WATER TREATMENT PLANT

Abstract

A water treatment plant, having at least one storage container for storing water to be treated, an evaporator for evaporating the water to be treated, a condenser for condensing the water evaporated in the evaporator, the condenser being fed on the cooling water side with water to be treated, which is flowing to the evaporator. The storage container is arranged above the evaporator, and the condenser is arranged at the level of the base of the evaporator, the storage container being closable in an airtight manner and opening with an outlet into an overflow pot, the surface height of which is arranged slightly below a vapor outlet of the evaporator. The overflow pot is connected to the cooling water inlet of the condenser. A cooling water outlet of the condenser is connected to an inlet of the evaporator.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. A treatment plant for water to be treated, comprising: at least one storage container configured to store the water to be treated, at least one evaporator configured to evaporate the water to be treated into vaporized water, at least one condenser configured to condense water evaporated in the evaporator into condensate water, wherein the condenser is fed on a cooling water side with water to be treated, which is flowing to the evaporator, wherein the storage container is arranged above the evaporator, and wherein the condenser is arranged at a level of a base of the evaporator, wherein the storage container is configured to be closable in an airtight manner and openable with an outlet into an overflow pot, a surface height of which is arranged slightly below a vapor outlet of the evaporator, and wherein the overflow pot is connected to a cooling water inlet of the condenser, and wherein a cooling water outlet of the condenser is connected to an inlet of the evaporator.

12. The water treatment plant according to claim 11, wherein a water outlet of the condenser for the condensate water is connected to a branch, which feeds a larger part of the condensate water into a distillate tank, and feeds a smaller part of the condensate water into an electrolytic cell, wherein in the electrolysis cell, condensate water is decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen, wherein the electrolysis cell is connected to the distillate tank on an oxygen-forming side, so that oxygen formed flows into the distillate tank and gasses the condensate water there as distillate.

13. The water treatment plant according to claim 12, wherein the evaporator is a solar evaporator and is fully thermally insulated.

14. The water treatment plant according to claim 11, wherein the storage container is connected to a head of the evaporator via a tap, the evaporator having a drain valve at a lower end thereof.

15. The water treatment plant according to claim 12, wherein electrodes of the electrolysis cell are connected to at least one of a photovoltaic panel or a wind turbine, wherein the photovoltaic panel or the wind turbine are part of the water treatment plant.

16. The water treatment plant according to claim 12, wherein a further storage container is connected to the distillate tank via a tap, via which water from the further storage container enters the distillate tank in order to feed the condensate water contained therein as distillate with electrolytes from the further storage container.

17. The water treatment plant according to claim 12, wherein the distillate tank and the electrolytic cell are pressure-tight on the inlet side via a non-return valve and has a safety valve that responds at 100 bar.

18. The water treatment plant according to claim 12, wherein the distillate tank and the electrolytic cell are pressure-tight on the inlet side via a non-return valve and has a safety valve that responds at 200 bar.

19. The water treatment plant according to claim 12, wherein the distillate tank and the electrolytic cell are pressure-tight on the inlet side via a non-return valve and has a safety valve that responds at 300 bar.

20. The water treatment plant according to claim 12, wherein volumes of the storage container and the distillate tank are between 3 liters and 10 liters, and wherein the water treatment plant is constructed in a frame which is movable from one location to another.

21. The water treatment plant according to claim 12, wherein volumes of the storage container and of the distillate tank are between 3 m.sup.3 and 100 m.sup.3, and wherein the water treatment plant is anchored in a foundation.

22. A process for the treatment of water to be treated, comprising the following steps: unpressurized preheating of water to be treated in a condenser on the cooling water side, evaporating the preheated water to be treated in an evaporator into vaporized water, passing the vaporized water through the condenser on a condensate side to form condensate water, storing the condensate water condensed in the condenser as distillate in a pressure-tight distillate tank, oxygenating the condensate water as distillate at a pressure between 100 bar and 300 bar by oxygen obtained from a previous electrolysis of part of the condensate water.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The invention is explained in more detail with reference to the following figures.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a sketch of a water treatment system according to the invention in a perspective view from the front,

[0018] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the water treatment system from FIG. 1 from the front without the evaporator and without the solar panel,

[0019] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the water treatment system from FIG. 1 from behind,

[0020] FIG. 4 is a rough sketch of the individual parts of the water treatment system according to the invention from FIG. 1 to illustrate the function.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a sketch of a water treatment system according to the invention 100 in a perspective view from the front. In this embodiment, the water treatment system 100 consists of the upper storage container 110, the evaporator 120 and the condenser 130, which is optimized as a recuperator in which the water to be treated, which cools the steam (evaporated water), is heated as much as possible. In addition to these three basic elements, the water treatment system 100 also has the distillate tank 140, an electrolysis cell 150, a solar panel 160 and a further storage container 170. This embodiment of the water treatment system 100 according to the invention shown here is constructed in a frame R so that it can be transported from one location to another. However, it is also possible to scale this system and connect it firmly to the ground in a foundation. The water to be treated from the storage container drips or falls into an overflow pot 111, which is used to determine the level of the water to be treated in the evaporator. This overflow pot enables automatic control of the evaporator level, whereby the evaporator side and condenser side of the water treatment system are depressurized.

[0022] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the water treatment system from FIG. 1 from the front without the evaporator and without the solar panel. The connecting pipes between the overflow pot 111 and the condenser 130 can be clearly seen. Furthermore, the connecting pipe can be seen from the condenser 130 to the inlet 122 to the evaporator 120, which is hidden here. A drain valve 123, which can be opened to clean the evaporator, is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the inlet 122. This view also shows an inlet 113 to the storage container 110. This inlet can be used for aeration or also for filling the storage container 110 with water to be treated.

[0023] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the water treatment system from FIG. 1 from behind. This view clearly shows the connection of the individual units. In this view, the storage containers 110 arranged one above the other, the further storage container 170 and the distillate tank 140 arranged underneath are shown. The storage container has a further inlet 113, which is also used as a drain for water to be treated that is present in the storage container. The further storage container 170 with the inlet 173 is shown below the storage container 110.

[0024] Finally, FIG. 4 shows a rough sketch of the individual parts of the water treatment system according to the invention shown in FIG. 1 to illustrate its function. This system shown here embodies all the features, both the essential features of the invention and the further features according to the below description.

[0025] The water treatment system 100 has the following units: firstly, at least one storage container 110 for storing the water W1 to be treated. The water W1 to be treated can be filled into the storage container 110 via an inlet 113. Furthermore, the water treatment system 100 has at least one evaporator 120 for evaporating the water W1 to be treated. A further unit is at least one condenser 30 for condensing the water W2 evaporated in the evaporator 120. The condenser 130 is fed with water W1 to be treated on the cooling water side. The water W1 to be treated is on its way to the evaporator 120. The aforementioned storage container 110 is arranged above the evaporator 120 so that the water W1 to be treated enters the evaporator by gravity as feed water. The condenser 130, on the other hand, is arranged at the level of the base of the evaporator 120. The storage container 110 can be closed airtight and opens with an outlet into an overflow pot 111. The surface height SH of the overflow pot 111 is positioned slightly below a steam outlet 121 of the evaporator 120. The lower outlet of the overflow pot 111 is connected to the cooling water inlet 131 of the condenser 130, so that the water W1 to be treated flows from the storage container 110 into the condenser 130 as cooling water. A cooling water outlet 132 of the condenser 130 is connected to an inlet 122 of the evaporator 120, wherein a shut-off valve is arranged there to enable cleaning of the evaporator 120 by opening the tap 112 and tap 123. Thus, in order to clean the evaporator 120 from the concentrating sump, it is provided that the receiver 110 is connected to the head of the evaporator 120 via a tap 112, the evaporator 120 having a drain valve 123 at its lower end. To ensure that the water W1 to be treated flows freely, the inlet 113 can be opened so that air can enter the storage container when the storage container 110 is emptied.

[0026] A condensate water outlet 133 of the condenser 130 is connected to a branch 134, which leads a larger part of the condensate water W3 into a distillate tank 140, and leads a smaller part of the condensate water W3 into an electrolysis cell 150. In the electrolysis cell 150, the condensate water W3 is electrolytically decomposed into hydrogen H2 and oxygen O2. The electrolysis cell 150 is connected to the distillate tank 140 on the oxygen-forming side, so that the oxygen 02 formed flows into the distillate tank 140 and gasses the condensate water W3 as distillate. This gassing is the oxygenation of the distillate water in order to sterilize it and make it durable. In the electrolysis cell 150, the electrodes 151, 152 are connected to a photovoltaic panel 160. For this purpose, the photovoltaic panel 160 is part of the water treatment system 100. The distillate tank 140 and the electrolysis cell 150 are designed to be pressure-tight via a non-return valve 141 on the inlet side and a safety valve 153 ensures that it responds at 100 bar, 200 bar or 300 bar in order to prevent the pressure of the electrolysis gas from rising.

[0027] A further storage container 170 is connected to the distillate tank 140 via a tap 171, via which water or a prepared electrolyte liquid from the further storage container 170 enters the distillate tank 140 in order to feed the condensate water W3 contained therein as distillate with electrolytes from the further storage container 170. Charging takes place before the distillate tank is pressurized.

[0028] In the embodiment of the water treatment system according to the invention shown here, the evaporator 120 is a solar evaporator and this is completely thermally insulated by being contained in an evacuated container with a transparent disk. The thermal insulation enables a high degree of recuperation of the evaporation heat absorbed in the evaporator by the water W1 to be treated.

[0029] While at least one exemplary embodiment of the present invention(s) is disclosed herein, it should be understood that modifications, substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the exemplary embodiment(s). In addition, in this disclosure, the terms comprise or comprising do not exclude other elements or steps, the terms a or one do not exclude a plural number, and the term or means either or both. Furthermore, characteristics or steps which have been described may also be used in combination with other characteristics or steps and in any order unless the disclosure or context suggests otherwise. This disclosure hereby incorporates by reference the complete disclosure of any patent or application from which it claims benefit or priority.

REFERENCE LIST

[0030] 100 Water treatment plant [0031] 110 Storage container [0032] 111 Overflow pot [0033] 112 Tap [0034] 113 Inlet [0035] 120 Vaporizer [0036] 121 Vapor outlet [0037] 122 Input [0038] 123 Drain valve [0039] 121 Vapor outlet [0040] 130 Capacitor [0041] 131 Cooling water inlet [0042] 132 Cooling water outlet [0043] 133 Condensate water outlet [0044] 140 Distillate tank [0045] 141 Check valve [0046] 142 Safety valve [0047] 143 Outlet [0048] 150 Electrolytic cell [0049] 151 Electrode [0050] 152 Electrode [0051] 160 Photovoltaic panel [0052] 170 Storage container [0053] 171 Tap [0054] 173 Inlet [0055] R Frame [0056] SH Surface height [0057] W1 Water to be treated [0058] W2 vaporized water [0059] W3 Condensate water