A system includes a first fluid inlet and a single reverse osmosis membrane module having a permeate outlet and a first inlet/outlet channel and a second fluid inlet/outlet channel in fluid communication with the first fluid inlet. An energy transfer system has a second fluid inlet, a brine outlet, a first energy exchanging module and a second energy exchanging module. The first and second energy exchanging modules are adapted to reversibly operate in opposite flow phases where a flow direction for the expulsion flow phase in each energy exchanging module is constant and where a flow direction for the energy recover flow phase in each energy exchanging module is constant. The single reverse osmosis membrane module is adapted to reversibly receive a feed flow through one of the first and second fluid inlet/outlet channels and produce a brine outflow through the other of the first and second inlet/outlet channels.

The present invention relates to a filtering device for a water treatment system comprising a biological treatment device adapted to provide a sludge from wastewater or filtrated wastewater, and/or the biological treatment device being fluidic connectable to or in fluidic connection with the filtering device for receiving filtrated wastewater from the filtering device and for delivering sludge to the filtering device. The filtering device is a cake filtration device comprising a fluid penetrable support structure and the support structure is provided as one or more tubular elements having a filtration cake provided on the inside of the fluid penetrable support structure. The filtering has device an inlet being connectable to receive liquid to be filtered so that the flux of liquid to be filtered is from the inside of the support structure, through the filtration cake and to the outside of the support structure thereby providing a filtrate, an outlet for outletting liquid from the interior of the tubular element, and a filtrate outlet for outletting filtrate from the filtering device. The filtration cake is being provided by deposition of solids from the sludge formed in the biological treatment device.

A method and apparatus for the treatment of wastewater. The method comprising receiving wastewater into a tank via a wastewater inlet, evaporating a fraction of the wastewater and thereby forming a concentrate, evaporating volatile organic compounds (VOCs) out of the wastewater, collecting the VOCs thereby evaporated, and processing the concentrate, said processing typically comprising anaerobic digestion and/or thermal hydrolysis of organic compounds contained within the concentrate.

Method of desalination and wastewater treatment in a microbial desalination cell reactor is provided, the microbial desalination cell reactor has three compartments, an anodic compartment, a cathodic compartment and a saline compartment, the method is carried out by (a) adding electrically conductive particles or electrically conductive material in the anodic compartment and cathodic compartment, (b) adding bacteria species of the genus Geobacter in the anodic compartment and several solutions in the compartments (c) replacing the solutions in the cathodic compartment and in the saline compartment and (d) oxidizing organic matter present in wastewater by bacteria from the genus Geobacter in the anodic compartment and desalinating the solution in the saline compartment and (e)after 20 to 30 operation cycles, replacing the solution in the saline compartment by a solution of hypochlorite salt.

A system includes an anaerobic digestion tank, a gas storage tank, a power generator, a power distribution system, and an electronic control system. The anaerobic digestion tank receives biological waste from a sewer line of a multi-unit building, and allows the received biological waste to be digested to produce a combustible gas. The gas storage tank stores the combustible gas. The power generator combusts the combustible gas to produce at least one of electrical power or heat. The power distribution system receives the electrical power from the power generator, stores at least some of the electrical power, and distributes at least some of the stored electrical power to one or more electrical devices. The electronic control system controls an operation of the system.

Various embodiments may include a system for removing contaminants from contaminated water comprising: a distillation still supplying heat to contaminated water to boil the contaminated water; a vent allowing a vapor stream to exit the distillation still; an oxidation unit removing additional contaminants from the vapor stream; an outlet discharging a purified water stream from the oxidation unit; and a heat exchanger transferring heat from the purified water stream leaving the oxidation unit to the vapor stream exiting the distillation still before the vapor stream enters the oxidation unit.

In an improved method of distilling fluids, some or all of the fluid is recovered as distillate and the fluid is situated in the shell side of a first shell and tube heat exchanger. The fluid to be recovered as distillate is successively boiled, demisted, compressed and then introduced into upper ends of the tubes. A second shell and tube heat exchanger is located below the first heat exchanger, and distillate from upper ends of the tubes in the second heat exchanger are arranged to receive distillate liquid and/or vapor from the lower ends of tubes of the first heat exchanger. The fluid is located in the shell of the second heat exchanger and that fluid is heated but is not boiled. A mechanism is provided to supply at least some of the heated fluid to the shell of the first heat exchanger.

A Biorefinery System (BIOSYS) that effectively treats all human activity-derived waste (black water, grey water, and food waste streams) using biological systems and that produces as process by-products: recovered potable water, liberated free oxygen, edible protein cake (with and without lipids), soil amendments, and machinery lube oils. Additionally, the system captures and chemically binds carbon dioxide into microbial cells and associated by-products, thus producing recovered usable returned cabin air.

Embodiments of this invention provide an integrated system for clean energy generation and storage and RO desalination. The integrated system includes a first subsystem that stores hydraulic energy. The integrated system further includes a second subsystem that desalinates water. The integration system also includes a penstock that facilitates flow of the water between the first subsystem and the second subsystem. The integrated subsystem may also incorporate solar and/or wind power generation plants as a power source for the integrated system.

The present invention includes a method including providing an anode and a cathode; providing a desalination device operably coupled to establish an electrical potential between the anode and the cathode when the desalination device is operating; providing water containing dissolved solids; thereby establishing the electrical potential; reducing a salinity of the water by supplying the water to the desalination device; and generating electrical power by reducing the salinity of the water.