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I had an uncle who worked in the Middle East. One of the major problems with desalination plants is corrosion of all the pipe work, due to the high salt content
by oxfordmale 6y ago
I had an uncle who worked in the Middle East. One of the major problems with desalination plants is corrosion of all the pipe work, due to the high salt content. Better membranes will make a difference, but will not solve the corrosion issue that reduces the life time of a desalination plant.
- achow 6y agoAren't plastics or polymer inert to salt water?
- InvaderFizz 6y agoYes, but I would guess that at the volumes these pipes will be pushing, the abrasive qualities of a high salt concentrate makes such soft piping material susceptible to being eaten through rather quickly.
- ianai 6y agoSo use lower volume across more pipes in parallel? Seems like something to engineer around.
- sudosysgen 6y agoSeems like something where ceramic-like coatings would help.
- CyberDildonics 6y agoWhat about cross linked polyethylene (PEX) ? Why use metal pipes at all?
- LinuxBender 6y agoJust guessing, but probably pressure? PEX has much lower pressure ratings than metal. I plan to use PEX for a water purification system, but it will be sub 100 PSI. Most PEX-A are rated to 200 PSI at room temp and 120-150 PSI at 180 degrees F. They will rupture at 400 to 800 PSI of water depending on the brand. Metal pipes can handle thousands of PSI, required for pushing water through membranes.
- CyberDildonics 6y agoIf that is the case it still seems like you would just need metal for a section that reduces the size of the pipe down to something smaller to give you the pressure. A larger diameter pex should be able carry the water around with a reducer only where the pressure is needed.
- rhodozelia 6y agoIs Pex used in industry? I’ve only seen it in newish residential construction. Is there such a thing as a 6” diameter pex pipe? And fittings? 12”? 24”? Where corrosion is a problem i’ve Seen metal pipes coated with epoxies. I’ve seen big HDPE pipe used for low pressure sections to save cost over metal.
- CyberDildonics 6y agoWhat do you mean by 'in industry'. In what industry? I don't know about anything larger than 3", but the general point was more than it doesn't seem right that corrosion of metal pipes would be a huge barrier to desalination since there are options for non metal pipes. There is also PVC which can be huge in diameter and CPVC which is used in some situations that need pipe that is more inert, but it is very brittle.
- rhodozelia 6y ago“Industry” generally refers to factories or plants as opposed to a commercial or residential setting. Quite often different codes, standards, and construction methods are used in industry than you see elsewhere. But large pex pipes isn’t something that I have seen.
- CyberDildonics 6y agoA little digging looks like they at least go up to 120cm OD (almost 4 feet), 1450 psi http://www.gpsuk.com/catalogue/ http://www.gpsuk.com/catalogue/ https://www.pe100plus.com/PE-Pipes/Technical-guidance/Trenchless/Methods/PE-Pipe-i1341.html https://www.pe100plus.com/PE-Pipes/Technical-guidance/Trench...