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US 12,344,538 B2Granted
High salinity water purification processes and systems utilizing pervaporization
OwnerRavindra Revanur, Stephen M. Mosherinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A high salinity water purification system and process, including a forward osmosis system and a reverse osmosis or nanofiltration system. A solids membrane separation system removes solids from the influent water being processed. A pervaporation (PV) system eliminates liquid impurities from the influent water being processed.
Claims20
A high salinity water purification process for processing high salinity influent fluid containing liquid impurities to obtain purified water, comprising:
- passing a stream of the influent fluid in an input along a first side of a forward osmosis (FO) membrane and delivering an output stream from an output port, the influent fluid having moderate levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) in the range of 30,000 to 150,000 ppm;
- passing a stream of a concentrated salt brine draw from an input along a second side of the forward osmosis membrane, the concentrated brine having high levels of TDS in the range of 250,000 to 500,000 ppm;
- the concentrated brine drawing pure water through the FO membrane from the influent fluid, concentrating the level of TDS in the output stream and diluting the concentrated brine draw to produce a diluted brine draw;
- introducing a pervaporation (PV) solvent into the diluted brine draw to form a diluted brine draw containing the PV solvent;
- passing the diluted brine draw containing the PV solvent into a solids membrane separation system to remove any solids from the diluted brine draw containing PV solvent, and to provide a solids-free diluted brine draw with PV solvent output free of solids;
- passing the solids-free diluted brine draw with PV solvent to an input PV chamber of a PV membrane system comprising the input PV chamber and a PV membrane separating the input chamber from another PV chamber;
- applying a vacuum to the another PV chamber, drawing the PV solvent and liquid impurities through the PV membrane into the another PV chamber as a PV vapor, leaving the solids-free diluted brine draw in the input PV chamber;
- pumping the diluted brine draw with no PV solvent into a high salinity reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration system to obtain purified water on the output of the RO or nanofiltration membrane and an RO stream of concentrated brine draw which did not pass through the membrane.
5 more elements
A system for purifying high salinity influent fluids, comprising:
- a forward osmosis (FO) system comprising an FO membrane, an influent side input port and an influent side output port arranged on in influent side of the FO membrane, and a FO output side input port and a FO output side output port arranged on an output side of the FO membrane;
- a reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration system;
- the FO system configured to receive the influent fluid at the influent side input port and to pass concentrated fluid out the influent side output port;
- the RO or nanofiltration system configured to receive input fluid at an input port and to pass concentrated fluid which did not pass through a membrane of the RO or nanofiltration system at an output port, and purified fluid which has passed through the membrane;
- a recirculating brine flow path;
- a concentrated brine draw pumped into the FO output side input port, the concentrated brine draw having a high level of total dissolved solids (TDS) than the TDS level in the influent fluid;
- a pump for pumping the concentrated brine draw through the FO system from the FO output side input port to the FO output side output port;
- the recirculating brine flow path passing from the FO output side output port to an input to the RO or nanofiltration system;
- a pervaporation (PV) solvent introduced into the diluted brine draw from the FO system to form a diluted brine draw containing the PV solvent;
- a solids membrane separation system configured to remove any solids from the diluted brine draw containing PV solvent, and to provide a solids-free diluted brine draw with PV solvent output and a concentrated brine slurry;
- a PV membrane system comprising an input PV chamber and a PV membrane separating the input chamber from another PV chamber, and configured to receive the solids-free diluted brine draw with PV solvent in the input chamber;
- a vacuum source configured to apply a vacuum to the another PV chamber to draw the PV solvent and liquid impurities through the PV membrane into the another PV chamber as a PV vapor, leaving the solids-free diluted brine draw with no PV solvent in the input PV chamber;
- a pump for pumping the diluted brine draw with no PV solvent into the RO or nanofiltration system to obtain purified water on the output of the RO or nanofiltration membrane and an RO stream of concentrated brine draw which did not pass through the membrane.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.