New idea for co-generation power desalting plants due to abandoned MSF desalination process

In Gulf countries, most power plants are co-generation power desalting plan ts (CPDP) producing electric power and process heat for MSF seawater desalt ing plants. The MSF units use extensive amounts of energy and are losing gr ounds to Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalting system. RO system consumes much les s energy than MSF system. Sooner or later, RO system will take over either as new or substitute to the present MSF plants. When RO plants substitute M SF plants, process heat fi-om the CPDP is banned and the plants would be si ngle purpose power plants. This reduces the efficiency of electric power pr oduction and this is one of reasons delaying the adoption of RO system. For existing co-generation plant to work efficiently, production of electric p ower and process heat should continue. The process heat can be used for oth er purposes, other than MSF desalting. One good use of this process heat is to drive absorption water chillers for district air conditioning A/C neede d in Gulf area. Water-lithium bromide chillers are driven by steam or hot w ater in temperature range of 100-130 degreesC, similar to conditions requir ed by the MSF desalting units. The use of CPDP plants to produce electric p ower and chilled water for summer A/C can result in better utilization of f uel energy and better usage of the available equipment. The benefits of usi ng this approach as compared to the use of conventional motor-driven mechan ical vapor refrigeration MVC machines and producing power to drive them are illustrated.