Apparatuses for removal of solids from water comprising a heater for heating an immiscible liquid (IL), a humidifier having porous sheets allowing direct contact between the IL and water, thereby separating the solids by evaporating the water into cool dry air flowing past the porous sheets, and a dehumidifier comprising porous sheets that allow direct contact between the cool IL and hot moist air flowing past the porous sheets, thereby condensing fresh water from the moist air. Also disclosed are methods for removal of solids from water by heating an IL, distributing the IL to porous sheets in a humidifier, distributing water with dissolved solids to the porous sheets, separating the solids from the water by evaporating the water into dry air flowing past the porous sheets, and condensing fresh water by flowing the moist air past porous sheets in a dehumidifier having cool IL distributed to the porous sheets.

Various embodiments include composite wicks for ultra-low noise condensation particle counters (CPCs). In one embodiment, a composite wick includes a first porous material having a first pore density, with the first porous material further having a first surface and an opposing second surface. A second porous material is in fluid communication with the first porous material and has a first surface with an area substantially the same as an area of the first surface of the first porous material. The first surface of the second porous material is substantially in contact with the first surface of the first porous material. The second porous material has a pore density that is dissimilar the first pore density of the first material. The first material and the second material are configured to provide vapor from a liquid to a fluid-based particle counter. Other apparatuses are disclosed.

Systems and methods for sulfur-compound removal from hydrocarbon liquids may include at least one tank defining a chamber with top and bottom ends, a gas inlet into the chamber, a gas outlet from the chamber, a fluid inlet into the chamber, and a fluid outlet from the chamber. A fluid circulation assembly creates a hydrocarbon liquid flow on a liquid path, and a gas circulation assembly circulates a gas flow along a gas path. The gas inlet and outlet and the fluid inlet and outlet of the tank may be arranged to create a crossflow and counterflow of the liquid and gas flows in the chamber of the tank such that sulfur-containing compounds are transferred from the liquid to the gas flow. A gas processor assembly may remove sulfur-containing compounds from the gas flow before recirculating the gas flow. The gas flow may be predominantly nitrogen (N2) gas.

A urea production process comprising concentrating a first urea solution in a first vacuum evaporator in an evaporation section to give a urea melt and a first vapor, and condensing the first vapor in a first condensation section, wherein the first condensation section is a chilled condensation section, and a urea production system comprising the chilled condensation section.

The present invention describes a process for continuous fractionation of CTO (crude tall oil) to RTD (refined tall diesel), said process comprising:—when removing a stream of TOP (tall oil pitch) the CTO is fed through at least two evaporation zones arranged in series so that one stream of CTO is fed from a first evaporation zone to a second evaporation zone, wherein a TOP stream is produced and fed from the second evaporation zone, wherein a first vapor stream is produced within the first evaporation zone and a second vapor stream is produced within the second evaporation zone and wherein there is a temperature difference of at least 10° C. between the first vapor stream and the second vapor stream; and—feeding the first vapor stream and the second vapor stream into a subsequent fractionation column to produce a stream of RTD from the fractionation column, wherein the first vapor stream and the second vapor stream are being fed to different positions, relative to the column height, in the fractionation column, where different conditions are applied to ensure suitable fractionations of a more fatty acid rich material and a more rosin rich material, respectively, and which different positions in the fractionation column are separated by packing means.

A water production system including a radiative cooling/heating unit comprising an oscillating heat pipe (OHP) heat spreader. The radiative cooling/heating unit lowers the temperature of the OHP heat spreader below the temperature of the ambient environment. The system additionally including a first OHP heat exchanger thermally connected to the OHP heat spreader such that the first OHP heat exchanger will acquire substantially the same temperature as the OHP heat spreader, a second OHP heat exchanger thermally connected to the OHP heat spreader such that the second OHP heat exchanger will acquire substantially the same temperature as the OHP heat spreader, and a rotatable OHP water absorption bed disposed in thermal contact with the radiative cooling/heating unit such that the OHP absorption bed will acquire substantially the same temperature as the OHP heat spreader.

This disclosure describes single and multi-layer woven meshes designed to enable sucking flow condensation and capillary-driven liquid film boiling, respectively, for instance, in use in heat spreaders. The single-layer woven meshes can include a nanostructure coating and a hydrophobic coating, while the multi-layer meshes can include a microcavity coating and optionally a hydrophilic coating.

A plant for concentrating a tartaric acid solution includes a first and a second evaporation unit arranged in series, a pump for feeding a diluted tartaric acid solution into the first evaporation unit, a barometric condenser placed downstream of the second evaporation unit, and a system for feeding a first low-temperature vapor into the first evaporation unit. A process for concentrating tartaric acid includes providing a plant according to the above description, performing a first concentration, by evaporation, of the diluted tartaric acid solution, inside the first evaporation unit, and performing a second concentration, by evaporation, of the partially concentrated tartaric acid solution from the first evaporation unit, inside the second evaporation unit. The plant and process have the advantages of ensuring low energy consumption, allowing concentration of solutions tending to crystallization, and allowing the continuous measurement of the tartaric acid concentration to be concentrated.

Methods of recovering iodine (I.sub.2) from a stream including iodine (I.sub.2) vapor and at least one of: an inert gas and water vapor can include contacting the stream with an alkaline solution to form an iodide salt, contacting the stream with an adsorbent to selectively adsorb water from the stream, contacting the stream with a concentrated acid to absorb the water vapor from the stream, desublimating or condensing the iodine (I.sub.2) vapor to form solid or liquid iodine (I.sub.2), or contacting the stream with a material to condense or de-sublimate the iodine (I.sub.2) vapor from the stream as the material at least one of: absorbs latent heat through a phase change of the material and absorbs sensible heat.

A dehumidifier without a condensate tank is provided. The dehumidifier may include a housing, one or more outlets, and no condensate tank. The dehumidifier may be positioned directly above a floor drain and/or a drain within a utility sink during operation. The dehumidifier may include a pump. The dehumidifier may include one or more sensors.