Materials performance and failure evaluation in SWCC MSF plants

Abstract An MSF plant is subjected to different forms of deteriorations due to the use of a wide variety of materials and existence of diverse types of environments. It is well established that seawater and uncondensed gases are responsible for the majority of the failures reported in desalination plants. Localized corrosion in the forms of pitting and crevice, and mechanically induced erosion-corrosion in the forms of impingement and cavitation are most common types of attack observed in desalination plants. Besides general corrosion, which is not a serious problem, galvanic corrosion and, to some extent, dealloying also account for some failures. The heat exchangers and flash chambers are the two sections of the plant which are most prone to corrosion. Cases of occasional failures in deaerators, venting system ejectors, water boxes, and demisters have also been reported. Pumps and piping which are inseparable parts of all the components have quite frequently shown deterioration. This paper presents a survey of the materials of construction used in different sections of MSF desalination plants operated by SWCC in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.