Heat driven concentrator with alternate condensers
AssigneeIndustrial Idea Partners, Inc.
InventorsRandall N. Avery, Charlie Booth
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Abstract
A method for concentrating contaminated sorbate in a solution which includes contaminated sorbate and clean sorbate is described wherein contaminated sorbate having a freezing point which is higher than the freezing point of the clean sorbate is cooled to a temperature below the freezing point of the contaminated sorbate and above the freezing point of the clean sorbate to concentrate the contaminated sorbate by cycling alternately from a desorption cycle to an adsorption cycle. By maintaining the solution at a temperature between the freezing point of the contaminated sorbate and the freezing point of the clean sorbate, the clean sorbate can be evaporated off.
Claims10
A method of concentrating contaminated sorbate in a solution comprising contaminated sorbate and clean sorbate wherein said contaminated sorbate has a freezing point and said clean sorbate has a freezing point and wherein the freezing point of said contaminated sorbate is higher than the freezing point of said clean sorbate, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) cooling the solution to a temperature below the freezing point of the contaminated sorbate and above the freezing point of the clean sorbate;
- (b) repeating a sorbent/sorbate working pair adsorption/desorption cycle, said adsorption/desorption cycle comprising the steps of:
- (i) evaporating sorbate vapor from the solution;
- (ii) adsorbing sorbate vapor into a sorbent which can be regenerated;
- (iii) desorbing sorbate vapor from said sorbent;
- (iv) determining whether the sorbate vapor being processed during each repetition of the adsorption/desorption cycle may contain contaminated sorbate;
- (v) directing the sorbate vapor to either:
- (A) a clean condenser for condensing if the determination for the present adsorption/desorption cycle indicates that the sorbate vapor is clean sorbate vapor;
- or
- (B) a contaminated condenser for condensing if the determination for the present adsorption/desorption cycle indicates that the sorbate vapor may contain contaminated sorbate vapor;
- (vi) removing the clean sorbate condensed in the clean condenser;
- and
- (vii) returning the contaminated sorbate condensed in the contaminated condenser to the solution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.