Beach wells

Sectional View of Typical Well FIGURE 7.4. Beach well system to supply solar salt plant. 

The seawater intake facilities are among the key components of every SWRO plant. Adequate and consistent flow and quality of source water over the entire useful life of the plant must be assured. The source water collection system for SWRO desalination plants could be an open-ocean intake or subsurface (beach well) intakes. 

Subsurface Intakes Subsurface (beach well) intakes are widely used for small and medium-size seawater desalination plants. Beach wells are typically located on the seashore, in close vicinity to the ocean. Beach well intakes include vertical or horizontal wells and associated intake pumping and electrical components. The subsurface intake... 

The largest SWRO plant in North America, which obtains source water fiom beach wells, is the 15,000-m /day water supply facility for the Pemex Salina Cruz refinery in Mexico. This plant also has the largest existing seawater intake wells—three Raimey-type horizontal collectors with capacities of 15,000 m /day each. Key considerations for the selection of the type of intake most suitable for the site-specific conditions of a given SWRO plant and guidelines for the development of subsurface intakes for seawater desalination plants are discussed elsewhere (AWWA, 2007 Wright and Missimer, 1997 Voutchkov, 2004a). 

Pretreatment System Configurations As discussed previously, SWRO systems treating seawater from beach wells often require minimal filtration pretreatment—commonly just cartridge filtration (as a safety filtration device to remove suspended solids that can plug, foul, or damage membranes) and chemical addition (commonly acid and/or scale inhibitor). 

Voutchkov, N. (2004a). Thorough study is key to large beach well intakes. Desalin. Water Reuse Q. 14(1), 16. 

Options for pretreatment of seawater include beach wells, media filtration, and ultrafiltration. 

Beach wells use the natural filtration abUity of beach sand to remove particulate matter. While beach wells provide excellent feed water quality, their use is normally limited to small plants where sufficient beach area is available. 

Oil Spills. Oil spills occur from oil pipeline leaks, oil tanker accidents, or submarine oil drilling operations. The two major ocean drilling accidents—oil wells blowing out—were the 1969 Santa Barbara Channel spill and the 1979 Yucatan Peninsula spill, in Mexico. The Yucatan spill spewed out more than three million barrels before being capped in 1980. Both caused damage to beaches and marine life, but the smaller Santa Barbara spill was far more devastating because of unfavorable winds following the accident. 

Borchardt, J.K. Roll, D.L. Rayne, L.M. "Use of a Mineral Fines Stabilizer in Well Completions" SPE paper 12757, 1984 SPE California Regional Meeting, Long Beach, April 11-13. 

Sample. Petroleum crude oil sample from Long Beach Field (TUMS Well C-331, API° 20), California, and shale oil obtained by retorting at 500°C the Green River Oil Shale (Anvil Point Mine) were studied. About 20 g of shale oil was dissolved in 200 ml of THF and then filtered. The sample was recovered by a rotary evaporator. Although the same procedure was done on the other samples, the percent ash was different for each sample. All the samples were evaporated to a constant weight in a vacuum oven at 50°C. 

Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrated by many African Americans from December 26 to January 1. It pays tribute to the rich cultural roots of Americans of African ancestry, and celebrates family, community, and culture. Kwanzaa means the first or the first fruits of the harvest and is based on the ancient African first-fruit harvest celebrations. The modern holiday of Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor at the California State University in Long Beach, California. The seven-day celebration encourages people to think about their African roots as well as their life in present-day America. 

Praseodymium is mainly found in monazite sands and bastnasite ores. The monazite sands contain all of the rare-earths and are found in river sand in India and Brazil as well as in Florida beach sand. A large deposit of bastnasite exists in California. 

Gadohnium is the 40th most abundant element on Earth and the sixth most abundant of the rare-earths found in the Earths crust (6.4 ppm). Like many other rare-earths, gadolinium is found in monazite river sand in India and Brazil and the beach sand of Florida as well as in bastnasite ores in southern California. Similar to other rare-earths, gadolinium is recovered from its minerals by the ion-exchange process. It is also produced by nuclear fission in atomic reactors designed to produce electricity. 

The Maestro knew exactly what she meant and scowled at her furiously. Those gold serpent eyes had warned me that he was now dealing with Delilah, who is as deadly as a spiderweb, but he does not know her as well as I do. Delilah can lie like sand on a beach. 

Transportation of raw materials to depots and plants, by oil tankers, natural gas pipelines, barges, trains, and trucks, can create hazards. Another set of transportation hazards is posed by chemical intermediates (produced in one plant and transported to another plant for further processing) and industrial wastes. Sometimes, they travel past crowded urban areas, pristine beaches, and harbor tunnels. The hazards of oil spills on beaches by tankers are well known, and so are the instances of ruptures and breaks in oil and natural gas pipelines, which produce fire and pollution hazards. Trains and trucks can overturn in centers of habitation, and can lead to flames and explosions, as well as toxic hazards to the community. Toxic chemicals are barred from being trucked in tunnels under harbors and rivers. The storage of raw material and intermediates at plants or... 

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