This publication relates to a method and a system for producing freshwater through a reverse osmosis process in a submerged membrane system requiring a differential pressure over the membrane system. The differential pressure is provided by introducing gas bubbles in the riser device (2) downstream the outlet (7) for fresh water in the riser device (2). The system comprises at least one submerged, reverse osmosis unit (1), with an inlet (4) for water and an outlet (7) for fresh water, a riser device (2) extending from the outlet (7) of the submerged membrane system to at, above or below sea level and a system for providing a low pressure side for the reverse osmosis process.

In one embodiment, a portable wastewater treatment system includes an anaerobic reactor in which organic material within the wastewater can be broken down, a membrane filter that receives wastewater from the anaerobic reactor and filters the water to produce permeate, and a small shipping container in which the reactor and the membrane filter are contained.

A reverse osmosis system includes a membrane housing comprising a reverse osmosis membrane therein. The membrane housing comprising a feed fluid inlet, a brine outlet and a permeate outlet. A first turbocharger has a first pump portion and a first turbine portion. The brine outlet is coupled to a first pipe directing a first portion of brine to the first pump portion. The first pump portion is in fluid communication with the feed fluid inlet. A feed pump communicates feed fluid to the feed fluid inlet through the first turbine portion. The brine outlet is coupled to a second pipe directing a second portion of brine toward a drain through a brine control valve.

A small processor produces potable water from contaminated water. Its components mount in a hermetically sealed housing, which include a boiler-condenser assembly and a compressor unit. Contaminated water is injected onto one or more aluminum shells' inside surface of the boiler-condenser assembly. Shell rotation enhances boiling heat transfer by causing the water to form thin films on the shells' inside surface. Shell rotation also enhances condensing heat transfer by assisting in removing the purified condensate from the shells' outer surface. The change of phase heat of condensation energy from vapor to liquid transfers through the shells to the boilers to cause boiling. Vapor boiled inside the boiler chambers flows toward the compressor, which raises the vapor's pressure and temperature to drive the process. Shell rotation causes centrifugal force that holds and directs concentrated un-boiled remaining water on the shells' inside walls towards the output pumps. Wipers mounted adjacent each shell's boiler surface smooth contaminated water. Wipers adjacent the condenser surfaces help remove condensate from that surface to present a clean condenser for improved condensation.

The reverse osmosis centrifuge converts rotational energy into fluid velocity and conserves the energy placed into the concentrate. As concentrate travels back towards the center of the reverse osmosis centrifuge, the velocity of the fluid is converted into rotational force, thus conserving energy placed into the concentrate. To accomplish this, the reverse osmosis centrifuge includes a support shaft, a plurality of receiving tubes, a plurality of housings with filters therein, a plurality of departure tubes, and a permeate trough. The plurality of receiving tubes are coupled to a top of the plurality of housings, while the plurality of departure tubes are coupled to a bottom of the plurality of housings. Centrifugal force creates the permeate and concentrate. The permeate exits the plurality of housings and is deposited into the permeate trough. The concentrate travels through, and exists from, the plurality of departure tubes.

An apparatus, system and method to purify produced water from a wellbore using energy. The apparatus comprises a wellbore with a wellhead attached to the wellbore; at least one energy recapture device connected to the wellhead of the wellbore with produced water, wherein the at least one energy recapture device captures fluid pressure of the production fluids including produced water; and at least one reverse osmosis membrane connected to the pressure recapture device wherein the at least one reverse osmosis membrane uses at least a portion of the fluid pressure from the energy recapture device to move a volume of the produced water through the reverse osmosis membrane to remove contaminates from the produced water to create purified water. The method comprises steps to use the apparatus and the system comprises a control panel that operates the at least one energy recapture device and the at least one reverse osmosis membrane in a coordinated manner.

The present disclosure relates to a method and device for obtaining distillate from non-potable water. The method comprises the steps of utilizing solar power from a solar power system to produce electricity and steam, utilizing the electricity and the steam in a water treatment device to convert the non-potable water into distillate and concentrate, transporting at least a part of the distillate to consumers for use. The method and device provide multiple effect distillation (MED) combined with vapour compression (VC) being able to work 24 hours a day only on solar energy.

Disclosed are a multi-stage gravity-type sludge drying apparatus and a sludge drying method using the same. The drying apparatus includes: a dryer, a preheater, a steam generator, a filter, a steam or water separation buffer tank, a steam compressor, a cooling water pump, a sealed discharge device, pipes and valves. The dryer includes several indirect dryer modules. The transportation of sludge in the dryer is achieved by gravity. The inner cavity of respective indirect dryers is filled with high-temperature steam to dry the sludge by indirect heating. The condensate water in the cavity is recycled and fed into the preheater to perform preheating and impurity removal on the wet sludge. The secondary steam generated in the dryer is filtered, compressed and overheated to become a new heat source for indirect heating in the cavity and convection drying at a bottom of the dryer.

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.

A system for brine water desalinization includes a first heat exchanger having an inlet plenum and an outlet plenum for a first fluid comprising a concentrate in a liquid. The first heat exchanger includes a shell side fluid inlet and a shell side fluid outlet for a second fluid comprising a higher concentrated liquid than the first fluid. The system also comprises pipes configured to direct the first fluid from the outlet plenum to a shell side fluid inlet of a second heat exchanger and to direct the second fluid from the shell side fluid outlet to an inlet plenum of the second heat exchanger. The system further includes pipes configured to produce desalinized water by a serial distillation of multiple steams from an nth number of heat exchangers into respective distillates thereof and a parallel product of brine waste thereof from the heat exchangers.