Electrochlorination system: a unique method of prevention of biofouling in seawater desalination

Desalination plants require huge volumes of seawater for the generation of fresh water. Seawater contains large amounts of microbiological fluids which, when passed through the piping system, form biofouling in the inner surface of the pipeline, which results in the reduction of the flow rate of water without proper chemical treatment. Chlorine is the most commonly used disinfectant for water treatment applications for the prevention of biofouling. The chlorine is available in many conventional forms, but due to various limitations of the conventional methods, the electrochlorinators that work on the principle of electrolysis are preferred across the globe for seawater inlet system treatment. The electrochlorinator is a simple machine, which produces onsite sodium hypochlorite solution by using only seawater as the raw material. The hypochlorite generated by this unique technology is very safe, environmentally friendly and economical. The equipment is user friendly and operates automatically depending on the need. The process involved in the generation of sodium hypochlorite is a simple electrolysis of seawater. The seawater is made to pass through the electrolysers, which are fitted with dimensionally stable electrodes. When DC power is passed through the electrolysers, the exothermic chemical reaction takes place and sodium chloride in the seawater gets converted into sodium hypochlorite solution (NaOCl).