Discharges to the Sea from Desalination Plants

The aims of the research are to study different ways of discharging brines to the sea, to know the field of salinity produced, to investigate the threshold of salinity increment that not impair the marine habitats, to achieve criteria to decide on the most advisable device for discharging in each case and to propose design methodologies. The behaviour of different jets and discharge devices were investigated in physical models. A mathematical model for a negatively buoyant single jet was prepared. This model allowed to check the results of the physical models for the single jet and to get a first estimation of the dilutions that could be reached with the diffuser. Formulae to calculate dilution and maximum height of jets were deduced on dimensional grounds and the coefficients obtained from the experimental results. These formulae have proved to be a good tool for design of multiport diffusers and have been applied to the design of a submarine outfall for an actual desalination plant.