A solar-powered distillation process converts saline water into potable water and useful solid residues. A solid material is heated by solar energy, and the solid material is brought into direct contact with saline water. Some of the water becomes steam and vapor, which can be condensed to produce potable water. The water-soluble salts within the saline water are precipitated separately, and collected for commercial use. Scale formed on the solid material can be removed, and the solid material reheated by solar energy, and the reheated solid material can again be used to heat incoming saline water in a continuous process.

A method and apparatus for the separation of gas and liquid-solid slurry under pressure, and passage of the liquid-solid slurry to an atmospheric discharge.

A water intake and pretreatment system (10) comprising an inlet for delivering water from a natural source to a reservoir (12); said inlet to reservoir having a net screen (16) to prevent entry of organisms above a predetermined size and including a one-way gate (30) to allow organisms to exit the reservoir; said reservoir further comprising a granular filter media for water and algae filtration; and a drainage layer for removal of filtered water from the granular filter media to a drainage outlet. A local backwashing apparatus (40) is included for localized backwashing of the granular filter media.

The present invention provides a system for high throughput purification of liquid.

A system and method of filtering waters contaminated by pollutants, in particular for removing heavy metals from said contaminated waters, said system comprising a duct for the transit of said contaminated waters, said system further comprising a tank of activated carbon powders in communication with said duct for the transit of said contaminated waters by introduction means adapted to introduce said activated carbon powders into said duct.

A process for removing solids/sludge, unwanted liquids and heavy components from processing liquids. The process involving adjusting the pH of the feed stream comprising processing liquids, water, and one or more contaminants and introducing the stream into a solids/liquids/liquids centrifuge. The solids removal process being incorporated into a processing liquid reclaiming/recovery process.

An exemplary water circulation pump pre-filter unit (PFU) comprises a backwash pipe in fluid communication with an outer nozzle outside a screen cage and an inner nozzle within the screen cage. The PFU may simultaneously spray inside and outside the screen cage using an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle configured with an axial jet perpendicular to a plurality of radial jets. The inner nozzle may have a restriction chamber with diameter decreasing in flow direction to a full cone nozzle outlet, concentrating dual streams from a plurality of inlets swirled through a plurality of helical channels. Pairs of inner nozzles may be angled to each other, increasing the inner surface area cleaned. Exemplary implementations may simultaneously clean the screen cage bottom and top using the outer nozzle and inner nozzles in backwash mode and in a separate pre-filter mode ingest water through multiple filter pipe inlet apertures.

Systems for removing debris from a water reservoir include a moveable floating skimmer device positioned within the water reservoir and configured to receive floating debris, the skimmer device comprising an adjustable weir for capturing the debris and a receptacle for containing the debris; a discharge pipe connected to the skimmer device, the discharge pipe configured to receive the debris and a first portion of water from the receptacle in the skimmer device; a debris separator fluidly connected to the discharge pipe and configured to receive the debris and the first portion of water from the discharge pipe, the debris separator further configured to separate the debris from the first portion of water; a pump positioned between the discharge pipe and the debris separator and configured to transport the debris and the first portion of water in the discharge pipe to the debris separator via a pump outlet; and a recycle line connected to the debris separator and configured to return a second portion of water that exits the debris separator back to the water reservoir.

Methods of treating animal organic material are disclosed herein. The methods include diluting the animal organic material to produce an organic material slurry, anaerobically digesting the organic material slurry to produce a biogas and a digestate, separating the digestate to produce a digestate solids and a filtrate, removing ammonia from the filtrate, removing organic contaminants and divalent anions from the filtrate, concentrating the filtrate to produce a retentate and a permeate, combining the digestate solids and the retentate to produce a solids product, and returning the permeate to dilute the animal organic material. Systems for treatment of animal organic material are also disclosed herein. The systems include a dilution tank, an anaerobic digester, a first solids-liquid separation subsystem, an ammonia-reducing column, a second solids-liquid separation subsystem, a production water storage tank, and a solids product tank.

The present invention provides improved methods for purifying and/or removing oily particles, and/or contaminants suspended or dissolved in water. In particular the process relates to an additive composition that has the appropriate surfactant characteristics for effectively removing an oil phase from an oil/aqueous mixed phase via foam fractionation. According to the invention, a hydrophobically modified polymer that acts as an associative thickener is combined with surfactant in appropriate ratios to facilitate oil removal for water purification in any of a number of commercial, environmental and industrial applications.