacement of new control system (Simatic
S7).
• Refurnishment material of the pretreatment,
post-treatment, and all instrumentation in the
field.
• Replacement of demineralization plant.
279
15. Conclusions
The Tajura RO plant has been working
successfully for 18 years. The plant is designed
to operate continuously to produce drinking and
industrial water. Now the plant is working with a
capacity of 50% and is producing only industrial
water with 231 mg/l TDS necessary for the Tajura
Research Center, Libo Car Factory and other
companies. Improvements of the plant by
replacement with a new RO skids and new control
system will be made this year to meet the designed
production capacity. Increasing production
capacity of the plant to 100% is necessary to
produce drinking and industrial water, to minimize
the operating costs and to eliminate the water
problems in the area of Tajura. Drinking water
produced will meet the WHO standards.