Embodiments of the invention are directed toward a novel pressurized vapor cycle for distilling liquids. In some embodiments of the invention, a liquid purification system is revealed, including the elements of an input for receiving untreated liquid, a vaporizer coupled to the input for transforming the liquid to vapor, a head chamber for collecting the vapor, a vapor pump with an internal drive shaft and an eccentric rotor with a rotatable housing for compressing vapor, and a condenser in communication with the vapor pump for transforming the compressed vapor into a distilled product. Other embodiments of the invention are directed toward heat management, and other process enhancements for making the system especially efficient.

A distillation apparatus includes at least one evaporation space in which feed water is evaporated into a vapour and at least one condensation space, in which vapour from a preceding evaporation space is condensed into distillate. The evaporation space and the condensation space each include a chamber and a plurality of interdigitated pockets arranged between said chambers, such that a first pocket of the evaporation space is present between a first and a second pocket of the condensation space, and that the first pocket of the condensation space is present between the first and a second pocket of the evaporation space. The spaces are mutually separated by means of a separation barrier that is configured for transmission of heat and for definition of the interdigitated pockets.

A desalination device includes a sealed desalination chamber with two compartments, an evaporator space that contains saline water, and a condenser space that contains fresh water, a saline water distribution mechanism that directs the saline water into the evaporator space, a vapor compressor that directs a stream of pressurized freshwater vapor into the condenser space, and an integrated regenerative boundary between the evaporator space and the condenser space that has two sides, an evaporation surface and a condensation surface, enabling the pressurized freshwater vapor to condense on the condensation surface to generate freshwater, and where the latent heat of the condensation process transfers across the integrated regenerative boundary into the evaporator space and evaporates a portion of the saline water to produce freshwater vapor.

A system for thermally servicing a solvent-refining column includes: a first solvent-refining column, a closed-loop water-steam system; a first heat-exchanger thermally coupling the closed-loop water-steam system to the top of the first solvent-refining column, a second heat-exchanger thermally coupling the closed-loop water-steam system to a bottom of the first solvent-refining column, and a compressor positioned between the first heat-exchanger and the second heat-exchanger. The first heat-exchanger boils pressurized water to steam by transferring first heat from the top of the first solvent-refining column to the closed-loop water- steam system. The compressor compresses the steam in the closed-loop water-steam system to a higher temperature. The second heat-exchanger provides second heat to the first solvent-refining column by condensing the steam at the bottom of the first solvent-refining column after compression by the compressor.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a system for harvesting salt, and other valued material, and generating distilled water from at least one of a produced water and salt water. The system can include a direct steam generator (DSG) configured to generate saturated steam and combustion exhaust constituents. The system can include a separation system operating after the DSG, configured to separate salt from the saturated steam and combustion exhaust constituents in at least one of brine form and solid form. The system can include an energy recovery system that includes an expansion turbine configured to recover energy from the steam and exhaust constituents.

A water distiller provides distilled water from an input water supply for domestic, clinic, studio, hospital or factory applications with greatly improved energy efficiency. Stages of the distiller may employ under pressure conditions and/or various vapor compression, heat pump or intermediate process arrangements to provide efficient heat transfer and heating, without requiring boiling of the full input water volume. Enhanced mixing and/or heat transfer may be effected by passing water vapor through the water heating pool and result in clean, efficient distillation in a unit designed for a defined rate or volume of distillate or small system. Embodiments of the invention require less energy than required for comparably-sized direct boiling systems, and may be configured to purge gases or impurities to attain, or maintain, clean heat transfer surfaces and a desired level of product purity.

A vacuum distillation apparatus for producing treated water from a supply of seed water, the apparatus including: an evaporation chamber for receiving and evaporating the seed water; a heat source for supplying heat to the evaporation chamber; a condensation chamber in fluid communication with the evaporation chamber for receiving and condensing the evaporated seed water; a pressure reducer in communication with the evaporation chamber for promoting evaporation of the seed water; and at least one cooling member disposed within the condensation chamber on which the evaporated seed water can condense, the cooling member being arranged to transfer condensed vapour for collection at a treated water outlet.

The present invention relates to a solvent recovery apparatus and a solvent recovery method, and the solvent recovery apparatus and method according to the present application can reduce the used amount of steam in a synthetic rubber production process, and can reduce the used amount of energy by recovering the waste heat discarded through a condenser.

Systems and methods related to desalination systems are described herein. According to some embodiments, the desalination systems are hybrid systems comprising one or more first desalination units and one or more second desalination units. In some embodiments, the one or more second desalination units, which may form a fluidic circuit that is located downstream from the one or more first desalination units, may be configured to desalinate higher salinity liquid streams than the one or more first desalination units. In certain embodiments, the one or more first desalination units are operated under steady-state conditions and/or configured to operate under steady-state conditions. In certain embodiments, the one or more second desalination units are transiently operated and/or configured to facilitate transient operation. In some embodiments, a liquid stream comprising water and at least one dissolved salt is flowed through the one or more first desalination units, which are configured to remove at least a portion of the water from the liquid stream to form a first concentrated brine stream enriched in the dissolved salt. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the first concentrated brine stream is fed to a fluidic circuit comprising the one or more second desalination units. In some embodiments, the one or more second desalination units are configured to remove at least a portion of the water from the first concentrated brine stream to produce a second concentrated brine stream further enriched in the dissolved salt. In certain cases, the second concentrated brine stream is recirculated through at least a portion of the fluidic circuit until the second concentrated brine stream reaches a relatively high density (e.g., at least about 10 pounds per gallon) and/or a relatively high salinity (e.g., a total dissolved salt concentration of at least about 25 wt %).

The invention relates to a wind-driven air-compressed energy-saving collecting and filtering device for field fresh water which includes a water collecting tank, a cooling pipe, a compression pipe and a wind wheel. The water collecting tank is provided with a pressure relief pipe, an outlet pipe and a plug. The outer side of the cooling pipe is provided with an ultraviolet sterilizer. The inner cavity of the cooling pipe is provided with a fin condenser. The upper end of the compression pipe is connected to an end cover, a second annular housing, a power generating coil disposed in the inner cavity of the second annular housing. The end cover is provided with a commutator. The inner cavity of the compression pipe is provided with a first rotating shaft, magnetic compression blades, and a limiting mesh plate. The wind wheel includes a bracket and Y-shaped blades. The wind-driven air-compressed energy-saving collecting and filtering device for field fresh water of the present invention has reasonable and simple structure, convenient to use, low cost, convenient to install, energy saving and environment friendly which effectively solve the problem of lack of fresh water in specific areas such as deserts and islands.