This paper presents the results and methodologies used in the development of a unique
cost model based on existing and/or planned membrane desalination plants. Data has
been collected from existing and planned treatment plants and standardized to prepare
curves for capital and operating costs. These curves can be used to provide order of
magnitude cost estimates for Integrated Membrane Desalination Plants. It is expected to
be an extremely useful tool for planners and engineers for evaluating costs for different
treatment scenarios. Three water sources have been considered for this project including
reclaimed water, surface water and groundwater.
The use of real world costs for this model provides a connection to reality with regard to
costs. Competitive bidding in recent years has caused the market prices to be
disconnected from theoretical prices in recent years. Models for similar applications use
standard curves for the other treatment processes, established 30 years ago but for
membrane plants they are largely driven by user input and guestimates. The curves
presented in this paper incorporate special membrane cost indices for low pressure and high-pressure
membranes to standardize membrane costs from different sources to provide specific
costs based on market data and not driven by user input. In addition, data gathered
provides useful information with regard to the trend in historical market costs and
improvement in productivity for membranes. This project was conducted as part of a
research program initiated by the Desalination Research and Innovation Partnership, an
organization of water purveyors in the Southern California region.
The capital cost curves are based on widely used indices like the ENR - Construction
Cost Index, ENR - Skilled Labor Wage Index, Marshall and Swift Equipment Cost Index,
Chemical Engineering Plant Indices and on specially developed membrane indices which
could be used to update the cost curves so that they remain current in the future.
Operational costs present a challenge for cost models because of volatile cost components
like power costs and sometimes, chemical costs. As part of standardization of
operational cost data obtained from existing and planned treatment plants, a sliding scale
of costs based on user input was found appropriate. This "sliding scale" is based on user
inputs for chemical costs and power costs and will generate new curves every time these
inputs are changed to provide "realtime" operational costs for the specific project.
Another feature of the model is that it uses a separate curve for power costs as power is
the most volatile component of the total cost and does not scale up similar to the other
operational cost components. Includes tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 210 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 16 |
| Published : | 06/17/2004 |
