Separation and heat transfer systems

A heat transfer system comprising:

• a heat transfer loop comprising one or more conduits to circulate a heat transfer fluid, the heat transfer fluid comprising water and a chemical, a reagent, or a combination thereof, wherein water and the chemical, the reagent, or the combination thereof form a liquid-liquid phase transition composition that undergoes a liquid-liquid phase transition within an operating temperature range of the heat transfer loop between (i) a fluid comprising at least a portion of a single liquid phase and (ii) a fluid comprising at least a portion of a multi-liquid phase mixture comprising two or more liquid phases;
• at least one heat exchanger configured to transfer heat to or from the heat transfer fluid;
• and
• a fluid treatment subsystem fluidly connected to the heat transfer loop and configured to adjust a concentration or composition of the heat transfer fluid by adding, removing, separating, exchanging, concentrating, or reducing a concentration of at least one of water, a solvent, a solute, the chemical, the reagent, or combinations thereof, and thereby achieve, maintain, or adjust a thermal, physical, or thermo-physical property of the heat transfer fluid,
• wherein the fluid treatment subsystem comprises a separation device to treat at least a portion of the heat transfer fluid to remove, separate, exchange, concentrate, or reduce a concentration of at least one component of the heat transfer fluid, and wherein the separation device comprises at least one of a reverse osmosis unit, a nanofiltration unit, an ultrafiltration unit, a microfiltration unit, an electrodialysis unit, an ion exchange unit, or any combination thereof.

A cooling system for cooling one or more electronic devices or a system comprising one or more electronic devices, the cooling system comprising:

• a heat acquisition heat exchanger configured to be thermally coupled to, and to receive heat from, the one or more electronic devices or the system comprising one or more electronic devices;
• a heat sink heat exchanger configured to transfer heat from a heat transfer fluid to a heat sink;
• a heat transfer loop comprising one or more conduits configured to circulate the heat transfer fluid between the heat acquisition heat exchanger and the heat sink heat exchanger, the heat transfer fluid comprising water and a chemical, a reagent, or a combination thereof, wherein water and the chemical, the reagent, or the combination thereof form a liquid-liquid phase transition composition that undergoes a liquid-liquid phase transition within an operating temperature range of the heat transfer loop between (i) a fluid comprising at least a portion of a single liquid phase and (ii) a fluid comprising at least a portion of a multi-liquid phase mixture comprising two or more liquid phases;
• and
• a fluid treatment subsystem fluidly connected to the heat transfer loop and configured to adjust a concentration or a composition of the heat transfer fluid by adding, removing, separating, exchanging, concentrating, or reducing a concentration of at least a portion of water, the chemical, the reagent, a solute, or combinations thereof, to achieve, maintain, or adjust a thermal, physical, or thermo-physical property of the heat transfer fluid,
• wherein the fluid treatment subsystem comprises a separation device configured to treat at least a portion of the heat transfer fluid to remove, separate, exchange, concentrate, or reduce a concentration of at least one component of the heat transfer fluid, and wherein the separation device comprises at least one of a reverse osmosis unit, a nanofiltration unit, an ultrafiltration unit, a microfiltration unit, an electrodialysis unit, an ion exchange unit, or any combination thereof.

A cooling system for cooling one or more electronic devices or a system comprising one or more electronic devices, the cooling system comprising:

• a heat acquisition heat exchanger configured to be thermally coupled to, and to receive heat from, the one or more electronic devices or the system comprising one or more electronic devices;
• a heat sink heat exchanger to transfer heat from a heat transfer fluid to a heat sink;
• a heat transfer loop comprising the heat transfer fluid wherein the heat transfer loop is operably coupled to the heat acquisition heat exchanger and the heat sink heat exchanger to circulate the heat transfer fluid between the heat acquisition heat exchanger and the heat sink heat exchanger to remove heat from the one or more electronic devices or the system comprising one or more electronic devices, the heat transfer fluid comprising water and a chemical, a reagent, or a combination thereof, wherein water and the chemical, the reagent, or the combination thereof form a liquid-liquid phase transition composition that undergoes a liquid-liquid phase transition within an operating temperature range of the heat transfer loop;
• a fluid treatment subsystem fluidly connected to the heat transfer loop, the fluid treatment subsystem comprising a separation device comprising at least one of a reverse osmosis unit, a nanofiltration unit, an ultrafiltration unit, a microfiltration unit, an electrodialysis unit, an ion exchange unit, or any combination thereof, wherein the separation device treats at least a portion of the heat transfer fluid to remove or reduce a concentration of an ionic compound, a salt, a contaminant, a spent reagent, or a material associated with corrosion, fouling, biofouling, scaling, degradation, or oxidation from the heat transfer fluid, while water and at least a portion of a chemical, a reagent, or a combination thereof remain in the heat transfer loop;
• at least one sensor or indicator to measure or indicate a property of the heat transfer fluid;
• and
• an electronic control system operatively coupled to the at least one sensor or indicator and to the fluid treatment subsystem and configured to operate the fluid treatment subsystem based at least in part on the property measured or indicated by the at least one sensor or indicator to achieve, maintain, or adjust a thermal, physical, or thermo-physical property of the heat transfer fluid.