A reverse osmosis system and a method of operating the same includes a membrane housing comprising a reverse osmosis membrane therein. The membrane housing has a feed fluid inlet, a brine outlet and a permeate outlet. A first turbocharger has a first pump portion and a first turbine portion. The brine outlet is coupled to a first pipe directing a first portion of brine to the first pump portion. The first pump portion is in fluid communication with the feed fluid inlet. A feed pump communicates feed fluid to the feed fluid inlet. The brine outlet is coupled to a second pipe directing a second portion of brine away from the first pump portion.

A reverse osmosis system and a method of operating the same includes a membrane housing comprising a reverse osmosis membrane therein. The membrane housing has a feed fluid inlet, a brine outlet and a permeate outlet. A first turbocharger has a first pump portion and a first turbine portion. The brine outlet is coupled to a first pipe directing a first portion of brine to the first pump portion. The first pump portion is in fluid communication with the feed fluid inlet. A feed pump communicates feed fluid to the feed fluid inlet. The brine outlet is coupled to a second pipe directing a second portion of brine away from the first pump portion.

A method of providing water suitable for irrigation use includes feeding pre-treated water to an electrodialysis apparatus, treating the pre-treated water in the electrodialysis apparatus by selectively removing either one or both of monovalent anionic and monovalent cationic species from the pre-treated water while retaining either one or both of multivalent anionic and multivalent cationic species to produce a treated water stream having a lower ratio of monovalent ions to multivalent ions than the pre-treated water, and directing the treated water into an irrigation water distribution system.

A device for easy and rapid removal of pollutants from drinking water and other liquids. A method for removing a pollutant from a drink by immersing the device into the drink. A method for constructing the device using polypropylene (PP) membrane sheet and an adsorbent.

An object of the present invention is to provide a desalination apparatus in which a high pressure pump can be operated at a high efficient operation point even when temperature, salt concentration or the like of water to be treated vary. The desalination apparatus includes a high pressure pump which is provided in a first flow path and supplies raw water to a first module at high pressure to apply reverse osmotic pressure to a first module and a second module, a third flow path for supplying second concentrated water after separation in the second module to upstream of the high pressure pump in the first flow path, and a fourth flow path for supplying a portion of the first concentrated water after separation in the first module to upstream of the high pressure pump in the first flow path.

A desalination brine dispersal apparatus and method employ airlift to remove, oxygenate and disperse brine from a desalination apparatus. The apparatus includes a brine removal conduit having a brine inlet that receives brine from the desalination apparatus, a plurality of brine outlets submerged in seawater and one or more air introduction points located at depths below the brine outlets. The supplied air oxygenates and moves brine through the brine removal conduit and outlets via airlift and disperses the brine into seawater away from the brine removal conduit. The apparatus avoids the formation of concentrated, high shear brine plumes and can disperse brine into seawater over a wide area well away from the brine removal conduit.

A submersible reverse osmosis desalination apparatus and method employs airlift to remove desalinated water from the apparatus via as annular flow regime over a substantial portion of the product water discharge conduit. Use of a high air fraction for airlift operation and an annular flow regime significantly lowers the weight of the product water column, as well as the backpressure on the downstream side of the osmotic membranes and at the bottom of the discharge water conduit. This permits deployment of the apparatus at reduced depths and in many eases closer to shore. In preferred embodiments the apparatus relies wholly upon hydrostatic pressure to drive seawater through the osmotic membranes, and continuously desalinates seawater and delivers pure water to the discharge water conduit without using any submerged moving parts subject to wear or breakage.

A method for controlling a membrane distillation system includes determining whether there is a day time or a night time at a location of a solar collector system associated with the membrane distillation system; applying a first control mode during the day time to a flow velocity of a feed used by the membrane distillation system; and applying a second control mode, different from the first control scheme, during the night time, to the feed. The first control scheme is a model-free mode.

Methods and systems for desalinating feedwater are disclosed. The system includes at least one feedwater source, a reverse osmosis module, an input feedwater stream fed to the reverse osmosis module, and a control module. The feedwater stream comprises water from at least one feedwater source, e.g., from two or more feedwater sources of different salinities. The control module analyzes the level of energy available to the system, and increases the salinity of the input feedwater stream proportional to an increase in available energy. Feedwater stream salinity can be adjusted to reach water demand targets and fully utilize variable power inputs from renewable sources.

A method for regulating ion transport between first and second regions of a liquid solution containing ionic species in at least one of said first and second regions, the method comprising applying a voltage on an electrically conductive mesoporous carbon membrane situated between said first and second regions of the liquid solution, wherein liquid flow between first and second regions is permitted only through said mesoporous carbon membrane, and the applied voltage is selected to modulate the degree of ion transport between said first and second regions, wherein an increase in applied voltage results in a reduction in the degree of ion transport between said first and second regions, optionally up to a critical voltage at which ion transport ceases.