Gravity steam compressor equipment

Abstract

The present invention relates to a gravity vapor compression system (GVC) comprising at least one vertical compression chamber (16), with a plurality of droplet spray generating nozzles (10) disposed at the top thereof, which form a droplet stream with a steam stream along a height h1 of the vertical shell (16). The velocity of the droplets from the droplet beam (10) is adjusted at height h1 to a terminal fall velocity relative to the gas stream, and the compression chamber (16) has a height h2, from which the droplets fall within the steam stream at the same or similar terminal velocity to compress the steam. The gravity vapor compression system further comprises a secondary vapor outlet duct (13).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for compressing water vapor using liquid water falling vertically at terminal velocity, which uses the Earth's gravitational field as a power source for mechanical output, creating an optimal regime of low, uniform relative velocities that reduces energy dissipation, maximizes energy transfer, and therefore maximizes the efficiency of the vapor compression process. [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, vapor compression systems are classified into three groups based on the compressor: thermal vapor compression, mechanical vapor compression, and vapor compression using the kinetic energy of liquid water. These vapor compressors are used in desalination or water purification plants.

[0003] Thermal vapor compression raises the temperature and pressure of a vapor stream through an ejector supplied with motive steam at a higher temperature and pressure. These are vapor compression systems that are constrained by the availability of residual steam, which is used as motive steam for the ejector. These units have a high energy intensity; in industrial applications for multi-effect desalination processes (MED), a 6 kWh (100 kW) process is required to desalinate seawater with 35,000 ppm total dissolved solids. e / m 3 This results in a total energy intensity of more than 100% for thermal energy and electrical energy.

[0004] Mechanical vapor compression involves increasing the pressure of a vapor stream as it passes through a mechanical compressor. These systems are limited in capacity by the volume of the compressor's compression chamber and suffer from the problem of vapor overheating beyond the pressure-temperature equilibrium curve of saturated vapor. These units have a high energy intensity; when used in an industrial multiple-effect process, it takes 6 kWh to desalinate seawater with 35,000 ppm total dissolved solids. e / m 3 This results in a total energy intensity of more than 100% for thermal energy and electrical energy.

[0005] Compression of steam by supplying kinetic energy in the form of fine droplets of liquid water currently involves supplying energy to a saturated steam stream via a liquid water droplet stream at a high relative velocity to the steam stream. This technology, known as HID or hydraulic injection desalination, involves converting the potential energy of pressurized water supplied by a pressure pump into the kinetic energy of high-velocity droplets, which are then converted into the potential energy of a compressed steam stream by the drag force created by the liquid water droplets being slowed by the gaseous medium of the steam. HID vapor compression systems are more energy efficient than other current vapor compression systems, but are limited by nozzle pressure losses, low energy efficiency in the high-velocity droplet formation process due to current nozzle designs, and energy dissipation at the high relative velocity of the water droplets in the saturated steam medium. These systems have a low energy intensity, and in industrial applications to desalination processes, currently commercially available droplet-generating nozzles can be used to desalinate seawater with a total dissolved solids content of 35,000 ppm, requiring approximately 3 kWh of power. e / m 3 This results in an energy intensity of

[0006] Vapor compression with a liquid water supply should not be confused with older desalination systems that use jets of cold water droplets as condensation points for water vapor, in which the liquid water droplets do not act as a vapor compressing agent, but rather as a condensing surface that absorbs the latent heat of condensation of the water vapor and does not recycle the latent heat of condensation, making them very inefficient condensation systems. It is known that the interaction of the cohesive and adhesive forces of water molecules with the solid surface of the container results in a curvature of the liquid-vapor interface, known as the meniscus, of water or aqueous solutions.

[0007] A water meniscus is also known to be divided into three regions characterized by very different behaviors with respect to heat transfer through the liquid film and solid-liquid interfacial adhesion. These three regions are the adsorbed, transition, and bulk regions of the meniscus. The thickness of the liquid water film is known to be smallest in the adsorbed region, but the thin liquid film remains strongly attached to the solid substrate due to intermolecular forces between the liquid and the solid. In this adsorbed region, the thermal conduction resistance is small and the interfacial thermal resistance is large. In the bulk region of the meniscus, the water film is thicker, resulting in a large conductive thermal resistance and a small interfacial thermal resistance. The transition region lies between the adsorbed and bulk regions of the meniscus. This transition region is characterized by a low thermal conduction resistance and a low interfacial thermal resistance, resulting from the thin thickness of the water layer.

[0008] A reference disclosure in this field is the article in Non-Patent Document 1. It is known that in water or aqueous solutions in contact with the solid walls of a container, the curvature of the liquid-vapor interface occurs as a result of adhesive and cohesive forces. It is known that when the walls are close to each other, the liquid-vapor interface is curved over the entire space between the walls. It is known that when the walls of the container are at a distance greater than the distance that acts on the adhesive forces of the water molecules to the walls, the liquid-vapor interface is flat in the central region between the walls and curves only in the vicinity of the walls. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0009] [Non-Patent Document 1] “Review of the Effects of Surface Topography, Surface Chemistry, and Fluid Physics on Evaporation at the Contact Line”, by Joel L. Plawsky, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York Summary of the Invention

[0010] The invention is defined in the claims section. Gravity vapor compressors or compression (GVC) are devices that compress water vapor through the drag force created by liquid water falling freely at terminal velocity under the force of gravity, and are capable of compressing water vapor with greater efficiency than current vapor compression systems and devices.

[0011] The GVC device utilizes the drag force of gravity-influenced droplets moving relative to the vapor's gaseous medium to increase the pressure of the vapor itself.

[0012] The GVC device has a total height h and is divided into two zones: in the initial velocity adjustment zone with height h1, the velocity of the droplets is adjusted from their initial velocity upon exiting the nozzle until they reach a velocity relative to the steam flow that is close to or equal to their terminal velocity depending on the size of the droplets; and in the zone with height h2, the velocity of the droplets is maintained by gravity at a velocity relative to the steam that is close to or equal to their terminal velocity of free fall in a steam environment, which depends on the size of the droplets and the density and viscosity of the passing steam.

[0013] Over the height h1 of the gravity vapor compressor GVC, the kinetic energy of the droplets is variable and has a positive effect on vapor compression when the droplet exit velocity is higher than the sum of the vapor flow velocity and the terminal droplet fall velocity, and has a negative effect on vapor compression when the droplet exit velocity is lower than the sum of the vapor flow velocity and the terminal droplet fall velocity.

[0014] Over height h1+h2, the GVC transfers gravitational potential energy from the droplets due to the droplet drag along height h1+h2, but the relative velocity of the droplets to the vapor along h2 is equal to or close to the terminal velocity of the droplets' fall in the vapor, representing the lowest possible level of energy dissipation. The GVC gravity vapor compressor is the only vapor compression system and device that utilizes the gravitational potential energy of the droplets at terminal relative velocity, reducing the energy dissipation phenomenon that occurs in current HID vapor compressors at relative velocities higher than terminal velocity, which limits the energy efficiency of current HID vapor compressors.

[0015] The GVC system is a liquid water vapor compressor consisting of a vertical compression chamber. The water vapor to be compressed is fed to the top of the compression chamber, which has a series of liquid water nozzles that form at least one beam of fine droplets. The compressor system operates at a low relative velocity of the droplets relative to the vapor flow, limiting the phenomenon of energy loss due to the relative velocity between the droplets and the gas medium at the top h1. The droplet flow regime at terminal velocity within the vapor flow is laminar or low energy dissipation along most of the chamber height h2.

[0016] In the upper part of the compression chamber, the interaction between the droplet flow and the vapor flow occurs at a relative velocity different from the terminal velocity of free fall between the droplets and the steam, which results in a lower energy dissipation phenomenon along the height h1 due to the lower relative velocity until the droplets reach the terminal velocity of free fall in the steam flow, and the force generated by gravity and buoyancy is equal to the drag force caused by the gaseous medium of the steam, so that the droplets fall at a constant relative velocity to the gas at the terminal velocity, and as a result, the droplets transfer force to the steam, which is converted into steam at a higher pressure and compressed with high energy efficiency.

[0017] Unlike current compression systems that use liquid water injection HID, gravity vapor compressors GVC efficiently convert the potential energy of liquid droplets into compressed potential energy of water vapor within the compression chamber, maintaining it in a saturated state, and by applying gravity, energy transfer occurs under more efficient conditions, minimizing relative velocities and minimizing energy dissipation.

[0018] GVC devices require the supply of potential energy by a liquid water pump in the form of low water pressure, which is used to raise the water height, breaking the surface tension to form droplets and the initial kinetic energy of the droplets. To obtain droplets of 100-300 microns, commercially available nozzles are currently used that operate at pressures of 1.5-3 bar and droplet exit velocities from the nozzle of 10-20 m / s.

[0019] The design of the GVC involves determining the velocity of the steam flow according to the cross-sectional diameter of the compression chamber; the diameter of the droplets is determined according to the type of nozzle used and the pressure at which the liquid water is supplied to the nozzle, which determines the terminal velocity and therefore the drop time and total mass of water droplets falling at terminal velocity per unit time; the difference between the nozzle velocity of the droplets and the velocity of the water vapor is determined, and this velocity difference adjusts the height h1 of the droplet flow at terminal velocity within the steam stream; the height h2 of the drop at terminal velocity is determined, so that the potential energy of the liquid water is efficiently converted into increased potential energy of steam in the form of higher pressure. The combination of these parameters in the design of a GVC gravity vapor compression system coupled to a high-density latent heat exchanger in the transition zone allows the construction of a GVCD gravity vapor compression desalination system with an integrated energy efficiency of over 60%, achieving a desalination efficiency of 1.7 kWh / m3 for seawater with a salinity of 45,000 ppm. 3 The current record is 2.23 kWh / m using a reverse osmosis system for a salinity of 40,000 ppm. 3 is.

[0020] The dense transition zone heat exchanger includes a heat exchanger tube or chamber in which the water condensing on the condenser side and the aqueous solution evaporating on the evaporator side flow in channels whose walls are no more than 1 mm apart, and the water or aqueous solution flow in these channels has a curved liquid-gas interface throughout the entire wall-to-wall flow rate, thereby achieving dense transition zones on the surfaces of the evaporator and condenser sides.

[0021] One embodiment of the high-density transition zone heat exchanger comprises evaporator-condenser tubes or chambers, where the tube wall profile, in a cross section perpendicular to the liquid flow, has a sinusoidal, sawtooth, or similar shape, and the adhesion forces of water on the microchannel sidewalls curve the liquid-gas interface across the liquid-gas interface of water or an aqueous solution flowing through the microchannel. The dimensions of the microchannels on the evaporation and condensation sides depend on the adhesive and cohesive forces, which in turn depend on many other factors, such as the properties of the salt-water solution, the properties of the tube wall or evaporator-condenser chamber material, the slope of the microchannel wall, and the hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity of the finish, coating, or treatment applied to the tube or evaporator-condenser chamber wall.

[0022] In one embodiment, the tube walls or evaporator-condenser chamber faces of the high density transition zone heat exchanger are made of a marine aluminum alloy, and the symmetrical alternating channel profile is a sawtooth or zigzag pattern forming microchannels on both the evaporator side and the condenser side, with a depth of 1 mm or less and a distance between the peaks or apexes of the microchannels of 1 mm or less.

[0023] To accomplish the evaporation and condensation cycle, the high density heat exchanger in the transition region operates when the thermal jump or temperature difference between the temperature of the aqueous solution being evaporated on the evaporating side of the evaporator-condenser tube or chamber and the temperature of the secondary steam being condensed on the condensing side of the evaporator-condenser tube or chamber is not more than 0.3°C plus the boiling point elevation (BPE) corresponding to the salinity and temperature of the aqueous solution being evaporated.

[0024] This 0.3°C plus BPE temperature difference for seawater represents a temperature difference of less than 1°C, compared to the 3°C typically required in current vapor compression or mechanical vapor compression desalination systems. The result achieved with the high-density heat exchanger in the transition region is a low temperature difference between the evaporated aqueous solution and the condensed fresh water. This is due to the structure of the tube walls or evaporator-condenser chamber, where the cohesive and adhesive forces of water molecules position the evaporated aqueous solution stream on the evaporating side of the tube or evaporator-condenser chamber and the condensed fresh water stream on the condensing side of the tube or evaporator-condenser chamber; therefore, the liquid-gas interface curves between the walls of each microchannel throughout the entire flow rate, achieving a high density in the transition region on both the evaporating and condensing sides.

[0025] The result of positioning the liquid flow between the microchannel walls so that adhesive and cohesive forces maintain the curvature of the liquid-gas interface throughout the entire flow rate of the microchannel is to achieve high water surface densities in the transition regions on both the evaporator and condenser sides. To simultaneously achieve high density fiber regions on both the evaporator and condenser sides, the walls of at least one tube or chamber of the latent heat exchanger must have vertical cross-sectional profiles of both the evaporated salt-water solution flow and the condensing flow in a symmetrical alternating pattern along the circumference of the evaporation-condensation tube or chamber, such that the evaporating meniscus on the evaporating side alternates with the condensing meniscus on the condensing side, and the transition regions of the evaporating and condensing menisci are close to each other. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0026] The invention is explained in more detail in the following description based on the accompanying drawings.

[0027] [Figure 1] A cross-sectional view of a GVC gravity steam compressor is shown. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a GVC gravity vapor compressor coupled to a high density heat exchanger in the transition region. [Figure 3]Three regions of the evaporator meniscus adjacent to three regions of the condenser meniscus are shown in longitudinal cross section to highlight the heat flow characteristics from the condenser transition region to the adjacent evaporator transition region. [Figure 4] Three regions of the evaporator meniscus adjacent to three regions of the condenser meniscus are shown in longitudinal section to highlight the heat flow characteristics from the condenser transition region and from the anhydrous region of the condensing surface to the adjacent evaporator transition region. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the wall of an evaporator-condenser tube or chamber of a heat exchanger having a high-density transition region perpendicular to the flow of aqueous solution on the evaporation side and the flow of condensate water on the condensation side, where the alternating or section pattern of the tube or evaporator-condenser chamber wall follows even-function symmetric sections in the shape of an axis with curvatures on both sides, where the evaporator meniscus is rotated approximately 180° and is inversely symmetric with respect to each of the two adjacent condenser menisci on the opposite side, where the proximity of the microchannel walls on the evaporator and condenser sides achieves a curvature of the liquid-gas interface across the width of the microchannel from wall to wall for the water flow from the condensing surface and the aqueous solution flow from the evaporating surface, achieving a high-density transition region at the evaporating and condensing surfaces, and a high-density, high-temperature flow region from the evaporating surface to the condensing surface, resulting in a high latent heat transfer coefficient of the latent heat exchanger per unit surface area and temperature difference in degrees Kelvin. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] 1 to 5, a gravity-type steam compressor, referred to as a GVC, includes a vertical chamber with a first section h1 for adjusting the velocity of a water droplet stream having a relative velocity relative to the steam stream different from the terminal velocity of the falling droplets, and a second section h2 of the compression chamber dedicated to a droplet stream having a relative velocity equal to or similar to the terminal velocity of the droplets falling in the steam stream. The GVC gravity-type steam compressor also includes a nozzle in the upper part of the compression chamber that produces fine droplets less than 300 microns in size and having a low relative droplet velocity relative to the water vapor stream.

[0029] GVC compressor devices lose energy efficiency when operating with droplets larger than 300 microns because the terminal velocity of the droplets increases as the diameter increases, requiring an increase in the height of the compression chamber.

[0030] The design of a GVC gravity vapor compression device involves: determining the steam flow rate according to the inner diameter of the compression chamber; determining the droplet size according to the type of nozzle used and the pressure at which liquid water is supplied to the nozzle; determining the terminal velocity of the droplets according to the droplet size distribution; determining the drop time according to the terminal velocity and the speed of the steam flow; determining the nozzle velocity of the droplets relative to the steam flow according to the type of nozzle and the water pressure applied to the nozzle, which determines the height h1 at which the droplets reach their terminal velocity; and determining the drop height h2 at the terminal velocity so that the potential energy of the liquid water is most efficiently converted into the higher potential energy of the steam as the pressure of the compressed secondary steam increases.

[0031] Combining these parameters in the design of a GVC gravity vapor compression unit coupled to a high density latent heat exchanger in the transition zone allows for the construction of a GVCD gravity vapor compression desalination unit with a coagulation energy efficiency of over 60%, which is 1.7 kWh / m of seawater with a salinity of 45,000 ppm total dissolved solids. 3 The current record is 2.23 kWh / m using a reverse osmosis system. 3 is.

[0032] 1, there is shown a vertical compression chamber 16 having a water vapor inlet 8 at the top of the chamber 16. At the top of the chamber 16 are multiple liquid water nozzles that supply water at a pressure sufficient to raise the water to a height h1+h2 and form a spray 10 of fine water droplets 300 microns or less in diameter.

[0033] GVC gravity vapor compression units operate with droplets of 300 microns or larger in diameter, but the larger the droplet diameter, the greater its terminal velocity and the greater the height requirement for the compression chamber 16, resulting in higher construction costs for the unit and higher energy costs for raising the water.

[0034] Current commercially available nozzles produce sprays of droplets 100-300 microns in diameter, supplying water at pressures of 1.5-3 bar, with absolute nozzle velocities of the droplets of 10-20 m / s.

[0035] Over the height h1 of the compression chamber, the falling flow of liquid water droplets in a gaseous medium of steam results in energy dissipation 9 due to the relative velocity of the water flow to the steam flow being higher than the terminal velocity of the droplets.

[0036] When the water droplets reach their terminal velocity in the water vapor gaseous medium, the flow of liquid water droplets in the water vapor gaseous medium becomes a vertically falling laminar flow 11, and the gravitational force on the droplets is balanced by the drag force and buoyancy force of the droplets in the gaseous medium, causing the droplets to fall at a steady relative velocity to the constant gas flow at terminal velocity along the height h2 of the compression chamber 16.

[0037] At the lower inner end of the compression chamber 16, liquid water 12 corresponding to the liquid water droplets that have reached the end of their stroke accumulates and is at least partially pumped back to the nozzle above to form a new water spray 10 and to the compressed steam nozzle in the compression chamber 16 via a secondary steam outlet duct 13 at a higher pressure and temperature than the primary inlet steam 8.

[0038] Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown a gravity vapor compression system GVC mechanically coupled to at least one shell-and-tube system 1 with at least one high transition zone density heat exchanger 2. The upper inner surface 3 of the tubes of the high density transition zone heat exchanger 2 is supplied with water to be desalinated and flows along the evaporating inner surface of the heat exchanger tube or chamber 2, the lower inner portion 4 of the heat exchanger tube or chamber has an outlet for seawater or brine 5 which accumulates at the bottom of the shell 1, and primary steam 7 flows through at least one conduit to steam inlet 8 and is compressed in the upper part of the GVC gravity vapor compressor.

[0039] The secondary (compressed) steam outlet 13 of the GVC is connected via a conduit to a secondary water vapor inlet 14 in the condenser chamber of the latent heat exchanger, and the compressed water vapor condenses on the outer condenser surfaces of the tubes or chamber of the high density transition zone heat exchanger 2. The condensed water accumulates at the bottom of the condenser chamber and is discharged via exhaust duct 15.

[0040] Referring now to FIG. 3, a curved liquid-gas interface or liquid meniscus of an aqueous solution to be desalinated is shown on the evaporator surface of at least one tube or chamber of at least one high-density heat exchanger having a transition region, and is divided into three regions: an adsorption region 23 where a thin liquid film is held tightly to the tube wall or solid substrate 17 of the condenser-evaporator chamber by intermolecular forces between the liquid and the solid, where the thermal resistance due to conduction is small and the interfacial thermal resistance is very large, so that little evaporation occurs in the adsorption region 23; a bulk region 18 of the meniscus where the thermal resistance is high due to heat conduction through the thickness of the water layer and the interfacial thermal resistance is small; and a transition region 19 where the lowest total thermal resistance allows the maximum heat flow Q per unit surface area in the condensation transition region 22.

[0041] Referring to FIG. 3, a curved liquid-gas interface or condensed water meniscus on the condensing surface of a high-density heat exchanger is shown, with the transition region divided into three regions: adsorption region 20, bulk region of the meniscus 21, and transition region 22. By locating transition regions 19 and 22 closely adjacent to opposite sides of the evaporator-condenser tube or chamber wall 17 of the high-density transition region heat exchanger tube or chamber, a heat flow exchange path Q is provided through which latent heat released by vapor 14 condensed on condenser transition region 22 flows with low thermal resistance and low thermal gradient toward evaporator transition region 19, where energy Q is at least partially absorbed as latent heat of vaporization of vapor 14 condensed from the evaporator side.

[0042] The dense transition regions at the condenser and evaporator surfaces achieve high heat transfer rates per unit surface area and per unit temperature gradient of the evaporator-condenser tube or chamber, allowing operation at low temperature differences between the evaporator and condenser surfaces. Similarly, the design of the condensation surface with microchannels ensures regular passive drainage of the condensed water by capillary action within the microchannels, ensuring the presence of an insulating, water-film-free surface.

[0043] Referring now to FIG. 4, the condensation surface has an anhydrous region where the vapor 24 condenses directly onto the condensation surface of the wall 17 of at least one evaporator-condenser tube or chamber.

[0044] These anhydrous regions are created by designing the condensation surface to have areas partially coated with a water-repellent layer that quickly repels droplets formed by condensation. They can also be created as a result of the effects of free or forced dynamic vibrations on the condensate flow within the condensation structure, or by designing microchannels with a depth greater than that covered by the condensate flow.

[0045] The proximity of the evaporator transition region 19 to the condenser transition region 22 and the water-free vapor condensation zone 24 on the evaporator surface creates high heat flow channels Q1, Q2 and low thermal resistance.

[0046] 5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a segment 25 of a tube or evaporator-condenser chamber wall of a high-density transition region heat exchanger, perpendicular to the aqueous solution flow on the evaporator side and the condensate flow on the condenser side. The curvature profile of the liquid-gas interface of the brine solution stream 26 to be evaporated flowing within the microchannels on the evaporator surface is shown to be up to the wall of the microchannel across the flow rate, and the curvature profile of the liquid-gas interface of the condensate stream 27 to be evaporated flowing within the microchannels on the condenser surface is shown to be up to the wall of the microchannel across the full width of the microchannel. The curvature of the liquid-gas interface, at least partially covering the evaporator surface and spanning the width of the microchannel through which the brine stream 26 to be evaporated flows, achieves a high-density transition region 19 in the curvature of the liquid-vapor interface of the desalted brine, a high-density region with a high latent heat flow of the vapor absorbing the evaporated vapor 7. The curvature of the liquid-vapor interface across the microchannel through which the condensing water stream 27 flows, at least partially covering the condensation surface, achieves a high density transition region 22 in the curvature of the condensing water liquid-vapor interface, the high density region having a high latent heat flow of condensation released by the condensing steam 14.

[0047] The sinusoidal shape of the wall 25 alternates between an evaporator meniscus 26 and an inversely symmetrical condenser meniscus 27 with continuous reversals at 180° rotations, resulting in a condenser transition region 22 of the condenser meniscus 27 where vapor condensation 14 occurs and releases latent heat of condensation with a greater energy flow per unit surface area, adjacent to the evaporator transition region 19 of the evaporator meniscus 26, which absorbs the latent heat of evaporation and generates primary vapor 7 with a greater absorbed energy flow per unit area. This alternating configuration of evaporator and condenser microchannels, or other sawtooth or zigzag configurations, creates a high-density transition region Q1 in the form of latent heat released at the condenser transition region 22 and a high-density transition region Q2 in the form of latent heat released at the anhydrous surface on the condenser side where vapor 24 condenses and flows to the evaporator transition region 19 on the evaporator side, where it is absorbed in the form of latent heat of evaporation in generating primary vapor 7.

[0048] One method for fabricating heat exchanger-condenser tubes or chambers with sinusoidal, zigzag, sawtooth, or similar walls 25 is to extrude or stamp aluminum alloys to form microchannels 1 m deep and 1 mm wide between the apexes of each microchannel. Depths greater than 1 mm allow for higher flow rates and longer condenser-evaporator tubes or chambers. Microchannel depths of 1 mm or less allow for a higher number of channels per unit perimeter of the evaporator-condenser tube or chamber, resulting in a higher number of transition regions per unit surface area of ​​the evaporator-condenser tube or chamber. For microchannel widths greater than 1 mm, flat, non-curved regions of the liquid-vapor interface appear as the width increases, reducing the density of the transition region and the efficiency of the heat exchanger. In these flat regions of the liquid-vapor interface, latent heat transfer from both evaporation and condensation is very inefficient, impairing the efficiency of the heat exchanger. The sinusoidal shape is modified with an angled end profile that creates a zigzag shape, or flat ends that create a sawtooth shape, rather than the rounded ends of the sinusoid.

[0049] A high-density transition region cannot be achieved with current double-fluted, double-grooved evaporator-condenser tubes or chambers designed to create turbulence in the downward water flow because these tubes create a large area of ​​liquid-gas interface, and cannot be achieved with tubes that have grooves or slots on only one side because there is no transition region on the ungrooved or slotted side.

[0050] A seawater evaporation cycle of 45,000 ppm total dissolved solids brine is achieved by incorporating a GVC gravity vapor compressor into a shell-and-tube or chamber device with at least one heat exchanger having at least one high density transition zone, and condensing the secondary steam compressed by the gravity vapor compressor GVC with a pressure difference of approximately 100 Pa between the pressure of the evaporated primary steam 7 on the inner evaporator side of the tubes or chamber of the high density transition zone heat exchanger 2 and the pressure of the condensed secondary steam 14 condensed on the condenser side of the tube bundle of the high density transition zone heat exchanger 2. This increase in steam pressure is achieved with a total energy efficiency of over 60% of the total height, h1 plus h2, of the GVC gravity vapor compressor, resulting in a specific energy consumption of 1.7 kWh / m2 to desalinate seawater of 45,000 ppm total dissolved solids. 3 The current record is that the specific energy consumption for desalination is 2.23 kWh / m using a reverse osmosis system. 3 is.

Claims

1. A gravity vapor compressor device GVC, at least one vertical compression chamber (16); and a plurality of nozzles (10) for generating a spray of droplets forming a droplet stream in the primary steam stream along a height h1 of the vertical shell (16) where the droplets of the droplet beam (10) adjust their velocity until they reach a velocity equal to or similar to the terminal velocity of free fall relative to the gas flow; The water droplets fall in an orderly flow (11) having a droplet velocity relative to the steam flow equal to or close to the terminal velocity of the droplets in the steam flow, compressing the steam and including a compression chamber (16) of height h2 and including a secondary steam outlet duct (13). A compressor device characterized by:

2. 2. The compressor arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the gravity vapor compression device GVC is mechanically coupled to an evaporator-condenser arrangement (1), the primary vapor (8) to be compressed originates from vapor evaporated (7) from the evaporation side of a condenser-evaporator tube or chamber of a heat exchanger (2) having a high density transition area, and the secondary vapor (13) is supplied as vapor condensed (14) on the condensation side of a condenser-evaporator tube or chamber of a heat exchanger (2) having a high density transition area.

3. 3. A compressor device mechanically coupled to an evaporator-condenser device according to claim 2, characterized in that the evaporator-condenser device (1) comprises a heat exchanger (2) having at least one high density transition area, an evaporator surface at least partially covered by microchannels through which the brine to be evaporated flows, the liquid-gas interface being curved across the entire width between the walls of the microchannels, and a condensation surface at least partially covered by microchannels through which the condensed water flows, thereby causing the liquid-gas interface to be curved across the entire width between the walls of the microchannels.

4. 4. A compressor arrangement mechanically coupled to an evaporator-condenser arrangement (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the heat exchanger with the high density transition area is such that the meniscus or curvature transition area (19) of the liquid-gas interface on the evaporator side is close to the meniscus or curvature transition area (22) of the liquid-gas interface of the condensing surface or of the anhydrous zone of the condensing surface where the vapor (24) condenses, creating a short latent heat transfer path, whereby energy flow in the form of latent heat released by the vapor (14) condensed at the condensing transition area (22) of the condensing surface or the vapor (24) condensed on the anhydrous zone water on the condensing surface flows with low thermal resistance, low temperature difference, and high heat flows to the evaporator transition area (19) of the evaporator surface, where the energy flow is at least partially converted into latent heat of evaporation of the evaporated vapor (7).

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