The personal water enhancement device disclosed herein is designed for removing particulates and impurities from a volume of water and then adding a preferred combination of vitamins and minerals to such volume of water. In a preferred embodiment, the device may comprise a water purifier and filter, a user interface, a database of water formulations, a container for storing salts, and a mechanism for dispensing salts into water. Such a device may allow a user to add a pre-set or customized concentration of various salts and minerals to said volume of water as per their unique needs, and may further reduce both the environmental burden of plastic bottle production and the financial burden of bottled water consumption.

A water purification apparatus capable of being cleaned at a point of care and methods for cleaning the water purification apparatus at the point of care are disclosed herein. The water purification apparatus and the methods provide an efficient use of a heater for heat disinfection the water purification apparatus. The water purification apparatus and the methods provide heat disinfection by recirculating heated fluid to further heat the fluid. Several different cleaning programs are provided that may be utilized for cleaning different parts of the water purification apparatus.

A water treatment system is provided. The system includes a prefiltration unit for filtering the untreated water in fluid communication with a source of untreated water. The prefiltration unit produces a prefiltered water from the untreated water. A pump in fluid communication with the prefiltration unit can selectively increase the flow rate of the prefiltered water in a first line, the first line in fluid communication with a membrane element. The membrane element produces a permeate and a retentate from the prefiltered water, the permeate being imparted with a lower concentration of solutes than the retentate. A tank in fluid communication with the membrane element and the prefiltration unit stores prefiltered water from the prefiltration unit and the permeate from the membrane element. One or more valves regulate the flow of prefiltered water and the permeate, and one or more sensors can measure characteristics of the prefiltered water.

A water treatment apparatus is provided. The water treatment apparatus includes a filtering unit including a water filter filtering raw water, a sterilizing water generator producing sterilizing water from purified water filtered by at least a portion of the filtering unit, and a discharge member through which the purified water, filtered by the filtering unit, is discharged externally. The sterilizing water produced in the sterilizing water generator sterilizes the discharge member and at least a portion of a flow path connected to the discharge member.

A drainless reverse osmosis (RO) water purification system provides relatively pure water for on-demand dispensing, while recycling brine to a domestic hot water system. The drainless purification system includes a pre-filter catalyst cartridge for removing chlorine-based contaminants from a tap water supply upstream from an RO membrane. The catalyst is regularly refreshed by a high through-flow of water to a conventional cold water dispense faucet, thereby significantly prolonging the service life of the RO membrane. The RO membrane is incorporated into a multi-cartridge unit adapted for facilitated slide-out removal and replacement as needed. A control valve recycles brine from the RO membrane to the hot water system during pure water production, and recirculates tap water through the RO membrane when a pure water reservoir is substantially filled. The multi-cartridge unit may further include an air filtration system for providing a flow of filtered air.

A beverage dispenser has a supply opening that supplies an aqueous liquid from a source; a recooling heat exchanger having a heat receiving portion, a recooling inlet and a recooling outlet; a reverse osmosis filter having an inlet for aqueous liquid, a permeate outlet and a concentrate outlet; and a cooling device having a cooling portion extracting heat energy from the permeate and a heat dissipation portion dissipating energy to the heat receiving portion of the recooling heat exchanger. The heat dissipation portion of the cooling device is thermally coupled with the heat receiving portion of the recooling heat exchanger. The cooling portion of the cooling device is thermally coupled with the permeate exiting the permeate outlet of the reverse osmosis filter, wherein the permeate enters the cooling portion by a cooling portion permeate inlet and exits the cooling portion by a cooling portion permeate outlet.

A drainless reverse osmosis (RO) water purification system provides relatively pure water for on-demand dispensing, while recycling brine to a domestic hot water system. The drainless purification system includes a pre-filter catalyst cartridge for removing chlorine-based contaminants from a tap water supply upstream from an RO membrane. The catalyst is regularly refreshed by a high through-flow of water to a conventional cold water dispense faucet, thereby significantly prolonging the service life of the RO membrane. The RO membrane is incorporated into a multi-cartridge unit adapted for facilitated slide-out removal and replacement as needed. A control valve recycles brine from the RO membrane to the hot water system during pure water production, and recirculates tap water through the RO membrane when a pure water reservoir is substantially filled. The multi-cartridge unit may further include an air filtration system for providing a flow of filtered air.

Certain disclosed embodiments concern systems and methods of preparing dialysate for use in a home dialysis system that is compact and light-weight relative to existing systems and consumes relatively low amounts of energy. The method includes coupling a household water stream to a dialysis system; filtering the water stream; heating the water stream to at least about 138 degrees Celsius in a non-batch process to produce a heated water stream; maintaining the heated water stream at or above at least about 138 degrees Celsius for at least about two seconds; cooling the heated water stream to produce a cooled water stream; ultrafiltering the cooled water stream; and mixing dialysate components into the cooled water stream in a non-batch process.

The invention relates to the purification and/or desalination of a liquid. The present method includes purifying a liquid and flushing a liquid purification means. Raw liquid is fed, via a means for increasing pressure, along a raw liquid and drain liquid mixing line to a liquid purification means. Drain liquid is fed along a recirculation line in order to be mixed with raw liquid. After a set period of time, the liquid purification process is interrupted in order for the liquid purification means to be flushed by a liquid medium for the removal of contaminants which have built up on the inside surface of the liquid purification means. Downstream of the liquid purification means, the liquid medium is discharged at high speed into a drain. Prior to flushing of the liquid purification means, the purification process is interrupted at least once for a short period of time sufficient to enable disruption of a polarized layer of contaminants. A mixture of raw liquid and drain liquid is used as the liquid medium for flushing. Technical result: a reduction in the amount of raw liquid used for flushing and an increase in the service life of the water purification means.

The improved water purification system includes a water purification unit having a tap water inflow port for receiving a tap water inflow from a water supply system to produce relatively purified water and a brine water outflow having impurities concentrated therein. An RO filter having an RO membrane separates relatively unfiltered water flow into purified water and the brine water outflow. A flush flow activation chamber fluidly coupled to the brine water outflow includes a plunger for substantially occluding brine water outflow through the brine outflow port when seated, and substantially permits brine water outflow to exit the purification unit through the brine outflow port when unseated. Accordingly, the activation chamber generates back pressure within the water purification system to flash flow tap water inflow into the purification unit and through the RO membrane when the plunger moves from being seated to unseated, thereby substantially refreshing said RO membrane.