Purifying water by superheated steam
AssigneeAqua Health International Ltd.
InventorsRobert L. Annecharico, Norman C. Campbell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A water purifier which purifies water by superheated steam. The water purifier includes a raw water reservoir for contaminated water; a heater at least partially disposed within the raw water reservoir and including a heat source, an inlet for steam and an outlet for superheated steam; an inlet conduit in fluid communication with the inlet of the heater for transporting steam produced by boiling said raw water; and a condenser in fluid communication with the outlet of the heater. The heater both boils the raw water to produce a substantially saturated steam and superheats the substantially saturated steam. The water purifier can further include a purified water reservoir in fluid communication with the condenser.
Claims39
A water purifier, comprising:
- a raw water reservoir;
- a heater at least partially disposed within the raw water reservoir and including a heat source, an inlet for steam and an outlet for superheated steam;
- an inlet conduit in fluid communication with the inlet of the heater for transporting steam produced by boiling said raw water;
- and a condenser in fluid communication with the outlet of the heater, wherein the heater both boils the raw water to produce a substantially saturated steam and superheats the substantially saturated steam, and wherein the heater comprises a water-tight interior space in fluid communication with the inlet and the outlet, and wherein the heat source is at least partially disposed within the interior space.
An apparatus for purifying water, comprising:
- (a) reservoir means for holding raw water;
- (b) heater means at least partially disposed within the raw water for boiling the raw water within the reservoir to produce steam in a substantially saturated state and for heating the steam produced therein for a time and at a temperature sufficient to superheat the steam;
- (c) first fluid communication means for transporting the substantially saturated steam from the reservoir to the interior of the heater;
- (d) second fluid communication means transporting at least a portion of the superheated steam to a condenser;
- and
- (e) condenser means for condensing at least a portion of the transported steam, to produce a purified water, wherein the heater means comprises a water-tight interior space in fluid communication with the first fluid communication means and the second fluid communication means, and a heat source which is at least partially disposed within the interior space.
A method for purifying water, comprising:
- (a) providing a reservoir of raw water;
- (b) boiling the raw water within the reservoir with a heater at least partially disposed within the water to produce steam in a substantially saturated state;
- (c) transporting the steam to a water-tight interior space of the heater;
- (d) heating the steam within at least a portion of the heater for a time and temperature sufficient to superheat the steam;
- (e) transporting at least a portion of the superheated steam to a condenser;
- and
- (f) condensing at least a portion of the transported steam, to produce a purified water, wherein the water-tight interior space is in fluid communication with an inlet which transports the steam to the interior space of the heater and an outlet which transports the superheated steam away from the interior space, and wherein a heat source is at least partially disposed within the interior space.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.