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US 10,308,537 B2Granted
Desalination systems and associated methods
AssigneeGradiant Corporation
InventorsPrakash Narayan Govindan, Steven Lam, Maximus G. St. John, Mark Zaloudek, Anurag Bajpayee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods related to the desalination of aqueous solutions containing one or more dissolved salts are generally described.
Claims23
A method for desalinating water, comprising:
- removing, within an ion-removal apparatus, at least a portion of at least one scale-forming ion from an aqueous feed stream, the aqueous feed stream comprising the at least one scale-forming ion and at least one dissolved monovalent salt comprising a monovalent cation and a monovalent anion to produce an ion-diminished stream containing less of the scale-forming ion relative to the aqueous feed stream;
- removing, within a desalination apparatus, water from the ion-diminished stream to produce a concentrated saline stream enriched in the dissolved monovalent salt relative to the ion-diminished stream, wherein the removing comprises contacting a gaseous stream with the ion-diminished stream within a humidifier to evaporate water from the ion-diminished stream into the gaseous stream;
- and
- precipitating, within a precipitation apparatus, at least a portion of the dissolved monovalent salt from the concentrated saline stream to produce a product stream containing less of the dissolved monovalent salt relative to the concentrated saline stream;
- and
- recycling at least a portion of the product stream to the desalination apparatus;
- wherein:
- the precipitating comprises forming crystals comprising at least a portion of the dissolved monovalent salt, and/or
- the precipitating comprises adjusting the temperature of the concentrated saline stream.
6 more elements
A method for desalinating water, comprising:
- removing, within a desalination apparatus, water from an aqueous feed stream, the aqueous feed stream comprising at least one dissolved monovalent salt comprising a monovalent cation and a monovalent anion to produce a concentrated saline stream enriched in the dissolved monovalent salt relative to the aqueous feed stream;
- precipitating, within a precipitation apparatus, at least a portion of the dissolved monovalent salt from the concentrated saline stream to produce a product stream containing less of the dissolved monovalent salt relative to the concentrated saline stream;
- and
- recycling at least a portion of the product stream to the desalination apparatus;
- wherein substantially no precipitation of the dissolved monovalent salt occurs within the desalination apparatus;
- and
- wherein:
- the precipitating comprises forming crystals comprising at least a portion of the dissolved monovalent salt, and/or
- the precipitating comprises adjusting the temperature of the concentrated saline stream.
6 more elements
A water desalination system, comprising:
- an ion-removal apparatus configured to receive an aqueous feed stream, the aqueous feed stream comprising at least one scale-forming ion and at least one dissolved monovalent salt, and to remove at least a portion of the at least one scale-forming ion to produce an ion-diminished stream containing less of the scale-forming ion relative to the feed stream;
- a desalination apparatus fluidically connected to the ion-removal apparatus and configured to remove water from the ion-diminished stream to produce a concentrated saline stream enriched in the dissolved monovalent salt relative to the ion-diminished stream;
- a precipitation apparatus fluidically connected to the desalination apparatus and configured to precipitate at least a portion of the dissolved monovalent salt from the concentrated saline stream to produce a product stream containing less of the dissolved monovalent salt relative to the concentrated saline stream, wherein the precipitation apparatus comprises a crystallizer;
- and
- a recycle stream directly fluidically connecting the precipitation apparatus to the desalination apparatus and configured to recycle at least a portion of the product stream from the precipitation apparatus to the desalination apparatus.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.