System and method for water treatment

A system for treating waste water comprising:

• a pump receiving waste water at a first pressure and a first temperature and pressurizing the received waste water to a second pressure greater than the first pressure, the waste water comprising dissolved solids and volatile organic compounds;
• a preheater operatively connected to the pump and receiving the pressurized waste water from the pump and preheating the pressurized waste water to a second temperature greater than the first temperature to produce a pressurized/preheated waste water and a distilled water without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces;
• a condenser operatively connected to the preheater and receiving the pressurized/preheated waste water and further heating the pressurized/preheated waste water to a third temperature greater than second temperature to produce a pressurized/heated waste water without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces;
• a heater operatively connected to the condenser and receiving the pressurized/heated waste water and still further heating the pressurized/heated waste water to a fourth temperature greater than the third temperature to produce a pressurized/further heated waste water without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces;
• an evaporator, operated at a third pressure less than the second pressure and at saturation temperature of a steam at the third pressure, operatively connected to the heater and removing dissolved solids from the pressurized/further heated waste water by evaporation caused by depressurization of the waste water to produce a saturated steam and a brine water, wherein the brine water has a total dissolved solids content greater than a total dissolved solids content of the received waste water;
• and
• a crystallizer crystallizing the brine water to produce a solid mass of waste product and a high pressure steam, wherein the crystallizer includes a plasma torch to crystallize the brine water,
• wherein a portion of the saturated steam from the evaporator is superheated to a fifth temperature greater than the fourth temperature and is used as a heat source by at least one of the heater, condenser and preheater without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces.

A method of treating waste water comprising the steps of:

• (a) receiving waste water at a first pressure and a first temperature, the waste water comprising dissolved solids and volatile organic compounds;
• (b) pressurizing, by a pump, the received waste water to a second pressure greater than the first pressure;
• (c) preheating the pressurized waste water from the pump to a second temperature greater than the first temperature to produce a pressurized/preheated waste water by using a first preheater;
• (d) still further preheating the pressurized/preheated waste water to a third temperature greater than the second temperature to produce a pressurized/further preheated waste water by using a second preheater;
• (e) producing distilled water in each of the first and second preheaters without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces;
• (f) heating the pressurized/further preheated waste water to a fourth temperature greater than third temperature, wherein the heating step is performed by a condenser receiving the pressurized/preheated waste water to produce a pressurized/heated waste water without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces;
• (g) further heating the pressurized/heated waste water to a fifth temperature greater than the fourth temperature, wherein the further heating step is performed by a heater receiving the pressurized/heated waste water to produce pressurized/further heated waste water without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces;
• (h) evaporating the pressurized/further heated waste water to remove dissolved solids by an evaporator, operated at a third pressure less than the second pressure and at saturation temperature of a steam at the third pressure, to result in evaporation caused by depressurization of the waste water to produce a saturated steam and a brine water, wherein the brine water has a total dissolved solids content greater than a total dissolved solids content of the received waste water;
• and
• (i) crystallizing, using a crystallizer, the brine water to produce a solid mass of waste product and a high pressure steam, wherein the crystallizer uses a plasma torch to crystallizer the brine water,
• wherein a portion of the saturated steam from the evaporator is superheated to a sixth temperature greater than the fifth temperature and is used as a heat source by at least one of the heater, condenser and second preheater without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces, and
• wherein another portion of the saturated steam from the evaporator is superheated to a seventh temperature greater than the second temperature but lower than the third temperature and is used as a heat source by the first preheater without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces.

A method of treating waste water comprising the steps of:

• (a) receiving waste water at a first pressure and a first temperature, the waste water comprising dissolved solids and volatile organic compounds;
• (b) pressurizing, by a pump, the received waste water to a second pressure great than the first pressure;
• (c) preheating the pressurized waste water from the pump to a second temperature greater than the first temperature to produce a pressurized/preheated waste water by using a preheater;
• (d) producing distilled water in the preheater without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces;
• (e) heating the pressurized/preheated waste water to a third temperature greater than second temperature, wherein the heating step is performed by a condenser receiving the pressurized/preheated waste water to produce a pressurized/heated waste water without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces;
• (f) further heating the pressurized/further heated waste water to a fourth temperature greater than the third temperature, wherein the further heating step is performed by a heater receiving the pressurized/heated waste water to produce a pressurized/further heated waste water without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces;
• (g) evaporating the pressurized/further heated waste water to remove dissolved solids by an evaporator, operated at a third pressure less than the second pressure and at saturation temperature of a steam at the third pressure, to result in evaporation caused by depressurization of the waste water to produce a saturated steam and a brine water, wherein the brine water has a total dissolved solids content greater than a total dissolved solids content of the received waste water;
• and
• (h) crystallizing, using a crystallizer, the brine water to produce a solid mass of waste product and a high pressure steam, wherein the crystallizer uses a plasma torch to crystallize the brine water,
• wherein a portion of the saturated steam from the evaporator is superheated to a fifth temperature greater than the fourth temperature and is used as a heat source in at least one of the steps (f) by the heater, in step (e) by the condenser and step (c) by the preheater without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces, and
• wherein another portion of the saturated steam from the evaporator is superheated to a sixth temperature greater than the second temperature but lower than the third temperature and is used as a heat source in step (c) by the preheater without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces.