Large-scale water purification and desalination
AssigneeSylvan Source, Inc.
InventorEugene Thiers
Life of this patent
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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 system is capable of recovering heat from each distillation stage, while removing, from a contaminated water sample, a plurality of contaminant types including: microbiological contaminants, radiological contaminants, metals, salts, volatile organics, and non-volatile organics.
Claims24
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 for contaminated water to outlets for products and for waste, and wherein each component along the fluid-process pathway is in fluid communication with at least one adjacent fluid-process component, and wherein the fluid-process components comprise, in order of fluid flow:
- the water inlet, at least two modules, and said outlets;
- wherein each module comprises an evaporation chamber and a product condenser, and wherein heat of condensation in the condenser of one module is transferred to the evaporation chamber of an adjacent module by at least one heat pipe;
- the system further comprising a heating chamber proximate to a first evaporation chamber;
- wherein heat from the heating chamber creates steam in the first evaporation chamber which enters a first condenser;
- wherein the first condenser is proximate to a second evaporation chamber, such that subsequent modules convey heat recovered from condensation in one module via the at least one heat pipe to evaporate water in an adjacent module.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.