Freeze concentration for urine-based fertilizer production

Abstract

A system for generating a concentrated product from a feedstock includes a feedstock chamber to which the feedstock is provided, a heat exchanger assembly in thermal communication with the feedstock chamber, the heat exchanger assembly being configured to freeze the feedstock in the feedstock chamber, an output flow arrangement configured to carry liquid from the feedstock chamber as the feedstock thaws, the output flow arrangement comprising a flow controller, a sensor disposed along the output flow arrangement or the heat exchanger assembly, the sensor being configured to measure a characteristic of the liquid, the characteristic being indicative of a solute concentration level of the liquid or the heat exchanger assembly, and a processor responsive to the characteristic and configured to control the flow controller to, based on the solute concentration level, direct the liquid passing through the output flow arrangement to define a plurality of products at different concentration levels, the plurality of products comprising the concentrated product.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.