Back to results
US 2016/0101994 A1Published application
Depth exposed membrane for water extraction
AssigneeEcoDesal, LLC
InventorDiem Xuan Vuong
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for the desalination of seawater and the purification of surface and groundwater are provided. The systems utilize the hydrostatic pressure of a natural or induced water column to filter water through a reverse osmosis, nanofiltration or other membrane, whereby a certain desired water quality or potable water is obtained.
Claims21
A water treatment system, comprising:
- a membrane module configured to be submerged in a shaft, the shaft being in fluid communication with a body of water at a submerged depth, the membrane module comprising at least one membrane cartridge, the membrane cartridge comprising at least one membrane element, the membrane element having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the membrane element is exposed to the water to be filtered at a pressure characteristic of the submerged depth;
- a collector passageway configured to be submerged in the shaft, wherein at least a portion of the collector passageway is in fluid communication with the second side of the membrane element where filtered water is collected;
- and
- a permeate passageway extending to a surface above the shaft, wherein a pressure differential between the pressure characteristic of the submerged depth in the shaft and the pressure characteristic of atmospheric pressure at the surface or at an elevation higher than the surface causes permeate to flow from the first side of the membrane element to the second side of the membrane element.
1 more element
A water treatment system, comprising:
- a shaft configured to be submerged to a depth and flooded with water to be treated, the water having a first pressure at the submerged depth;
- an inflow tube disposed within the shaft;
- at least one membrane disposed with the inflow tube, the membrane having a concentrate side and a permeate side;
- a plurality of guides aligned with a vertical length of the shaft;
- a collector in fluid communication with the permeate side of the membrane;
- and
- a passageway configured to expose an interior of the collector to a second pressure which is lower than the first pressure, wherein exposing the concentrate side of the membrane to the first pressure drives a filtration process in which permeate moves across the membrane from the concentrate side to the permeate side.
4 more elements
A method for treating water, the method comprising:
- submerging a membrane module in a shaft from a surface to a body of water, the shaft being in fluid communication with the body of water to a submerged depth, the membrane module comprising at least one membrane unit, the membrane unit having a first side and a second side, wherein at least a portion of the second side is in fluid communication with a collector channel, and wherein the first side is exposed to the source water at a first pressure, wherein the first pressure is characteristic of the submerged depth;
- exposing the collector channel to a second pressure, wherein the second pressure is sufficient to induce permeate to cross from the first side to the second side;
- and
- collecting permeate in the collector system.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.