SHENKAR
GRADUATES
סופשנה
שנקר
Instruction:
Dr. Galit Fusman, Elad Barak (Palmachim Desalination Plant)
Seawater desalination removes salt from the water and ensures the water supply meets regulatory requirements. At the Palmachim Desalination Plant, one of the water treatment steps is water softening: removing hardness ions (scale). This step takes place before reverse osmosis. One of the steps in the softening process is regeneration. This step restores the softener’s ability to absorb hardness ions. During this step, chemicals are added to stabilize the process. Reduced chemical consumption during regeneration would reduce both costs and pollution. The amount of acid added depends on the frequency and duration of regenerations. To reduce acid consumption, the regeneration step needs to be optimized.
The figure below shows the main steps in this process for one softener with incoming and outgoing water flows.
Optimizing Ion Exchanger Regeneration at the Via Maris Desalination Plant at Palmachim
Ben Barak and Einav Mahler
