Desalination system and process using atmospheric pressure as renewable energy

A system for desalination of saltwater, comprising:

• a containment vessel configured to substantially enclose an upstream containment section and a downstream containment section, the upstream containment section configured to contain saltwater, the downstream section configured to contain freshwater, wherein the containment vessel is configured to permit a phase change to occur above both the upstream containment section and the downstream containment section via a gas canopy comprising a mixture of water vapor and air;
• a heat exchanger that separates the upstream containment section from the downstream containment section and configured to pass heat from the downstream side to the upstream side to promote continual vaporization of the saltwater;
• and
• a pump system to pump both saltwater from a saltwater source into the upstream containment section and to pump condensed freshwater from the downstream containment section, wherein friction in piping and fittings on a suction side of the pump system assists in lowering pressure in the containment vessel;
• wherein water is introducible into the downstream containment section or into a suction line connected to the downstream containment section by using atmospheric pressure to assist in forcing vapor compression and condensation within the containment vessel to produce freshwater in the downstream containment section.

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.