A system and method for decontaminating a fluid like a non-azeotrope solvent such as water, wherein a transport gas is maintained at a temperature between the freezing point and boiling point at atmospheric pressure of the solvent and continuously circulated between an evaporation chamber and a condensation chamber, a contaminated solvent is introduced into the transport gas in the evaporation chamber under process heat and contaminant precipitates out, and the cleaned solvent cools in the condensation chamber releasing heat to be used in the evaporation chamber. A heat pump is used to promote evaporation and condensation within the system.

Method and apparatus for recovering a material by vaporization is disclosed. The method includes providing a heat transfer fluid to a liquid section of a vessel, injecting a material having a first component and a second component into the heat transfer fluid, the first component having a first volatility and the second component having a second volatility greater than the first volatility, circulating the heat transfer fluid from the liquid section to a heat exchanger, heating the heat transfer fluid to a temperature selected to vaporize at least a portion of the second component to a vapor section of the vessel, recovering the vaporized second component from the vapor section of the vessel, and circulating at least a portion of the heat transfer fluid from the from the heat exchanger through the vapor section of the vessel.

The invention is a method for liquid, gaseous or supercritical phase chromatography which involves circulating, on a chromatograph (6) containing a stationary phase, a load (1) comprising components to be separated entrained by a carrier fluid (2), said method being characterized in that it involves: (a) obtaining, at the outlet of the chromatograph, a plurality of chromatographic fractions (3, 4) comprising at least one component of the load and the carrier fluid in a first fluid phase, (b) imposing a change of state on at least one of said chromatographic fractions (3, 4) so as to obtain at least one fraction of purified carrier fluid in a second fluid phase different from the first fluid phase by separating said carrier fluid from the component of the load, (c) imposing a change of state in a reverse direction to that of step (b) on at least one fraction of purified carrier fluid obtained in step (b) so as to obtain at least one fraction of purified carrier fluid in a third fluid phase different to the second fluid phase, and in that it involves coupling the change-of-state energies from the first fluid phase to the second fluid phase and from the second fluid phase to the third fluid phase of the same or of another fraction of purified carrier fluid, said coupling comprising a transfer of heat using a heat pump.

A photothermal desalination system includes a seawater harvester that harvests cold seawater from below the ocean thermocline. Heat transfer coils are filled with the cold seawater and steam from a steam generator (boiler) condenses upon interaction with the heat transfer coils to produce fresh water. To achieve a minimal environmental footprint, the steam generator produces steam from the harvested seawater using peanut oil that is heated to just below its smoke point. Heating the peanut oil can be accomplished using concentrated solar power. The peanut oil can be stored in insulated in-ground containers. In addition to using the steam to generate fresh water, some of the steam can be used to generate electricity which can be used to power various components of the system. Moreover, the system can produce other useful products from otherwise wasteful outputs, including biofuel and glycerin from peanut oil sludge and sea salt from brine water.

A solid-liquid separating method and system for separating a processing object into solid and liquid, is simplified by using fewer devices. A solid-liquid separating system includes a processing tank that houses a processing object, a first and a second heat exchanger, a material A supplying means, a collecting tank, a closed system including the first and second heat exchangers, a compressor, and an expansion valve, and a material B that circulates while a state is changed in this system. A material A that is gaseous at normal temperature and normal pressure, can dissolve oil when liquefied, and does not dissolve water is gasified in the first heat exchanger while being separated from the oil, is liquefied in the second heat exchanger, and the liquefied material A is supplied to the processing tank by the material A supplying means. The oil is collected in the tank from the first heat exchanger.

The present disclosure evaporation panel systems including plurality of evaporation panels, wherein a first evaporation panel and a second evaporation panel of the plurality of evaporation panels each include evaporation shelves and support columns to support and separate to the evaporation shelves. At least a portion of the support columns include evaporation fins so that wastewater is loadable along the support column. The first evaporation panel and the second evaporation panel in this example are releasably connectable to one another to form a sub-assembly.

An evaporation panel can include a first evaporation shelf including a first upper surface and a first lower surface, a second evaporation shelf positioned beneath the first evaporation shelf and having a second upper surface, and a support column disposed between the first evaporation shelf and the second evaporation shelf. In this example, the support column can include an evaporation fin.

A wastewater evaporative separation system can include an evaporation panel assembly having a plurality of individual evaporation panels laterally and releasably joined together, the evaporation panel assembly configured for receiving wastewater from a body of wastewater and evaporating water therefrom as the wastewater cascades down the evaporation panel assembly and contaminants become more concentrated. The system also includes a wastewater delivery system fluidly associated with the body of wastewater with a fluid directing assembly delivering the wastewater from the body of wastewater to an upper portion of the evaporation panel assembly.

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.

Systems and methods are provided for heating and manipulating a fluid to heat the fluid, evaporate water from the fluid, concentrate the fluid, separate the fluid into fractions; and/or pasteurize the fluid, comprising a closed-loop heating subsystem coupled to a primary fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger, and one or more fluid manipulation subsystems also coupled to the primary fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger.