Hydraulic desalination device and method
OwnerMarvin W. PIERREinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hydraulic desalination system, device and method includes lowering the pressure of liquid saltwater to the vaporization point by generating flow through piping and accompanying infrastructure that may include valves that impart friction and control flow, capturing the vapor, condensing the vapor using higher pressure supplied by the ambient surroundings producing freshwater, recovering the heat released during condensation by maintaining ambient temperatures greater than vapor temperatures, and then using the recovered heat to enhance and perpetuate vaporization in a cyclical manner. A novel spring-loaded pump for pumping fluids may facilitate the process.
Claims24
A method for desalination of water, the method comprising the steps of:
- vaporizing liquid saltwater by lowering the pressure of liquid saltwater to a vaporization point by generating saltwater flow through piping and accompanying infrastructure to produce vapor;
- capturing the vapor;
- condensing the vapor to produce freshwater using higher pressure supplied by ambient surroundings;
- recovering heat released during the condensation step by maintaining ambient temperatures greater than vapor temperatures;
- and
- using the recovered heat to enhance and continue vaporization of the saltwater in a cyclical manner.
A system for desalination of saltwater, comprising:
- a containment vessel configured to substantially enclose an upstream containment section and a downstream containment section;
- a pump system for pumping both saltwater from a saltwater source into the upstream containment section and for pumping condensed freshwater from the downstream containment section, wherein the pump system comprises a plurality of spring-loaded pumps configured to pump the saltwater and the freshwater simultaneously;
- at least one friction valve that controls friction imparted to a flow of saltwater on the suction side of a plurality of spring-loaded pumps to lower pressure of the saltwater to the vaporization point causing vaporization of the saltwater within the containment vessel to produce water vapor;
- and
- an air source configured to inject air into the containment vessel to force condensation of the water vapor into the downstream containment section thereby desalinating the saltwater producing freshwater.
A pump for pumping a fluid, comprising:
- a housing of a predetermined circumference for containing at least one fluid, wherein the housing is configured with an expandable section;
- a spring of about the same predetermined circumference and configured to expand the expandable section;
- and
- a compression mechanism operable to compress the expandable section to force the at least one fluid from the pump,
- wherein the housing is configured to house two separate compartments, each separate compartment configured to receive the at least one fluid from a separate inlet and each separate compartment configured to expel the at least one fluid through a separate outlet, wherein the spring expands the expandable section to fill each separate compartment with the at least one fluid from a respective inlet, and the compression mechanism compresses the expandable section to force the at least one fluid from each compartment through a respective separate outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.