Process for the distillation of fresh water from sea water

Process for the distillation of fresh water from sea water by film evaporation in a multiple stage vertical tube evaporator (VTE) process where the stages are arranged vertically one below the other with the uppermost stage forming the first VTE process stage and the lowermost stage forming the last VTE process stage with each stage containing a vertical tube evaporator and with the sea water being passed generally vertically downwardly through each VTE stage which has an upper inlet and a lower outlet spaced apart in the vertical direction and each of the stages extending two dimensionally transversely of the vertical direction, comprising the steps of passing sea water unwardly through a multi-stage preheater laterally coextensive with the multiple stage vertical tube evaoorator from a lowermost stage to an uppermost stage, passing the sea water from the uppermost stage of the preheater into and downwardly through the first VTE process stage from the inlet to the outlet and heating the sea water for forming a liquid component and a steam component of the sea water, collecting the liquid component and the steam component from the outlet of the first VTE stage and distributing the liquid component of the sea water transversely across the inlet of the next lower VTE stage for flow downwardly therethrough and conveving the steam component from the first VTE stage into at least one stage of a multiple stage flash (MSF) evaporator located laterally alongside the first VTE stage where the stages of the multiple stage flash (MSF) evaporator are arranged one below the other laterally alongside the vertical tube evaporator and including an uppermost stage and a lowermost stage and condensing the steam component and forming fresh water, collecting fresh water condensed from the steam component conveyed into the at least one MSF stage, passing the condensed fresh water downwardly to the next lower MSF stage and flashing at least some of the condensed fresh water in the next lower MSF stage, circulating the steam component from the next lower MSF stage through the next lower VTE stage, continuing the downward flow of the liquid and steam components, in turn, through the remaining VTE and MSF stages, removing the concentrated liquid component of the sea water from the final VTE stage and removing the condensed fresh water from the final MSF stage, providing a preheating stage in communication with each said MSF stage and circulating the steam component from the MSF stage into the communicating preheating stage for preheating the sea water flowing upwardly therethrough, collecting inert gases separating from the steam in each component combined stage of the VTE and MSF stages and each stage of the preheating stages, and removing the collected inert gases by suction from each combined stage of the VTE and MSF stages and from each of the preheating stages.