Certain embodiments may provide a method for controlling a desalination system. The method may include performing a desalination procedure with salt-water in a desalination compartment of the desalination system. The method may also include extracting brine and freshwater from the desalination procedure. The method may further include directing the brine to a brine treatment compartment of the desalination system, and the freshwater to a firewater container. In addition, the method may include performing a brine treatment procedure in the brine treatment compartment. Further, the method may include collecting concentrated brine from the brine treatment compartment.

Atmospheric water harvesting systems utilize a sorbent cartridge configured to hold water capture material. The sorbent cartridge is made up of a plurality of permeable trays and a plurality of spacers that are arranged to provide cross-flow for adsorption and desorption airflow pathways. The systems are used for harvesting water from surrounding air.

A solar distillation system for producing a distillate and providing cooling for a structure or appliance, and a method of using the system to produce a distillate and cool a structure or appliance. The system includes a distillate cooling coil, a secondary cooling coil, an expansion valve which is capable of controlling an amount of a coolant that flows through each of the coils. The system also includes a compressor, a plurality of sensors including a temperature sensor and a distillate flow sensor, and a controller which receives input from the sensors and controls the activity of the compressor and expansion valve. The system is capable of producing distillate at night in the absence of solar radiation.

A water desalinator that employs the use of solar concentration, evaporation and humidification, mimicking the natural hydrological cycle in a closed, modular vessel to produce freshwater from salt, brackish, brines and seawater, and a concentrate stream for further processing. Feed water is received and stored in a basin. Surface humidity is generated by the evaporation of basin water. A lens is used to focus sunlight, tracked the suns path based on biomimicry of a sunflower, on a thermal conductor. The thermal conductor has a rounded side-profile and generates a variable temperature across its radius. Water is pumped from the basin to a sprinkler head to be dripped or sprayed on the thermal conductor to generate water vapour. This water vapour consequently mixes with the air in the reaction vessel to increase system humidity. Humid air is removed from the reaction vessel and condensed in a condenser. Accordingly, the salinity concentration of input water is reduced from the output of the reaction vessel. Multiple reaction vessels or concentrators may be used in tandem to achieve improved performance.

A desalination system, including a membrane distillation portion, a solar power concentration portion, and a thermal vapor compression portion operationally connected to the membrane distillation portion and to the solar power concentration portion. The membrane distillation portion includes a first vessel having a first portion and a second portion separated by a hydrophobic membrane operationally connected therebetween and oriented to pass water from the first portion to the second portion, wherein the hydrophobic membrane further comprises a hydrophilic membrane and an air blocking layer connected to the hydrophilic membrane and disposed in the first portion, a vacuum gap adjacent the hydrophobic membrane and disposed in the second portion, a first fluid inlet and a first fluid outlet operationally connected to the first portion, and a second fluid inlet and a second fluid outlet operationally connected to the second portion. The solar power concentration portion includes a pump having a pump outlet and a pump inlet operationally connected to a water line and to the vacuum gap, a linear Fresnel mirror collector for collecting and focusing sunlight, and an outlet line operationally connected to the pump outlet and positioned to receive focused sunlight from linear Fresnel mirror collector. The thermal vapor compression portion includes an ejector having an ejector inlet portion and an ejector outlet portion, wherein the ejector inlet portion is operationally connected to the outlet line and to the vacuum gap, a second vessel fluidically connected to the outlet portion and further including a heat exchanger operationally connected to the ejector outlet portion and to a water pipe, a feed spray operationally connected to the second outlet and positioned to spray into the heat exchanger, and a collection portion for receiving concentrated feed spray. The heat exchanger receives desalinated water from the ejector and from the feed spray. The water line carries desalinated water from the heat exchanger. The first outlet passes concentrated brine, and the first inlet receives feed water to be desalinated.

The present invention provides a solar absorber incorporated bilayer foam solar evaporator for seawater and wastewater purification including a plurality of solar absorbers partially incorporated into a porous polymer framework and partially forming a thermal insulation layer proximal to solar irradiation. In particular, low-cost commercially available B.sub.4C powders are embedded into a porous polymer foam in a one-pot method to form a scaffold of boron carbide bilayer foam (BCBF) with good hydrophilic wettability, heat-shielding, and solar-thermal conversion. The boron carbide bilayer foam (BCBF) of the present invention enables a high cost-performance seawater desalination and wastewater purification at a high evaporation rate of 2.8 kg/m.sup.2/h with 93% solar evaporation efficiency under 1 sun illumination (or 1 kW/m.sup.2). The present invention thereby provides an excellent and cost-effective solar evaporator tool for industrial-level water purification. Following the present method to prepare the BCBF solar evaporator, the fabrication cost can be as low as 3.6 $/m.sup.2.

The present disclosure is drawn to systems and methods of treating or utilizing water, including water for cooling applications, using evaporation panels, evaporation panel systems, and evaporation panel assemblies. For example, the system can include an evaporation panel fluidly coupable to a body of water. The system can also include a fluid directing assembly to recirculate water from the body of water to an upper portion of the evaporation panel, wherein as water cascades down the evaporation panel and evaporates, evaporative cooling occurs. The system can further include a fan directed at the evaporation panel to push airflow through a plurality of open spaces of the evaporation panel, thereby generating humidified cooled airflow therefrom.

A floatable interfacial solar-driven evaporation structure includes a water impervious thermal insulation layer adapted to float on a body of water, a porous absorber layer on the water impervious thermal insulation layer, and an interlocked non-woven cotton fiber layer having a portion thereof between the water impervious insulation layer and the porous absorber layer and one or more additional portions configured to extend to the body of water to act as a capillary-driven pump to transport water from the body of water to the porous absorber layer. An ultra-black photothermal paint covers the exposed upper surface of the porous absorber layer to convert solar radiation impinging on the ultra-black photothermal paint into heat for use in generating water vapor from water in the porous absorber layer.

A solar distillation system includes at least one solar panel to reflect sunlight, and a distillation tube adjacent the at least one solar panel. The distillation tube is to receive brine to be processed into fresh water. The brine is to flow through the distillation tube and is heated by the reflected sunlight. A first supplemental distillation unit is connected to a first end of the distillation tube and has a curved surface perpendicular to the distillation tube to receive the reflected sunlight. A second supplemental distillation unit is connected to a second end of the distillation tube and has a curved surface perpendicular to the distillation tube to receive the reflected sunlight. The first and second supplemental distillation units each include sprayers to spray brine onto the respective curved surfaces to be further processed into fresh water.

An apparatus and method for treating brine water stored in tank batteries or otherwise produced during oil and gas production. The apparatus is portable and can be moved from one location to another to treat the brine water. Once the apparatus is in position, the brine water is pumped out of the tank and sprayed onto heating plates to produce steam. The brine water not evaporated by the plates is collected and filtered, and any precious metals or valuable minerals may be extracted therefrom. Steam generated from the heating process may be used to power an electrical generator, which generator may provide electrical power to operate the apparatus.