Improved Discharge Configurations for Brine Effluents from Desalination Plants
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 1
Abstract
Sea water desalination plants discharge a concentrated brine effluent into coastal waters. Modern, large capacity plants require submerged discharges, in the form of a negatively buoyant jet, that ensure a high dilution in order to minimize harmful impacts on the marine environment. Existing design practice favors a steep discharge angle of 60° above horizontal, a practice based on limited and outdated laboratory data for dilutions at the level of maximum rise. Examination of more recent laboratory data and the parametric application of a jet integral model suggest that flatter discharge angles of about 30–45° above horizontal may have considerable design advantages. These relate to better dilution levels at the impingement location, especially if bottom slope and port height are taken into account, there is better offshore transport of the mixed effluent during weak ambient current conditions, and there is the ability to locate in more shallow water near shore.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Abraham, G. (1967). “Jets with negative buoyancy in homogeneous fluid.” J. Hydraul. Res., 5(4), 235–248.
Cipollina, A., Brucato, A., Grisafi, F., and Nicosia, S. (2005). “Bench-scale investigation of inclined dense jets.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 131(11), 1017–1022.
Del Bene, J. V., Jirka, G. H., and Largier, J. (1994). “Ocean brine disposal.” Desalination, 97(1–3), 365–372.
Doneker, R. L., Nash, J. D., and Jirka, G. H. (2004). “Pollutant transport and mixing zone simulation of sediment density currents.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 130(4), 349–359.
Jirka, G. H. (2004). “Integral model for turbulent buoyant jets in unbounded stratified flows. Part I: The single round jet.” Environ. Fluid Mech., 4, 1–56.
Jirka, G. H. (2006). “Integral model for turbulent buoyant jets in unbounded stratified flows. Part II: Plane jet dynamics resulting from multiport diffuser jets.” Environ. Fluid Mech., 6, 43–100.
Jirka, G. H., and Doneker, R. L. (1991). “Hydrodynamic classification of submerged single-port discharges.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 117(9), 1095–1112.
Jirka, G. H., Doneker, R. L., and Hinton, S. W. (1996). “User’s manual for CORMIX: A hydrodynamic mixing zone model and decision support system for pollutant discharges into surface waters.” Tech. Rep., Environmental Research Lab., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Athens.
Lattemann, S., and Höpner, T. (2003). Seawater desalination: Impacts of brine and chemical discharge on the marine environment, Desalination Publications, L’Aquila, Italy.
Pincince, A. B., and List, E. J. (1973). “Disposal of brine into an estuary.” J. Water Pollut. Control Fed., 45, 2335–2344.
Roberts, P. J. W., Ferrier, A., and Daviero, G. (1997). “Mixing in inclined dense jets.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 123(8), 693–699.
Roberts, P. J. W., and Toms, G. (1987). “Inclined dense jets in flowing current.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 113(3), 323–341.
Wright, S. J. (1977). “Mean behavior of buoyant jets in a crossflow.” J. Hydr. Div., 103(5), 499–513.
Zeitoun, M. A., Reid, R. O., McHilhenny, W. F., and Mitchell, T. M. (1970). “Model studies of outfall systems for desalination plants. Part III: Numerical simulations and design considerations.” Res. and Devel. Progress Rep. No. 804, Office of Saline Water, U.S. Dept. of Interior, Washington, D.C.
Zhang, H., and Baddour, R. E. (1998). “Maximum penetration of vertical round dense jets at small and large Froude numbers.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 124(5), 550–553.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Jan 31, 2006
Accepted: Mar 20, 2007
Published online: Jan 1, 2008
Published in print: Jan 2008
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.