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US 4,002,538 AGranted
Distillation apparatus and method
OwnerJohn E. Pottharst, Jr.inventor
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OwnerJohn E. Pottharst, Jr.inventor
Estimating the term…
A vapor compression type distillation apparatus and method is provided for distilling brackish water or seawater wherein increased efficiency can be achieved by virtue of an arrangement and operation which maximizes the average effective temperature differential between steam being condensed and the water being vaporized. Thus a vertical shell and tube vaporizer is provided which includes an array of tubes which array has a width substantially greater than its depth. The liquid discharged from the upper ends of the tubes is caused to flow downwardly in a downtake passage into a body of water at the lower end of the vaporizer along substantially the entire width of the array. Feed water is fed into the body of water at the lower end of the vaporizer at one end of the array and blowdown is taken from such body at the other end of the array.
A method of distilling brackish water or seawater using a vertical shell and tube vaporizer including an array of tube having a width substantially greater than its depth comprising the steps of establishing a body of water at the lower end of the vaporizer along substantially the entire width of said array and with a level such as to extend into the lower end of said tubes to be heated therein in such a manner that the discharge from the upper ends of the tubes is a frothy mixture of vapor and liquid, compressing such vapor and then passing it in heat exchange relation with the water being vaporized in said tubes, flowing the liquid discharged from the upper ends of said tubes laterally to one side of the array of tubes and then downwardly into said body of water along a major portion of its width;
A method of distilling brackish water or seawater using a vertical shell and tube vaporizer including an array of tubes having a width substantially greater than its depth comprising the steps of establishing a body of water at the lower end of the vaporizer along substantially the entire width of said array and with a level such as to extend into the lower end of said tubes to be heated therein in such a manner that the discharge from the upper ends of the tubes is a frothy mixture of vapor and liquid, compressing such vapor and then passing it in heat exchange relation to the water being vaporized in said tubes, flowing the liquid discharged from the upper ends of said tubes laterally to one side of the vaporizer and then downwardly through a flow zone and discharging it into said body of water along a major portion of the latter's width;
A vapor compression distillation apparatus for distilling brackish water or seawater comprising, in combination, a vertical shell and tube vaporizer including upper and lower tube sheets with an array of tubes therebetween, said array having a width substantially greater than its depth, the vaporizer having upper and lower closure members forming upper and lower chambers respectively in fluid communication with the upper and lower ends of said tubes;
In a vapor compression distillation apparatus for distilling brackish water or seawater having a vertical shell and tube vaporizer with an array of tubes and means for compressing the vaporized steam and passing it in heat exchange relation with the water being vaporized in the tubes, the improvement comprising said array having a substantially greater width than depth, a downtake passage having an inlet and an outlet extending along substantially the width of the array for receiving liquid emerging from the upper ends of the tubes for recirculation therethrough in a manner such that the liquid emerging from one group of tubes tends to flow downwardly for upward flow through a succeeding group of tubes;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.