jelly fish ingress is a major problem affecting the sea water intake systems leading to plant outages in power plants and desalination plants. can anyone through some insight on installed and convinced jelly fish ingress preventions solution...
In a few plants around the world, air bubbles are used as a curtain to ‘hopefully’ deter jellyfish from entering the intakes. This precarious technique may also harm jellyfish as bubbles may sneak in under the jellyfish’s structure and cause some damage.
thank you sir for the information. But my concern there will be some regulations in each country by which we are not supposed to harm marine flora and fauna .. right. so the usability of air barriers will be vey specific to the environmental regulations existing in that region
There are many regulations, depending on where you are at (or where your project will be).
Planning stage:
A basic minimum is to review existing data that will help identify species their life stage in the area where you are considering the intake. Quantify their relative and peak abundance, identify what is most susceptible to impingement and get an operation and maintenance (as well as some QA/QC standards to revisit the data and analyze it.
Design/Construction/Operation:
-Regulations in the US can be found at https://www.epa.gov/npdes
-Previous regulations can be accessed at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-04/documents/cooling-water_phase-3_tdd_2006.pdf
-Impingement and entrainment sampling. A must.
-Quality of water (including effluent): Temperature extremes and low DO usually impacts marine life and keep them away from the intake.
-More on water quality: Jellyfish and algae have a symbiotic relationship. Jellyfish swims in stagnant (or semi-stagnant) coastal conditions to ascertain that algae receives sufficient sunlight for the photosynthesis process. In return, algae gives the jellyfish nutrients and energy. On the other hand, the survival of marine life depends on a sufficient level of DO. Low DO takes place because of excessive algae growth caused by phosphorus and nitrogen (nutrients that can contribute to algal growth). As algae die and decompose, the process consumes DO and makes marine life challenging. So, it is important to construct your SWRO in areas with low algae growth.
-Intake location: An intake in a biologically productive area creates a greater risk of exposing marine life to the intake system. Select a location where minimal biological activities are present.
-System hydraulics: An intake at a semi-stagnant area is an invitation to a risky and potentially harmful operation to marine life. Consider placing your intake at a location with relatively strong ambient currents. This will push jellyfish away.
-Avoid active intake screening systems that collect and return species to the coastal waters. Passive intake screening systems seem to work better.