Patent classifications
C02F1/22
In-situ resource utilization-derived water purification and hydrogen and oxygen production
This disclosure provides an integrated system and method for producing purified water, hydrogen, and oxygen from contaminated water. The contaminated water may be derived from regolith-based resources on the moon, Mars, near-Earth asteroids, or other destination in outer space. The integrated system and method utilize a cold trap to receive the contaminated water in a vapor phase and selectively freeze out water from one or more volatiles. A heat source increases temperature in the cold trap to vaporize the frozen contaminated water to produce a gas stream of water vapor and volatiles. A chemical scrubber may remove one or more volatiles. The integrated system and method utilize ionomer membrane technology to separate the water vapor from remaining volatiles. The water vapor is delivered for crew use or delivered to an electrolyzer to produce hydrogen and oxygen.
MINERAL-CONTAINING AQUEOUS COMPOSITION
Provided is a potable water that is safe, good-tasting, and beneficial for the health of a human body. Provided is a mineral-containing aqueous composition for oral ingestion, having a potassium ion concentration of 20 ppm or more.
MINERAL-CONTAINING COMPOSITION FOR PRODUCING ICE FOR IMPROVING FLAVOR OF WATER OR BEVERAGE
Produced in an ice that can be added to water or drink to improve the flavor thereof. Provided is a mineral-containing composition containing potassium ions the concentration of which is the highest of the metal ions present in the mineral-containing composition.
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REMOVAL AND SEQUESTRATION OF ACIDITY FROM SURFACE SEAWATER
A method by which an environmental energy (e.g., wave energy) is harvested, converted into electrical power, and thereafter used to electrolyze seawater into hydrogen and chlorine gases. Those gases are recombined into hydrogen chloride from which is formed hydrochloric acid solution which is diluted and deposited at a depth sufficient to ensure its neutralization and sequestration for a significant period of time (e.g., for over a millennium). By removing chloride ions from a portion of the sea adjacent to its upper surface and depositing them into a portion of the sea more adjacent to its bottom, acidity is shifted from the surface to base of the sea, and the surface ocean is given a greater ability to absorb and buffer atmospheric carbon dioxide without a corresponding increase in acidity.
MINERAL-CONTAINING COMPOSITION FOR IMPROVING FOAM QUALITY OF CARBONATED WATER OR SODA DRINK
A mineral-containing composition is added to a carbonated water or a carbonated drink to improve the foam quality thereof. Provided is a mineral-containing composition containing potassium ions the concentration of which is the highest of the metal ions present in the mineral-containing composition.
DESALINATION OF SALT WATERS BY SALT REPELLENT TECHNIQUE
A novel Salt Repellent Technique is presented to remove all inorganic salts from seawater to get potable water. The repellent additives recommended throws out all salts of sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium and the like ions from seawater and paves way to get salt free potable water. The conventional washing of ice crystals is completely avoided due to the presence of additives. This technique helps to remove last traces of salts from seawater and analogous waters, without undertaking the conventional washing process. The new salt repellent process assures of high water recovery, ease of operation, lesser pollution, smaller plants, simpler machinery and technology, lower energy cost, nil or lesser pre-treatment and recovery of valuable by-products. To reduce the TDS still lower, it is recommended to have a simplified reverse osmosis unit in addition, as a post-operative arrangement.
DIGITAL MODEL BASED REVERSE OSMOSIS PLANT OPERATION AND OPTIMIZATION
A digital twin model based operation and optimization of a reverse osmosis plant uses a data processing system to receive data for a reverse osmosis membrane in a plant that with a plurality of assets. The data processing system can determine a level of performance of the membrane based on the data for the membrane input into a model generated with sa topology indicative of one or more relationships and a flow path between the plurality of assets, predict, based on the model and responsive to the level of performance input into an optimization function for the plant, a time at which the level of performance degrades below a threshold, and provide an indication of the time at which the level of performance degrades below the threshold predicted using the optimization function to cause servicing of the membrane used to process the fluid at the plant.
FREEZE CONCENTRATION FOR URINE-BASED FERTILIZER PRODUCTION
A system for generating a concentrated product from a feedstock includes a feedstock chamber to which the feedstock is provided, a heat exchanger assembly in thermal communication with the feedstock chamber, the heat exchanger assembly being configured to freeze the feedstock in the feedstock chamber, an output flow arrangement configured to carry liquid from the feedstock chamber as the feedstock thaws, the output flow arrangement comprising a flow controller, a sensor disposed along the output flow arrangement or the heat exchanger assembly, the sensor being configured to measure a characteristic of the liquid, the characteristic being indicative of a solute concentration level of the liquid or the heat exchanger assembly, and a processor responsive to the characteristic and configured to control the flow controller to, based on the solute concentration level, direct the liquid passing through the output flow arrangement to define a plurality of products at different concentration levels, the plurality of products comprising the concentrated product.
FREEZE CONCENTRATION FOR URINE-BASED FERTILIZER PRODUCTION
A system for generating a concentrated product from a feedstock includes a feedstock chamber to which the feedstock is provided, a heat exchanger assembly in thermal communication with the feedstock chamber, the heat exchanger assembly being configured to freeze the feedstock in the feedstock chamber, an output flow arrangement configured to carry liquid from the feedstock chamber as the feedstock thaws, the output flow arrangement comprising a flow controller, a sensor disposed along the output flow arrangement or the heat exchanger assembly, the sensor being configured to measure a characteristic of the liquid, the characteristic being indicative of a solute concentration level of the liquid or the heat exchanger assembly, and a processor responsive to the characteristic and configured to control the flow controller to, based on the solute concentration level, direct the liquid passing through the output flow arrangement to define a plurality of products at different concentration levels, the plurality of products comprising the concentrated product.
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING WASTEWATER USING NON-CHEMICAL PROCESS
A method for treating wastewater, comprising: (i) injecting a hydrate-forming gas (e.g., propane) into the wastewater under conditions of elevated pressure and reduced temperature to form a solid hydrate composed of the hydrate-forming gas and water from the wastewater; and (ii) separating the solid hydrate from the wastewater to result in removal of water from the wastewater, thereby resulting in partially dewatered wastewater, and optionally, (iii) lowering the pressure and/or raising the temperature of the solid hydrate to decompose the solid hydrate into reformed hydrate-forming gas and reformed water, and further optionally, recycling the reformed hydrate-forming gas for use in step (i) and/or capturing the reformed water from step (iii) and further decontaminating until suitable for release into waterway or for use in a process. The invention is also directed to an apparatus for practicing the method described above.