# US 8,771,477 B2 · Large-scale water purification and desalination > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,771,477 B2 - Document ID: US8771477B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/063,925 - Filed: 2009-09-17 - Published: 2011-09-22 - Granted: 2014-07-08 - Earliest claimed: 2008-09-17 - Assignees: Sylvan Source, Inc. - Applicants: Eugene Thiers - Inventors: Eugene Thiers - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8771477B2 ## CPC - C02F 1/04: by distillation or evaporation - B01D 1/26: Multiple-effect evaporating - B01D 1/305: {Demister (vapour-liquid separation)} - B01D 3/007: {Energy recuperation; Heat pumps} - B01D 3/06: Flash distillation - B01D 3/065: {Multiple-effect flash distillation (more than two traps)} - B01D 3/42: Regulation; Control - F28D 15/0275: {Arrangements for coupling heat-pipes together or with other structures, e.g. with base blocks; Heat pipe cores} - Y02A 20/124: Water desalination - Y02P 70/10: Greenhouse gas [GHG] capture, material saving, heat recovery or other energy efficient measures, e.g. motor control, characterised by manufacturing processes, e.g. for rolling metal or metal working - Y02W 10/37: using solar energy - C02F: TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE (separation in general B01D; special arrangements on waterborne vessels of installations for treating water, waste water or sewage, e.g. for producing fresh water, B63J; adding materials to water to prevent corrosion C23F; treating radioactively-contaminated liquids G21F9/04; regeneration of reactants for recirculation into processes, see the relevant places for the processes) - B01D: SEPARATION (separating solids from solids by wet methods B03B, B03D; by pneumatic jigs or tables B03B; by other dry methods B07; magnetic or electrostatic separation of solid materials from solid materials or fluids, separation by high-voltage electric fields B03C; centrifuges, vortex apparatus B04; presses per se for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material B30B9/02; treatment of water C02F, e.g. softening by ion-exchange C02F1/42; {arrangements of air intake cleaners in gas turbine plants F02C7/05} ; arrangements or mounting of filters in air-conditioning, air-humidification or ventilation F24F13/28) - F28D: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT (fluid heaters having heat generating means and heat transferring means F24H; furnaces F27; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general) - Y02A: TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS - Y02W: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT ## Abstract Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for water purification and desalination. The systems have a preheater, a degasser, multiple evaporation chambers with demisters, heat pipes, and a control system, wherein the control system permits continuous operation of the purification and desalination system without requiring user intervention or cleaning. The systems are capable of recovering hear from each distillation stage, while removing, from a contaminated water sample, a plurality of contaminants including: microbiological contaminants, radiological contaminants, metals, salts, and organics. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A water purification and desalination system comprising a plurality of fluid-process components, heat-transfer components, and a control system, wherein: the fluid-process components define a fluid-process pathway of fluid flow from a water inlet to outlets for products and for waste, and wherein each component along the fluid-process pathway is in fluid communication with adjacent fluid-process components, and wherein the fluid process components comprise, in order of fluid flow: a water inlet, a preheater, a degasser, an evaporation chamber, a demister, a product condenser, and said outlets; such that, in operation, the degasser removes organics, volatiles, and gasses from the water using steam from the evaporation chamber; the evaporation chamber collects water from the degasser and sends steam to the demister; the demister separates clean steam from waste steam and sends clean steam to the product condenser; the degasser and demister work in cooperation to remove from a contaminated water sample at least one contaminant selected from the group consisting of microbiological contaminants, radiological contaminants, metals, salts, and organics; the product condenser yields purified water with levels of all contaminants below the levels shown in the MCL Column of Table 1, when the contaminated water has levels of the contaminants that are up to 25 times greater than the levels shown in the MCL Column of Table 1; the heat-transfer components provide distillation energy from a source selected from the group consisting of electricity, waste heat, and combustion, of oil, hydrocarbons, or natural gas; and and wherein the heat transfer components comprise heat pipes in contact with at least the product condenser and/or the evaporation chamber, and wherein the heat transfer components define a heat-cycling and recovery pathway to permit heat from the product condenser to be cycled back to the preheater and/or to the evaporation chamber; and wherein the control system permits continuous purification and desalination of inlet water without requiring user intervention or cleaning; and wherein the fluid process removes, from a contaminated water sample, at least one contaminant selected from the group consisting of microbiological contaminants, radiological contaminants, metals, salts, and organics. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the volume of purified water produced is between 20% and 95% of a volume of input water. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the system does not require cleaning through at least two months of use. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the system does not require cleaning through at least one year of use or longer. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising an inlet switch to regulate flow of water through the inlet. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The system of claim 5, wherein the inlet switch comprises a mechanism selected from the group consisting of a solenoid, a valve, and an aperture. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The system of claim 5, wherein the inlet switch is controlled by the control system. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The system of claim 5, wherein the control system controls the switch based upon feedback from the purification system. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the feedback is based upon at least one characteristic selected from the group consisting of: amount of water in a product water container, flow of product water through the product outlet, time of water flow, time of no water flow, amount of water in the evaporation chamber, detection of a leak, evaporation chamber pressure, output water quality as determined by measuring total dissolved solids, pressure differential across the evaporation chamber, and movement of water across an evaporation chamber overflow weir float. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a shutdown control. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the shutdown control is selected from the group consisting of a manual control, a flood control, a condenser capacity control, and an evaporation chamber capacity control. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the control system controls the inlet based upon feedback from at least one of a temperature sensor in an evaporation chamber, a condenser float, and a flood detector. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a flow controller. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the flow controller comprises a pressure regulator. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the pressure regulator maintains water pressure between 0 kPa and 250 kPa. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a sediment trap. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein water exiting the preheater has a temperature of at least 96° C. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the degasser is in a substantially vertical orientation, having an upper end and a lower end. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein heated water from the preheater enters the degasser proximate to the upper end. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) A method of using the water purification and desalination system of claim 1 to purify and desalinate water, comprising the steps of: providing to the inlet a contaminated water sample comprising at least one contaminant in a first concentration; passing the contaminated water sample through the preheater; removing from the contaminated water sample at least one contaminant selected from the group consisting of microbiological contaminants, radiological contaminants, metals, salts, and organics by counterflowing the contaminated water sample against an opposite directional flow of a gas in a degasser; maintaining the water from which contaminants have been removed in an evaporation chamber for a length of time under conditions permitting formation of steam; discharging steam from the evaporation chamber to a demister; separating clean steam from contaminant-containing waste in the demister; condensing the clean steam in a condenser to yield purified water; and recovering and transferring heat from the condenser into an upper evaporation chamber or preheater.