Systems and methods for controlling desalting and dehydration of crude oil, one method including monitoring total dissolved solids (TDS) content at an outlet stream from a crude oil separation unit, the outlet stream comprising water; monitoring basic sediment and water (BS&W) content at an outlet stream from the crude oil separation unit, the outlet stream comprising processed crude oil; determining pounds per thousand barrels (PTB) salt content and volumetric water content of a dried, desalted crude oil product stream using the TDS content and BS&W content; and controlling a process input to the method from a comparison between the PTB salt content and volumetric water content of the dried, desalted crude oil product stream versus a maximum set value for PTB salt content and volumetric water content of the dried, desalted crude oil product stream.

A system includes a first separator configured to receive waste water, retain a first portion of the waste water, and separate the first portion of the waste water into a first vapor and a first solid material; and a second separator in fluid communication with the first separator, the second separator being configured to receive a second portion of the waste water from the first separator and to separate the second portion of the waste water into a second vapor and a second solid material, the second separator including a first condenser, a heating element, and a first electrocoagulation unit. Related apparatus, systems, techniques and articles are also described.

The present invention relates to a carbon-nanotube/nano-adsorption-material-based electrode and an electrochemical valuable-metal recovery device using the same, and more particularly to an environmentally friendly carbon-nanotube/nano-adsorption-material-based electrode and an electrochemical valuable-metal recovery device using the same, in which valuable metals selectively adsorbed from e-waste wastewater are oxidized using, as an anode, an electrode including carbon nanotubes and a nano adsorption material capable of selectively adsorbing valuable metals and are simultaneously reduced at a cathode, thereby separating and recovering valuable metals.

The invented bio-electrical system is a housing-electrode which allows insertion of another electrode for various electrochemical and bio-electrical applications. Together with other invented elements as well as standard components, the system is fully scalable, modular, and allows production and collection of gases under pressure. It can be built in many shapes, such as the embodied tubular shape. The design allows operation on unstable ground, for example on ships. Flow of electrolyte can be regulated and directed in cascaded reactions by opening and closing the compartments of the outer or the inner electrodes using the provided electrode holders. The redox conditions inside the system can be controlled using off-the-shelf power supplies which are controlled using the provided algorithm. Gas collection can be regulated based on the level of liquid inside the system using the provided float switches or conductivity probes even as the system is moving or operated under zero-gravity conditions.

A system includes a first separator configured to receive waste water, retain a first portion of the waste water, and separate the first portion of the waste water into a first vapor and a first solid material; and a second separator in fluid communication with the first separator, the second separator being configured to receive a second portion of the waste water from the first separator and to separate the second portion of the waste water into a second vapor and a second solid material, the second separator including a first condenser, a heating element, and a first electrocoagulation unit. Related apparatus, systems, techniques and articles are also described.

The present invention relates to a method for electrochemical purification of an aqueous solution comprising the steps of: providing a cathode and an anode to an aqueous solution, wherein said aqueous solution comprises soluble ions of at least one toxic heavy metal and wherein said cathode comprises an outer surface, which outer surface comprises a noble metal; applying an absolute potential to said cathode and wherein said absolute potential of said cathode drives the formation of an alloy comprising said noble metal and said at least one toxic heavy metal.

The present invention is directed to an electrochemical device for at least partially removing or reducing a target ionic species from an aqueous solution using faradic immobilization, the electrochemical device including at least one first electrode and at least one second electrode with different void fraction and surface area properties, due to differences in void fraction (also referred to as void ratio) of the at least one first and the at least one second electrode, water flows through an electrode with a high porosity, while the aqueous solution does not flow through an electrode with a low porosity. The asymmetry of the electrodes provides a desired voltage distribution across the device, which equates to a different voltage at each electrode, to control the speciation of the target ionic species at the anode and the cathode.

The present invention includes a method including providing an anode and a cathode; providing a desalination device operably coupled to establish an electrical potential between the anode and the cathode when the desalination device is operating; providing water containing dissolved solids; thereby establishing the electrical potential; reducing a salinity of the water by supplying the water to the desalination device; and generating electrical power by reducing the salinity of the water.

A method for operating a wastewater treatment system is disclosed wherein the wastewater treatment system comprises at least one electrochemical cell comprising dimensionally stable electrodes having the same catalyst composition, the electrodes being immersed in wastewater and being connected to a power supply and wherein the voltage at the power supply is monitored and the polarity of the electrochemical cell(s) is reversed when the recorded voltage increases by a predetermined voltage difference. The wastewater treatment system can comprise at least one electrochemical cell which is kept inactive while the active electrochemical cells are operating. The inactive cell(s) can be activated when all the electrodes of the active cells are consumed as indicated by another increase in voltage at the power supply after the polarity of the active cells has been once reversed.

Provided are a system for treating wastewater and a cleaning method thereof. The wastewater treatment system includes: a wastewater compartment, a first electrode, a second electrode, an acid compartment, a base compartment, an acid supply apparatus, a base supply apparatus, a control apparatus, and a power supply device. During the cleaning process, the power supply device provides reverse potential to the first and the second electrodes. The control apparatus shut off a first channel so that the acid supply apparatus provides an acid solution to the base compartment through a second channel, and shut off a third channel so that the base supply apparatus provides an alkaline solution to the acid compartment through a fourth channel, without shutting off the wastewater treatment system.