Large-scale water purification and desalination

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.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 097,835, filed September 17, 2008, and the entire disclosure of that application is incorporated herein by reference. The invention relates to the field of water purification and desalination. In particular, embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for removing substantially all of a wide variety of impurities from water using automated procedures that require minimal cleaning or maintenance over a period of months to years, And it produces relatively high product water per unit of input water with ultra-low energy requirements. Background technique [0002] Water purification technologies are fast becoming an essential aspect of modern life as traditional water sources are increasingly scarce, municipal distribution systems for drinking water are declining over time, and increasing water usage depletes wells and reservoirs, causing Saltwater contamination. In addition, many...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Thermal distillation systems often rely on vacuum to increase water recovery by extracting increasing steam using a given amount of thermal energy; however, vacuum systems in large-scale systems can become troublesome due to leaks and require mechanical reinforcement

Thermal systems also rely on heat exchangers to recover some heat of condensation, but heat exchangers are prone to clogging and fouling and require frequent maintenance

Images