Freshwater Generators

Units 5.1 to 5.4

 Requirement for the production of freshwater on board

• Freshwater is required on board for both domestic as well as for ship

operational procedures.

• Since vessel is at sea for long durations it is not practical to store all the
water required that is why production of freshwater on board is an
important necessity.

• Boilers need very pure water without any dissolved solids which can be
obtained from the distillation process.
• It is well known that water can carry germs that can affect the
health of ship’s personnel hence it is imperative that the water
on board is free from harmful germs and bacteria.
• For this reason there is a water treatment procedure adopted
on board to ensure safe water for human consumption.
 Methods of producing freshwater from seawater

Three methods are generally in use for the production of freshwater:

• Distillation using low pressure boiling of seawater.

• Flash evaporation.

• Reverse osmosis.
 Distillation by Low Pressure Boiling

• This is the most popular method used on ships for the production
of freshwater.

• Freshwater generation by distilling seawater is affected in three

ways – Submerged boiling – Low pressure evaporation – Flash
Evaporation.
• This method of boiling widely prevalent is carried out in a
container where a partial vacuum is maintained. Boiling takes
place at between 35 and 45 degrees C making it possible to use
heat from the engine jacket cooling water system or low pressure
steam.

• Advantages of such a system are: Control over the type of scale

formation – low temp heating medium – improved heat transfer
across the heating element due to higher temperature differential
for lower pressures.
Heating Medium

The heating medium may be live steam or preferably in motor ships,

hot fresh water, taken from the cooling main between the engine
and the fresh water coolers.
The distilling unit may be circulated by salt water or, depending upon
the heat recovery attainable in the boiler feed system, by main or
auxiliary condenser.
 Advantages of the system

• Due to the low pressure, ie, operation under vacuum conditions,

there is a control on the type of scale formation. It is mainly calcium
carbonate, which is soft and easily removed.
• Secondly, this system does not require live steam and usually uses
the heat energy from the main engine cooling water outlet.
• Thirdly, due to higher temperature difference for lower pressures, the
heat transfer across the heating element is improved.
The evaporator body could be of the shell or plate type and only a
fraction of the seawater feed evaporates. Unevaporated water is
discharged as brine through a ejector.

The salinity of the distillate is continuously monitored and if it goes

above a pre-determined value (6 - 10ppm) a solenoid controlled dump
valve will divert the water into the bilges thereby preventing
contamination of the made water.
Operation
1. The seawater pump supplies the feed and also creates the required
vacuum inside the shell through the air and brine ejectors.
2. Vacuum is created by the “venturi” effect of water passing at high
velocity through a convergent-divergent nozzle that creates a suction
effect perpendicular to the water flow. This results in a drop in pressure
in the shell which can reach 95% vacuum.
3. Heat from the engine jacket cooling water, at 85°C, is used to evaporate
a small fraction (about 40%) of the seawater feed.
4. Un-evaporated seawater, which would have increased in density due
the partial evaporation, is discharged as brine.
5. Vapor passes through demister, this is necessary to ensure that the
vapour does not carry any droplets of salt water that could contaminate
the made water, to condenser.
6.Condensate is pumped to freshwater storage tanks or boiler feed tanks.
7. Solenoid controlled dump valve diverts flow to bilge if salinity of water
exceeds 6 ppm.
• The second method also widely prevalent is the ‘Flash
Evaporator’, this method produces a large amount of freashwater
so is usually used on passenger ships, where the demand for
water will be very high.

• This method is similar to the one described for low pressure

distillation, the only difference being that the seawater is heated
before it is introduced into the evaporator shell
• Here the seawater is heated in one compartment and released
into another compartment which is maintained at a partial
vacuum. This causes the water to flash off into vapour, the
instant it enters the low pressure atmosphere. In this evaporator
‘sensible heat’ is supplied to the water.

• All other systems are similar to the low pressure freshwater

generator described earlier.
 Reverse Osmosis

Osmosis :

It is the term used to describe passage of pure water from one side of
a semi-permeable membrane into a salt water or other solution on
the other, with the result the salt water solution is diluted but the
pure water remains pure.
Reverse Osmosis :

Is a water filtering process, which makes use of semi-permeable

membrane. Seawater on one side of the membrane is pressurized by

a pump and forced against the material. Pure water passes through

but not the salts.

Pressure required to force the pure water is called osmotic pressure.

Principle of Osmosis:

When a solution, which has a chemical potential, is separated from

pure water, which has a lower chemical potential, by a semi-
permeable membrane, i.e. a membrane which will allow the passage
of water but not salt, then pure water will flow through the
membrane so as to reduce the potential of the salt solution.
This process will continue until all the pure water has passed

through the membrane or until the hydrostatic head of the salt

solution is sufficiently high to arrest the process. At this latter

point the hydrostatic pressure is known as the Osmotic-pressure

of the salt solution at its particular concentration.

Reverse osmosis, as the name implies, is the use of this
phenomenon in the reverse direction resulting in water being
forced through the membrane from the concentrated solution to
the more dilute.

This reverse flow is achieved by applying a pressure, higher than

the Osmotic pressure of the concentrated solution, to the
concentrated side of the membrane.
• Reverse osmosis is a water filtration process, which makes use

of a semipermeable membrane-like materials. Seawater on

one side of the membrane is pressurized by a pump and forced

against the material. Pure water passes through but the

membrane is able to prevent passage of the salts.

• The rate of pure water passing through the membrane

depends on the temp of the water and the net driving

pressure. In a real system this pressure is less than the

applied pressure owing to a number of factors :

1. For reverse osmosis to take place, the osmotic pressure of

the solution must be overcome

2. To avoid a concentration of salt in the boundary layer next to the
membrane surface, the solution must flow over the membrane and
therefore pressure must be applied to overcome the frictional pressure
losses

3. As pure water is removed from the original solution the salt

concentration increases and therefore the osmotic pressure increases.
The initial net driving pressure must be high enough to account for these.
• Reverse Osmosis is a non-boiling method of freshwater generation.
• It is a water filtration process which makes use of a semi-permeable
membrane through which salt water is forced by means of a pump
• The pressure required to force the water is called Osmotic Pressure
which is proportional to the level of salinity in the water.
• As in the other processes only a fraction of the seawater gets
converted and remaining of higher salt concentration is discharged to
sea.
• This method is used to produce large quantities of freshwater on ships
Line Diagram of an R.O.Plant used on ships
 Domestic Freshwater Treatment
• Water produced by low temperature boiling is unsafe for drinking hence it

must be treated.

• The best treatment would be to heat the water to about 80 deg which is

the sterilisation temperature, but is impractical on ships.

• Shipboard treatment involves Sterilisation by chlorination (adding sodium

hypochlorite – 1ppm)
• Use of Ultra-violet light rays to sterilise the water. For this to be

effective the water must be clear without turbidity. This method

must be used ‘online’ as ultra-violet sterilised water will not retain

its purity in storage and may get recontaminated.

• Ozone sterilisation is another method employed. Ozone is a

effective oxidant and produces safe water. However it is expensive

to install and maintain.

• Seawater within coastal limits contain harmful effluents from

industrial activity and sewage. Water produced from here

cannot be protected by sterilisation. Hence it is advisable not

to use the freshwater generator when the vessel is near the

coast.
• To give alkalinity and to improve the taste of insipid water,

carbonates of calcium and magnesium are used as a filter bed in a

neutralizer.

• To sterilize the water chlorine is, used, this would normally be

solution of hypochlorite or possibly the powder calcium chloride.

About 0.25 to 1 kg of chlorine would be required for every 1,000,000

kg of water.
• To produce clear water it can be passed through a sand

bed filter.

• To improve taste a de-chlorination process is used.

Chlorinated water is passed through an activated carbon

filter bed, which will absorb excess chlorine

Domestic Fresh Water Treatment
Silver Ion Sterilization
 Hydrophor System for Domestic Water

• Both freshwater and sanitary seawater systems have identical

equipment and working principles.

• The system uses pumps, a pressurised tank, and a compressed air

connection to pressurise the water to reach the various decks.

• The freshwater system in addition has a calorifier which is a heater

using steam or an electric element as the heat source. The system
may also have a UV steriliser incorporated in the circuit.
• The pumps start and stop automatically controlled by a
pressure switch which operates when a pre-determined
level is reached in the hydrophor tank. – usually
approximately one-third and two-thirds of the tank capacity.

• Any air loss can be made up from the low pressure

compressed air system in the engine-room.