The Shuweihat 2 (S2) desalination plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) switched to Outokumpu’s duplex concept in the under the guidance of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction of Korea.
The problem
The United Arab Emirates is lacking in natural freshwater resources. Because of this, the country is a world-leader in pioneering techniques to meet its water needs by seawater desalination.
The latest addition to an extensive desalination program in the country is the Shuweihat 2 (S2) independent water and power project.
S2 got under way in July 2008 when the project was awarded to the desalination and power contractors. The desalination component went to Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction of Korea.
For the first time in Doosan’s history, the desalination process configuration relies on duplex stainless steel. Doosan is the last major desalination technology provider to switch to duplex in the crucial process component, the evaporator chamber, as well as in associated piping. |
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A desalination plant by Doosan. Photo: Doosan |
The solution
Doosan selected Outokumpu as the supplier of the largest single share of the total duplex for S2. They also adopted Outokumpu’s duplex concept for desalination. This concept involves the use of two or three different grades of duplex according to their corrosion resistance properties and the corrosiveness of the process environments.
The main benefit of using this concept is the high strength of duplex. This allows a considerable reduction in material compared to conventional alternatives without compromising performance.
The thinner material gauges enabled by duplex allow larger units to be made using the same amount of material. That translates into larger capacities – a key determining factor among competing desalination methods. Another important factor is that switching to duplex requires no adjustments to the evaporator design.
According to Outokumpu’s multiple-duplex concept, S2 will employ duplex 2205 in the bottom section of the evaporator chamber, where corrosion is severe, and lean duplex LDX 2101® in the upper section, while duplex 2304 is used in piping.
The results
Doosan’s choice of materials for S2 is an important achievement for Outokumpu and its campaign to champion duplex stainless steel in desalination. Hachemi Loucif, Outokumpu’s desalination segment leader pointed out the achievement now that there is no return to carbon steel or conventional austenitics in desalination evaporator chambers.
He also points out that while there are a number of economic benefits from duplex, there are also environmental benefits which arise from the possibility of using thinner gauges, including savings in production, transportation and welding.
Project details:
Project
Shuweihat 2 (S2) power generation and desalination project, developed as an Independent Water & Power Project. Located in Jebel Dhana in Shuweihat, UAE. Scheduled for completion in August 2011.
Owner
JV of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority of the UAE (60%) and GDF Suez of France (40%)
Capacity
100 million g/d of desalinated water; 1,500 MW of power
Contractors
Desalination: Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Ltd. of Korea
Power: Samsung Engineering & Construction Group of Korea
Desalination technology
Multi-Stage Flash (MSF)
Outokumpu supply
1,832 tons of duplex stainless steel plate, out of the total duplex need for the project of approx. 5,800 tons. In duplex grades LDX 2101® (1.4162), 2304 (1.4362) and 2205 (1.4462) for the Outokumpu “triple duplex concept” (using three grades of duplex to optimize grade selection against process conditions).
Other information
For futher information, please contact
Hachemi Loucif
Head of Desalination Business
Outokumpu Group Sales & Marketing
Phone +46 586 47 626
Email hachemi.loucif@outokumpu.com