Advancements in osmotically driven membrane systems including low pressure control
AssigneePorifera, Inc.
InventorsCharles Benton, Christopher Keith, Carl Lundin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An example water purification system includes a forward osmosis module, a reverse osmosis module, a pump powered by an electric motor, and a pressure sensor. The forward osmosis module may receive a feed stream and a draw stream, and may produce an intermediate product stream. The intermediate product stream may be pressurized by a pump and provided to the reverse osmosis module. The reverse osmosis module may generate a product stream and return the draw stream to the forward osmosis module. The pressure sensor may monitor the pressure of the intermediate product stream, and the pressure may be used to determine the speed of the electric motor.
Claims13
An apparatus comprising:
- a forward osmosis module configured to receive a feed stream and a draw stream, the forward osmosis module further configured to produce a reject feed stream and an intermediate stream;
- a pressure sensor configured to measure a first pressure of one or more of the intermediate stream on a draw side of the forward osmosis module, the draw stream provided to the forward osmosis module, or draw stream on the draw side between elements of the forward osmosis module;
- a hydraulic pump configured to receive the intermediate stream and to provide a pressurized intermediate stream at a second pressure;
- a membrane module configured to receive the pressurized intermediate stream, the membrane module further configured to produce a concentrated draw stream and a product stream each having a flow rate based, at least in part, on the first pressure;
- and
- a pump controller coupled to the pressure sensor and the hydraulic pump, wherein the pump controller is configured to compare the first pressure to a selected pressure, and is further configured to direct the hydraulic pump to increase the flow rate of the product stream when the first pressure is above the selected pressure and decrease the flow rate of the product stream when the first pressure is below the selected pressure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.