The article is devoted to solving a practical problem: the choice of equipment for pre-treatment of salt water that feeds the desalination plant. The preliminary stage of desalination is the purification of water from sand particles, which can significantly reduce productivity and even damage the desalination plant, which is situated at the next stage. For pre-treatment, settling tanks, hydrocyclones, sand filters, etc. are used. The main dimensions of hydrocyclones of standard designs are

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... lated based on well-known recommendations. Modern computer simulation systems allow you to create three-dimensional models of the apparatus being studied, and then calculate the velocity and pressure fields in them. It was necessary to estimate the amount of sand contained in the feed water. To solve this problem, an experimental hydrocyclone was developed and manufactured. The hydrocyclone was numerically simulated and the sand capture coefficient was estimated under various operating conditions. It has been established that an experimental hydrocyclone reliably captures grains of sand 50 microns in size and above. The average daily mass of trapped sand was experimentally determined. Numerical modeling made it possible with reasonable accuracy to estimate the sand capture coefficient by an experimental hydrocyclone. During the tests, the mass of sand entering the pipeline per day was determined. The hydrocyclone reliably captures sand particles of 50 microns or more. At the same time, a significant part of particles less than 50 microns is not captured by the hydrocyclone, which is why a sand filter was chosen for industrial use. In the future, it is advisable to use a serial connection of a hydrocyclone and a sand filter, but such a solution requires additional technical and economic calculation. It is concluded that in the case under consideration, it is advisable to use a sand filter for preliminary water treatment