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US 6,656,361 B1Granted
Membrane assisted evaporation process and device for brine concentration
AssigneeOsmotek, Inc.
InventorsJack Herron, Robert Salter
Life of this patent
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Abstract
There is disclosed amembrane assisted evaporation process (MAE) for economically and reliably removing water added to brine. The process comprises using low-grade waste heat and air to evaporate water from diluted salt brines when the water moves across a membrane in a liquid state.
Claims14
A process for concentrating diluted feed or brine or other aqueous solution for concentration comprising:
- (a) providing a hydrophilic membrane having a rejection property of 500 kDa cutoff or lower having a first side designed to be in contact with diluted feed, and having a second side designed to be in contact with air, wherein the hydrophilic membrane is not able to reject salt;
- (b) pumping the diluted feed at a temperature of from about 10° C. to about 100° C. across the first side of the hydrophilic membrane while blowing an air stream or other gas across the second side of the hydrophilic membrane;
- and
- (c) removing water from the diluted feed by evaporating the water into the air stream blown across the second side of the hydrophilic membrane.
1 more element
A device for osmotic membrane evaporation of brine or other aqueous concentration (feed), comprising:
- (a) a hydrophilic membrane having a first side and a second side, having a rejection property of 500 kDa cutoff or lower, wherein the hydrophilic membrane is not able to reject salt;
- (b) an enclosed feed flow chamber having an inlet and an outlet and defined by communication with the first side of a hydrophilic membrane;
- (c) an enclosed air flow chamber having an air flow blowing means adjacent to an inlet and an outlet and defined by the second side of the hydrophilic membrane;
- and
- (d) a heating means for the feed located adjacent to the inflow of the brine flow chamber.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.