Vapor compression distillation system

A vapor compression distillation system comprising, a plate-in-frame heat exchanger including a plurality of vertically extending plate members, a plurality of alternating boiling and condensing chambers on opposite sides of said plate members, means for conveying incoming feed material into said boiling chambers, a vacuum pump for providing the system with a vacuum for matching the temperature of the boiling chambers with the temperature of the incoming feed material, the inlet of said vacuum pump communicating with non-condensable gases from the incoming feed material and non-condensable gases from a condensate, a vapor outlet port communicating with said boiling chambers, a compressor having an inlet communicating with said boiling chambers, said compressor having an outlet communicating with a vapor inlet port for said condensing chambers, means for flowing an evaporated portion of the feed material in the boiling chambers through the vapor outlet port into the compressor to form superheated steam, means for feeding said superheated steam from the outlet of said compressor to an inlet of said condensing chambers, a condensate outlet port communicating with said condensing chamber, a quench nozzle positioned in proximity to and being in communication with the vapor inlet port of the condensing chambers, and means for directing a portion of condensate through the quench nozzle into the vapor inlet port for desuperheating the superheated system to reduce the steam temperature to saturated steam temperature as it enters the condensing chambers, such that the condensing chambers are maintained at a higher temperature than the boiling chambers, heat released by the steam as it condenses in the condensing chambers on one side of the plate members being transmitted through the plate members to the opposite side thereof into the boiling chambers to evaporate the incoming feed material, thereby providing a high heat transfer coefficient between the steam and plate members.