APV Products, Heat Transfer

Platinvej 8
P.O.Box 82
DK-6000 Kolding
Denmark
Tel.: +45 70 278 444
Telefax: +45 75 503 434

Instruction manual
Water Desalination Unit

Type:

Serial number:

Hull number:

Contents
1. Instruction manual
1.1 Construction and function
1.1.1 Construction
1.1.2 Working principles
1.2. Installation
1.2.1 Installation
1.2.2 Main components description and function
1.2.3 The process
1.3. Operation instruction
1.3.1 Start-up
1.3.2 Shut-down
1.4. Cleaning
1.4.1 Plant cleaning
1.4.2 Cleaning by opening of vessel
1.5. Trouble-shooting
1.5.1 Low vacuum
1.5.2 Low heat consumption
1.5.3. High heat consumption
1.5.4 Insufficient seawater flow to condenser
1.5.5 Too high salinity
1.5.6 Too low production capacity
1.6. Solenoid valve
1.7. Ejector
1.8. Evaporator & condenser ( incl. diagram)

2. Technical data, flow diagram & connections/foundation drawing (Hook-up)

3. APV test certificate
4. Arrangement drawing/Parts list
5. Electric diagram
6. Salinometer
7. Freshwater pump
8. Anti scaling unit
9. Seawater pump
10. Spare parts list
11. Others

1. Instruction manual
1.1 Construction and function
1.1.1 Construction

The Water Desalination Unit has been designed as a compact unit with high efficiency.
The unit includes a vacuum vessel, suspended in a steel frame. The vessel contains a plate
condenser and a plate evaporator with titanium plates and nitrile gasket.
The baffle plate arrangements lead the steam through the demister (stainless steel wool).
The combined brine extraction and air evacuation ejector is an integrated part of the unit.
The feedwater is introduces to the evaporator through the feedwater orifice.
The produced freshwater is extracted from the condenser and discharged to tanks by the
freshwater pump.
Air is continuously evacuated from the condenser outlet by the combined seawater driven
ejector.
If the salinity of the produced freshwater exceeds the pre-set max. value the automatic
magnet valve will divert the freshwater.
Design EC: All pipes are stainless steel. The ejector are made of bronze.
Design CE: Pipes for seawater, feedwater and brine are CuNi and other pipe are stainless
steel. The ejector are made of bronze.
To secure the vacuum vessel against over-pressure it is equipped with a nonreturn valve.
The usual working pressure of the vessel is 88 - 92% vacuum.
The evaporator and the condenser as standard are designed for max. 5 bar working and
max. 7,5 bar test pressure.

1. Instruction manual
1.1 Construction and function
Fig.1 EC-design

1. Instruction manual
1.1 Construction and function
1.1.2 Working principle (see flow diagram section 2)

The vessel with evaporator and condenser is evacuated to 0,09 - 0,12 bar absolute by the
seawater-driven ejector. At this pressure, sea water will evaporate at approx. 44 - 49 C
(111 - 120 F)
One side of the evaporator is fed with sea water. Hot water (engine jacket water) at 70 90 C (158 - 194 F) is circulated on the other side.
A proportion of the sea water evaporates and leaves the evaporator as steam through the
open side of the plate pack. The remaining amount of the sea water, is extracted by the
ejector.
The steam from the evaporator passes through a demister where carry over drops are
separated and then enters the condenser positioned above. The condenser is like the
evaporator with an open side at the top edge.
The vacuum steam is condensed by circulating cold water on the other side.
The fresh water is pumped to the freshwater tank, passing a sensor which is connected to
a salinometer. If the salinity is higher than the pre-set reference value - e.g. 5 ppm - the
solenoid valve is activated and divert the produced freshwater (Alternatively it can be led
to the brine suction pipe).
Fig.2 EC-design

1. Instruction manual
1.2 Installation
1.2.1 Installation

Place the water desalination unit so that it will be possible to open it for inspection and
cleaning and mount it with as simple a pipe layout to and from the unit as possible and at
a place with minimum vibrations.
Connect the evaporator to the engine cooling-water system (jacket water) from the engine
or any other heat source.
The freshwater pipe should be connected to the freshwater tanks. The back-pressure in the
freshwater pipe should not exceed 1.5 bar.
Be aware that it must be possible to read thermometers and manometers.
The support of the pipes must not be too far from the unit and should be supported
sufficiently, not loading the conn. flanges and fittings of the plant.
Connect the seawater system to the ejector and the condenser according to the attached
flow diagram.
The mesh size of the seawater filter must be max. 3 mm. Pumps, filters and pipe system
must be dimensioned and designed so that the pressures, temperatures and water flows,
stated on the attached flow diagram, are obtained.
Electrical connection is made according to the attached circuit diagram.
Fig. 3 EC-design

1. Instruction manual
1.2 Installation
1.2.2 Main components description and function

The APV freshwater generator is a vacuum distilling plant utilising waste heat for
conversion of seawater into freshwater.
The plant has following main component,
Process vessel.
Heat exchangers for evaporation and condensing.
Combined cooling/feed water and extraction system.
Freshwater extraction system.
Electric power, power and monitoring system.
Process vessel.
The process vessel has two horizontally mounted plate heat exchangers, the evaporator in
the lower part and the condenser in the upper part. The evaporator section is separated
from the condenser section by an intermediate wall and baffle plates and a demister
arrangement.
Heat exchangers for evaporation and condensing.
The evaporator heat exchanger is formed by a heating section and an evaporation section.
The heating section channels are normal plate heat exchanger channels for liquid flow.
The evaporation channels are plate heat exchanger channels for liquid/vapour flow and
are opened at the top gasket.
Heating channels and evaporation channels are mixed, every second channel being for
heating, every second being for evaporation.
The condenser heat exchanger is identical to the evaporator. Here however, the liquid
channels are for cooling and the vapour/liquid channels for condensing, giving a cooling
section and a condensing section.
Combined cooling/feed water and extraction system.
The seawater pump supplies jet water for the combined brine/air ejector, feed water to the
evaporator and cooling water to the condenser (for EC design).
The seawater pump supplies cooling water to the condenser and supplies jet water for the
combined brine/air ejector and feed water to the evaporator (for CE design).

The ejector continuously extracts excess feed water (brine) from the process vessel sump
and maintains the vacuum in the process vessel by extracting air from the outlet of the
condenser.
Freshwater extraction system.
The condensate from the condenser - the freshwater - is extracted by the freshwater pump
which discharges the distilled water to the storage tank.
Electric power, control and monitoring system.
The total power supply to the plant is sourced from the El-panel mounted on the unit
itself. The El-panel includes the required starters, relays and instruments for El-motors
and the salinometer, which continuously monitors the salinity of the produced freshwater.
The salinometer controls the automatic dump valve, which ensures that high saline water
is returned to the seawater/brine pipe.
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1. Instruction manual
1.2 Installation
1.2.3 The process
The sea feed water entering the evaporation channels is heated to its boiling point by the
hot water circulating in the adjacent channels. Approximately 15 % of the introduced feed
water will be vaporised, when leaving the top of the evaporator.
The vapour flows with the excess feed water along the baffle plate and escapes through
the demister, where droplets are separated, to the cold condenser section. The excess feed
water, the brine, flows to the sump where it is extracted by the ejector and discharged to
the sea.
The saturated vapour enters the open condenser channels and the cold seawater circulated
in the adjacent channels will cool and condense the vapour into condensate, which is
collected and extracted by the freshwater pump. The pressure inside the process vessel is
maintained at appr. 90 % vacuum corresponding to a boiling and condensing temperature
of appr. 46 deg. C.
To reduce scaling of the evaporation channels, the feedwater is continuously treated by
injection of a suitable anti-scaling detergent, if antiscaling has been choosen.

1. Instruction manual
1.3 Operation instruction
1.3.1

Start-up

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Open seawater pump suction and discharge valves.

Open seawater overboard valve.
Switch-on power to the El-panel and start seawater pump
Vent seawater strainer(s)
Check seawater pump suction/discharge pressures
Control backpressure of seawater after passing the ejector, pressure may not
exceed the pressure stated on data plate/ test sheet, the stated pressure may
i.e. be max. 0.8 bar. If the pressure is too high, open the overboard valve.
Wait until vacuum is 0.90 0.95 bar
Open feed water valve 100%
Open Jacket Water inlet valve for cooling water of engine 100%
Slowly open outlet valve for cooling water until it is completely open. The
difference between in- and outlet should be 14C-16C.
Keep an eye on the sight glass on the air suction pipe
When water is observed in the sight glass, start freshwater pump and open
the freshwater discharge valve.
Check capacity and salinity. If the capacity is low, increase the flow of
Jacket water to the evaporator. If the capacity (and salinity) is high, reduce
the flow of Jacket water to the evaporator. However, the temperature
difference between in- and outlet should be between 12C and 20C.

7.
8.
9.

10.
11.

12.

13.

Check the fluid level in the anti-scaling container and start the pump.

1.3.2

Stopping the generator

1.

Stop freshwater pump

2.

Close inlet and outlet valves of engine jacket water

3.

Stop anti-scaling pump

4.

Let the seawater pump run for approx. 1 hours

5.

Close feed water valve 100%

6.

Wait 5 minutes until container is empty

7.

Stop seawater pump and close seawater valves

8.

Turn off switch board

1. Instruction manual
1.4 Cleaning
1.4.1 Plant cleaning

Scale formation on the heat transfer surface of the evaporator is a well-known cause of
capacity loses over time.
These deposits form for two reasons:
1) Build-up of carbonate scale (CaCO3 + Mg(OH)2) is a function of retention time in the
heat
exchanger and wall temperature.
This type of scale can be avoided by chemically dosing the seawater feed to the
evaporator, or
it can be removed by circulating an acid solution through the
evaporator.
2) Formation of sulphate scale (CaSO4 + NaCl) is a result of total evaporation caused by
uneven
distribution of the seawater feed in the evaporator. This scale is not affected
by feed water
treatment and cannot be removed by circulating acid.
The effects of these two types of scaling on the capacity of a conventional shell-and-tube
distiller is illustrated in the accompanying graph. After a period the capacity drops to a
certain level, and cleaning is required. Circulating acid solution will remove the carbonate
scale but has no effect on the sulphate scale. Thus, a conventional shell-and-tube distiller
can never regain its original capacity level.
In the APV distiller, sulphate scaling has been suppressed by controlling the evaporation
process. This control operation is accomplished by relatively simple means in the APV
plate evaporator.
An APV freshwater distiller operates for longer intervals before cleaning is required. And,
when cleaning is carried out, the result is a 100% (percent) clean evaporator - every time.

C ap %

100

75

year

In the condenser, the sea water may cause some fouling, causing a reduction of the
capacity of the condenser.
The frequency of the cleaning depends on the working conditions but, normally, a
opening of the vessel once a year or every second year for total cleaning/inspection will
suffice.
If the unit is equipped with an anti-scaling device which is operated correctly, the interval
between cleaning can be increased considerably.
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1. Instruction manual
1.4 Cleaning
1.4.2 Cleaning by opening of vessel

When the plant has been shut-down as described under Plant shut-down open the vessel
and inspect the interior of the vessel and carry out cleaning as necessary.
Normally it is only necessary to clean the evaporator plates and the inside of the shell in
this way.
When the plates are removed (either from the evaporator or the condenser), carefully note
the assembly configuration. All plates have a serial number as stated in the attached
diagram drawing. If necessary, the plates can be marked.
All the plates must be installed so that their serial number is in the right side. The plate,
which has serial number 1, must face the bottom of the vessel and that goes for the
gasket-side of the plate as well.
When reassembling the separated evaporator, make sure that the gaskets have not been
damaged - exchange defective gasket, if any. Cut gaskets as shown on the diagram
drawing. Mount the plates in due order and clamp the plate pack to the correct dimension
according to the diagram or the name plate on the unit.
When separating the evaporator and/or the condenser, the baffle plate, which is placed
between these, can be dismounted by pulling it out of its U-shaped rails. l.e. without using
tools.

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1. Instruction manual
1.5 Trouble-shooting
1.5.1 Low vacuum

If the production of the fresh water drops, check pressure and temperatures according to
the flow diagram drawing which is attached to this instruction.
The following may have changed:
Check the injector inlet and outlet pressures.
If these pressures do not comply with those specified, the reason can be one of the
following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

The gasket for the cover of the vessel should be checked.

Seawater filter may be clogged and must be cleaned.
The impeller in the seawater pump may be defective.
The sealing in the seawater pump leaks so that air ca slip in.
The nozzles in the ejector may be worn.
The pressure drop in the overboard piping may be unacceptable high.
The pressure drop over the condenser may have risen due to fouling.

Check whether the solenoid valve on freshwater by-pass to the feed water leaks by
examining the sight glass.
Check the seal box on the freshwater pump for leakage.

1.5.2 Low heat consumption

Insufficient cooling of the heating water indicates fouling on the evaporator plates. The
evaporator can be cleaned as described in section 1.4.2, cleaning by opening of vessel.

1.5.3. High heat consumption

Subcooling of engine cooling water to the evaporator indicates insufficient flow. The
reason for this must be found outside the water desalination unit, in the cooling system of
the ship.

1.5.4 Insufficient seawater flow to condenser

Check inlet and outlet temperatures of the cooling water to the condenser.
Overheating of the cooling water indicates insufficient flow. The reason for this must be
found outside the water desalination unit.
The reason for insufficient heating of the cooling water can be found on the condenser
plates. Therefore, the plates must be cleaned.

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1. Instruction manual
1.5 Trouble-shooting
1.5.5 Too high salinity

Separate and clean the sensor the salinometer (section 7), so that this is not short-circuited
by fouling between the electrodes.
Check that the baffle plate above the evaporator and the demister is correctly placed so
that salt-water drops do not pass with the steam into the condenser.

1.5.6 Too low production capacity

Check that the quantities/pressures and temperatures specified on the diagram at the back
of the manual are correct.
Do not overlook defects and/or indication errors, if any, in instruments (thermometer,
manometer, vacuum indicator).

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1. Instruction manual
1.6 Solenoid valve
B

A
A

Valve type EVSI 10

Part no.: 0347 1586

B
B

Coil type 220-230V 50/60Hz

Coil type 110V
50/60Hz

Part no.: 6871 5202

Part no.: 6270 3024

Spare parts kit

Part no.: 6871 5210

Comprises a locking buttom,

nut for the coil
armature with valve plate and spring
diaphragm
O-ring

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1. Instruction manual
1.7 Ejector
To order any spare parts it is necessary to state the ejector-number for instance

6283 1553
Pos.
1
2*
3
4
5
9
6
7
8
10

Description
Head
Mixing passage
Diffuser
Nozzle
Mixing nozzle
O-ring (set)
Flange bushing
Loose flange
Loose flange
Box spanner

Complet ejector no.

6283 1545
6283 1642
Spare parts nr.

1st
6283 1677

15

1st
6283 1685

1st
6283 1693

1. Instruction manual
1.8 Evaporator and condenser

At the back of the manual drawings of both the evaporator and the condenser are placed.
The drawings show the actual number of plates, spare part lists and flow data.
In fig. 6.1. an example of a plate diagram is shown.
All plates are marked with a serial number, placed as shown in fig. 6.2.
Further, the plates are marked with the four last digits of the item number and with a
material code.
The plate pack is composed of two types of plates, namely a heat exchanger plate PHE
and a water desalination unit plate WDU. Serial number 1 and 2 are PHE plates and the
rest of the plates are alternately PHE and WDU plates. The WDU plates are placed at odd
serial numbers.
The diagram, fig. 6.1. shows the last four digits of the plate item numbers, A. At B
the entire item number is stated and at C the punching code of the plates. O = the corner
hole of the plate has not been opened. A non-zero digit indicates an opening and the value
of the figure the position in which the opening is placed.
Fig.6.1

16

1. Instruction manual
1.8 Evaporator and condenser
Removal of old gaskets:

Pliobond glued gaskets can be loosened by heating in water at 100C (212F). The plates
are cleaned, and coatings, if any, are removed.
Cleaning:
New gaskets and the gaskets grooves of the new plates are cleaned with a cloth moistened
with degreasing agent. The gluing surfaces must be absolutely clean - without finger
prints etc.
For degreasing, use an agent which efficiently removes all fats enabling the glue to stick
to the gasket and plate.
For instance the following may be used: Trichloroethylene, Chlorothene VG, Methyl
Ethyl Ketone or Ethyl Acetate.
It is important that all the degreasing agent has evaporated before the glue is applied. This
will normally take approx. 15 minutes at 20C (68F).
It is advisable to clean the gluing surfaces of the gaskets with fine-grain sandpaper instead
of degreasing agent.
Note:
Follow local safety rules for use of glue and cleaning liquids.
Cutting:
The gaskets of the first plate and all WDU plates respectively are cut as shown in fig. 6.3.
Gluing:
Pliobond 25, which is a solvent nitrile rubber glue (25% solid) is applied with a brush in a
thin layer on the backs of the gaskets. The gaskets are put dry in a clean and dustless
place!
The gasket grooves of the plates are now coated with a thin layer of glue, and the gasket is
cemented into the grooves. The insertion of gaskets starts at both ends of the plate - and
continues with the straight sections along the edges.
The gluing process is most easily effected by laying the plate and the gaskets on a table as the gaskets are cemented into the grooves of the plates, the plates should be stacked.
The plates with gaskets are now suspended in the vessel which is lightly tightened.
The curing time of the gasket glue in the evaporator plates can be reduced to about 4
hours by turning on the heating water (jacket water).
In the condenser where heating is not possible this curing will take about 24 hours.
After curing, the plate pack is tightened to the max. measure stated on the drawing and the
data plate.

17

1. Instruction manual
1.8 Evaporator and condenser
Replacement of plates:

Before inserting a spare plate in the plate pack, it is essential to check that the spare plate
is identical with the defective plate - the same corner holes open, and the mark H must
face correctly. Plate pack in the evaporator and condenser is different.
A defective 4-hole plate can be removed from the plate pack without inserting a spare
plate, if the adjoining 4-hole plate is also removed. (If this happens, the compressed
dimension of the plate pack must be adjusted).
Fig.6.3

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