Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYSTEM FOR TREATING BIO-CONTAMINATED WASTEWATER AND PROCESS FOR
DECONTAMINATING A WASTEWATER SOURCE
D ES C RI PT 10 N
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[Para 1] The present invention relates to a system for treating
waste water
from animal slaughterhouses and similar biological processing facilities. More
particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method that
utilizes a
series of pumps, filters, and water vaporizers to decontaminate such
biological
waste water by removing entrained and dissolved solids, vaporizing water, and
maximizing recovery of usable water from contaminated water via a horizontal
water processing vessel.
[Para 2] Decontamination of water sources can come in many forms,
including filtration, desalination, purification, disinfection, etc.
Filtration
removes entrained and/or dissolved solids from a water source. Desalinization
(also desalination or desalinisation) refers to one of many processes for
removing
excess salt, minerals and other natural or unnatural contaminants from water.
Purification are disinfection are useful methods to eliminate biological and
similar contaminants or toxins.
[Para 3] Historically, desalinization converted sea water into
drinking water
onboard ships. Modern desalinization processes are still used on ships and
submarines to ensure a constant supply of drinking water for the crew. But,
desalinization is increasingly being used in arid regions having scarce fresh
water
resources. In these regions, salt water from the ocean is desalinated to fresh
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water suitable for consumption (i.e. potable) or for irrigation. The highly
concentrated waste product from the desalinization process is commonly
referred to as brine, with salt (NaCI) being a typical major by-product. Most
modern interest in desalinization focuses on developing cost-effective
processes
for providing fresh water for use in arid regions where fresh water
availability is
limited.
[Para 4] Large-scale decontamination processes like desalination
are typically
costly and generally require large amounts of energy and an expensive
infrastructure. For example, the world's largest desalinization plant
primarily
uses multi-stage flash distillation and can produce 300 million cubic meters
(m3)
of water per year. The largest desalinization plant in the United States
desalinates 25 million gallons (95,000 m3) of water per day. Worldwide,
approximately 13,000 desalinization plants produce more than 12 billion
gallons
(45 million m3) of water per day. Thus, there is a constant need in the art
for
improving desalinization methods, namely lowering costs and improving
efficiency of the related systems.
[Para 5] Decontamination may be performed by many different
processes.
For example, several desalination processes use simple evaporation-based
desalinization methods such as multiple-effect evaporation (MED or simply ME),
vapor-compression evaporation (VC) and evaporation-condensation. In general,
evaporation-condensation is a natural desalinization process performed by
nature during the hydrologic cycle. In the hydrologic cycle, water evaporates
into
the atmosphere from sources such as lakes, oceans and streams. Evaporated
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water then contacts cooler air and forms dew or rain. The resultant water is
generally free from impurities. The hydrologic process can be replicated
artificially using a series of evaporation-condensation processes. In basic
operation, salt water is heated to evaporation. Salt and other impurities
dissolve
out from the water and are left behind during the evaporation stage. The
evaporated water is later condensed, collected and stored as fresh water. Over
the years, the evaporation-condensation system has been greatly improved,
especially with the advent of more efficient technology facilitating the
process.
But, these systems still require significant energy input to evaporate the
water.
An alternative evaporation-based desalinization method includes multi-stage
flash distillation, as briefly described above. Multi-stage flash distillation
uses
vacuum distillation. Vacuum distillation is a process of boiling water at less
than
atmospheric pressure by creating a vacuum within the evaporation chamber.
Hence, vacuum distillation operates at a much lower temperature than MED or VC
and therefore requires less energy to evaporate the water to separate the
contaminants therefrom. This process is particularly desirable in view of
rising
energy costs.
[Para 6] Alternative desalinization methods may include membrane-
based
processes such as reverse osmosis (RO), electrodialisys reversal (EDR),
nanofiltration (NF), forward osmosis (FO) and membrane distillation (MD). Of
these desalinization processes, reverse osmosis is the most widely used.
Reverse
osmosis uses semi-permeable membranes and pressure to separate salt and
other impurities from water. Reverse osmosis membranes are considered
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selective. That is, the membrane is highly permeable to water molecules while
highly impermeable to salt and other contaminants dissolved therein. The
membranes themselves are stored in expensive and highly pressurized
containers. The containers arrange the membranes to maximize surface area
and salt water flow rate therethrough. Conventional-osmosis desalinization
systems typically use one of two techniques for developing high pressure
within
the system: (1) high-pressure pumps; or (2) centrifuges. A high-pressure pump
helps filter salt water through the membrane. The pressure in the system
varies
according to the pump settings and osmotic pressure of the salt water. Osmotic
pressure depends on the temperature of the solution and the concentration of
salt dissolved therein. Alternatively, centrifuges are typically more
efficient, but
are more difficult to implement. The centrifuge spins the solution at high
rates
to separate materials of varying densities within the solution. In combination
with a membrane, suspended salts and other contaminants are subject to
constant radial acceleration along the length of the membrane. One common
problem with reverse osmosis in general is the removal of suspended salt and
clogging of the membrane over time.
[Para 7] Operating expenses of reverse osmosis water desalinization
plants
are primarily determined by the energy costs required to drive the high-
pressure
pump or centrifuge. A hydraulic energy recovery system may be integrated into
the reverse osmosis system to combat rising energy costs associated with
already energy intensive processes. This involves recovering part of the input
energy. For example, turbines are particularly capable of recovering energy in
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systems that require high operating pressures and large volumes of salt water.
The turbine recovers energy during a hydraulic pressure drop. Thus, energy is
recovered in a reverse osmosis system based on pressure differentials between
opposite sides of the membrane. The pressure on the salt water side is much
higher than the pressure on the desalinated water side. The pressure drop
produces considerable hydraulic energy recoverable by the turbine. Thus, the
energy produced between high pressure and low pressure sections of the reverse
osmosis membrane is harnessed and not completely wasted. Recovered energy
may be used to drive any of the system components, including the high-pressure
pump or centrifuge. Turbines help reduce overall energy expenditures to
perform desalinization.
[Para 8] In general, reverse osmosis systems typically consume less
energy
than thermal distillation and is, therefore, more cost effective. While
reverse
osmosis works well with somewhat brackish water solutions, reverse osmosis
may become overloaded and inefficient when used with heavily salted solutions,
such as ocean salt water. Other, less efficient desalinization methods may
include ionic exchange, freezing, geothermal desalinization, solar
humidification
(HDH or MEH), methane hydrate crystallization, high-grade water recycling or
RF
induced hyperthermia. Regardless of the process, desalinization remains energy
intensive. Future costs and economic feasibility continue to depend on both
the
price of desalinization technology and the costs of the energy needed to
operate
the system.
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[Para 9] In another alternative method of desalinization, U.S.
Patent No.
4,891,140 to Burke, Jr. discloses a method of separating and removing
dissolved
minerals and organic material from water by destructive distillation. Here,
water
is heated to a vapor under controlled pressure. Dissolved salt particles and
other
contaminants fall out of the solution as water evaporates. An integrated
hydrocyclone centrifuge speeds up the separation process. The heated, high
pressure clean water transfers energy back to the system through heat exchange
and a hydraulic motor. Net energy use is therefore relatively lower than the
aforementioned processes. In fact, net energy use is essentially equivalent to
pump loss and heat loss from equipment operation. One particular advantage of
this design is that there are no membranes to replace. This process removes
chemicals and other matter that would otherwise damage or destroy membrane-
based desalinization devices.
[Para 10] Another patent, U.S. Patent No. 4,287,026 to Wallace,
discloses a
method and apparatus for removing salt and other minerals in the form of
dissolved solids from salt and other brackish waters to produce potable water.
Water is forced through several desalinization stages at high temperature and
at
high centrifugal velocities. Preferably, the interior components spin the
water at
speeds up to Mach 2 to efficiently separate and suspend dissolved salt and
other
dissolved solids from the vaporized water. The suspended salt and other
minerals are centrifugally forced outward to be discharged separately from the
water vapor. The separated and purified vapor or steam is then condensed back
to potable water. The system requires significantly less operational energy
than
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reverse osmosis and similar filtration systems to efficiently and economically
purify water. One drawback of this design is that the rotating shaft is built
into a
vertical chamber. As a result, the rotating shaft sections are only solidly
anchored to the base unit by a bearing and a bearing cap. At high rotational
speeds (e.g. over Mach 1), vibrations cause excessive bearing shaft and seal
failure. Another drawback is that a series of chambers are bolted together in
housing sections. The perforated plates are coupled to these sections by an 0-
ring seal. The housing and 0-ring seals tend to wear over time due to salt
penetration because the multiple chambers and housing sections are connected
via a plurality of nuts and bolts. In particular, the assembly of the Wallace
design
is particularly laborious. Maintenance is equally labor intensive as it takes
significant time to disassemble each of the housing sections, including the 0-
rings, nuts and bolts. Of course, the device must be reassembled after the
requisite maintenance is performed. Each housing section must be carefully put
back together to ensure proper sealing therebetween. The system is also prone
to a variety of torque and maintenance problems as the device ages, such as 0-
ring leakage. Moreover, the rotating shaft is connected to the power source by
a
gear drive, which contributes to the aforementioned reliability problems
associated with the bearings, shafts and seals. The system also fails to
disclose
a means for regulating the speed of the rotating shaft sections according to
the
osmotic pressure of the salt water being desalinated. The static operation of
the
Wallace desalinization machine is therefore not as efficient as other modern
desalinization devices.
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[Para 11] Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved system
that includes
sensors for monitoring real-time system information and controls for adjusting
the mechanical operation of the system to maximize decontamination of the
water, such as desalinization of the water, and minimize energy consumption.
Such a system should further incorporate multiple recycling cycles to increase
the
recovery of potable water from approximately eighty percent to between
approximately ninety-six percent to ninety-nine percent, should incorporate a
polymer aided recovery system to extract trace elements of residue compounds
and should consume less energy than other desalinization systems known in the
art. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related
advantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[Para 1 2] The present invention is directed to a system for
decontaminating
impaired fluids containing biological waste, such as waste water from an
animal
slaughterhouse. The decontaminating processes eliminate biological waste and
other toxins from the waste water through physical separation and desalination
using filtration and vaporization processes applied to the waste water,
including
generating water vapor and steam.
[Para 1 3] The system for decontaminating a wastewater source begins
with a
waste water source fluidly connected to an inlet on a flow-through wastewater
filter-strainer device producing a filtered wastewater flow. The filtered
wastewater flow is connected to a wastewater inlet on a decontaminating
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vaporizer unit, said vaporizer unit comprising a generally horizontal
elongated
vessel having a plurality of alternately spaced rotating trays and fixed
baffles
disposed vertically along the elongated vessel between a first end of the
elongated vessel proximate to the wastewater inlet and a second end of the
elongated vessel proximate to a contaminant outlet and a vapor outlet.
[Para 14] The contaminant outlet on the vaporizer unit is fluidly
connected to
a contaminant tank for storage and later processing. The vapor outlet on the
vaporizer unit is fluidly connected to a vapor processing unit. The vapor
processing unit may comprise a heat exchanger, a condenser, a turbine, or
other
similar industrial processing unit.
[Para 1 5] In a particular embodiment, an inventive system for
treating bio-
contaminated wastewater may include a bio-contaminated wastewater source
fluidly connected to an inlet on a first wastewater filter-strainer device
producing
a filtered wastewater flow from an outlet. The outlet on the filter-strainer
device
is fluidly connected to a wastewater inlet on a decontamination unit having a
generally horizontal elongated vessel having a plurality of alternately spaced
rotating trays and fixed baffles disposed vertically along the elongated
vessel
between a first end of the elongated vessel proximate to the wastewater inlet
and
a second end of the elongated vessel proximate to a contaminant outlet and a
vapor outlet. The decontamination unit has a rotating shaft disposed along the
elongated vessel from the first end to the second end, the rotating shaft
passing
through the fixed baffles and fixedly attached to the rotating trays. The
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decontamination unit separates the filtered wastewater flow into a contaminant
flow to the contaminant outlet and a vapor flow to the vapor outlet.
[Para 1 6] The system further includes a second wastewater filter-
strainer
device disposed in parallel to the first wastewater filter-strainer device. An
inlet
on the second wastewater filter-strainer device is fluidly connected to the
bio-
contaminated wastewater source and an outlet is fluidly connected to the
wastewater inlet on the decontamination unit. The system may further include a
switching valve having an inlet side and an outlet side, wherein the inlet
side is
fluidly connected to the bio-contaminated wastewater source and the outlet
side
is fluidly connected to the inlet of the first wastewater filter-strainer
device and
the inlet of the second wastewater filter-strainer device. The switching valve
is
configured such that the outlet side selectively alternates the bio-
contaminated
wastewater flow between the first wastewater filter-strainer device and the
second wastewater filter-strainer device.
[Para 17] The outlet of the first wastewater filter-strainer device
and the outlet
of the second wastewater filter-strainer device are preferably both fluidly
connected to a fluid junction pipe containing a one-way check valve, wherein
an
outlet of the fluid junction pipe is fluidly connected to the wastewater inlet
on the
decontamination unit.
[Para 1 8] An electrical generator is preferably operatively
connected to the
rotating shaft on the decontamination unit. The electrical generator is
configured to provide electricity to electronic circuits and electronic
controls in
the system. The electronic circuits may include sensors, temperature gauges,
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pressure gauges, vibration sensors, lubrication systems, flow rate sensors,
and
computers. The electronic controls may include pumps, valves, and motors.
[Para 19] In the decontamination unit, each of the plurality of
trays has a
plurality of scoops each having an inlet of a first diameter and an outlet of
a
second smaller diameter, and each of the plurality of baffles has a plurality
of
apertures each having an inlet of a first diameter and an outlet of a second
smaller diameter. The decontamination unit further includes an internal sleeve
disposed in the elongated vessel downstream of the plurality of trays and
plurality of baffles, the internal sleeve forming an annular passageway to the
first
contaminate outlet.
[Para 20] In a particular embodiment, a process for decontaminating
a
wastewater source, includes screen filtering the wastewater source producing a
filtered wastewater flow. The filtered wastewater flow is directed into a
decontamination unit, wherein the decontamination unit has a rotating shaft
extending from a first end of an elongated vessel to the second end thereof,
and
a plurality of alternately spaced rotating trays and fixed baffles disposed
vertically in the elongated vessel between the first end and the second end,
the
rotating shaft passing through the fixed baffles and fixedly attached to the
rotating trays. The filtered wastewater flow is processed through the
decontamination unit, wherein the filtered wastewater flow is separated into a
contaminant flow and a decontaminated vapor flow. The contaminant flow is
directed to a contaminant storage vessel for further processing. The
decontaminated vapor flow is directed to a vapor outlet for further
processing.
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Electricity can be generated using an electrical generator fixedly attached to
a
portion of the rotating shaft that protrudes from the elongated vessel.
[Para 21] The process may further include the step of recycling a
portion of
the contaminant flow through the decontamination unit. Preferably, at least
75%
of the contaminant flow is recycled through the decontaminant unit.
[Para 22] The step of screen filtering the wastewater source may
include
multiple screen filter units. In particular, a first screen filter unit and a
second
screen filter unit may be provided in parallel. A switching valve may be
connected to inlets on both the first screen filter unit and the second screen
filter
unit. Outlets on both the first screen filter unit and the second screen
filter unit
may be connected to a fluid junction, with the fluid junction connected to the
decontamination unit.
[Para 23] The wastewater source is pumped through the switching
valve and
one of the first screen filter unit and the second screen filter unit. The
fluid
junction preferably includes a one-way check valve that selectively permits
the
filtered wastewater flow from one of the first screen filter unit or the
second
screen filter unit into the decontamination unit. The switching valve may be
selectively set to direct the wastewater source to one of the first screen
filter unit
or the second screen filter unit. The process further includes the step of
cleaning
one of the first screen filter unit or the second screen filter unit when the
switching valve directs the wastewater source to the other of the first screen
filter
unit or the second screen filter unit.
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[Para 24] The plurality of alternately spaced rotating trays and
fixed baffles in
the decontamination unit may further include a plurality of scoops on each of
the
plurality of rotating trays, each scoop having an inlet of a first diameter
and an
outlet of a second smaller diameter, as well as, a plurality of apertures on
each of
the plurality of fixed baffles, each aperture having an inlet of a first
diameter and
an outlet of a second smaller diameter. In addition, an internal sleeve may be
disposed in the elongated vessel downstream of the plurality of alternately
spaced rotating trays and fixed baffles, the internal sleeve forming an
annular
passageway to the contaminate outlet.
[Para 25] Other features and advantages of the present invention
will become
apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction
with
the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles
of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[Para 26] The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In
such
drawings:
[Para 27] FIGURE 1 is a top schematic, and partially sectioned, view
of a
system for decontaminating water and generating water vapor, in accordance
with the present invention;
[Para 28] FIGURE 2 is a side schematic, and partially sectioned,
view of the
system of FIG. 1;
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[Para 29] FUGURE 2A is a view similar to FIGURE 2 illustrating an
alternative
arrangement where the system 10 is controlled by a direct drive motor that is
directly coupled to one end of a shaft;
[Para 30] FIGURE 3 is a top view illustrating the water processing
vessel having
an upper portion thereof opened;
[Para 31] FIGURE 4 is an end view of the horizontal water processing
vessel
attached to a portable framework, in accordance with the present invention;
[Para 32] FIGURE 5 is a top view of a rotating tray having a
plurality of scoops
therein;
[Para 33] FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the
tray and a
scoop thereof;
[Para 34] FIGURE 7 is a top view of a baffle, used in accordance
with the
present invention;
[Para 35] FIGURE 8 is a side view of a tray having a water director
placed in
front thereof;
[Para 36] FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the
baffle,
illustrating a tapered aperture thereof;
[Para 37] FIGURE 10 is a schematic illustrating the electric motor
coupled to
the transmission and then coupled to the shaft of the water processing vessel,
in
accordance with the present invention;
[Para 38] FIGURE 11 is a schematic illustration of the system of the
present
invention, similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating the incorporation of a control
box and
various sensors, in accordance with the present invention;
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[Para 39] FIGURE 12 is a top schematic view of the system of the
present
invention, incorporating a turbine and electric generator;
[Para 40] FIGURE 12A is a view similar to FIGURE 12 illustrating
that the system
may be controlled by direct drive motor that is directly coupled to one end of
a
shaft;
[Para 41] FIGURE 13 is an end view of the water processing vessel,
illustrating
a vapor outlet thereof;
[Para 42] FIGURE 14 is a side schematic view of the system of FIG.
12;
[Para 43] FIGURE 15 is a front schematic and partially sectioned
view of an
alternate embodiment of a system for decontaminating water and generating
water vapor, in accordance with the present invention;
[Para 44] FIGURE 16 is a close-up of the trays and baffles of the
system of FIG.
15 indicated by circle 16;
[Para 45] FIGURE 17 is a lower perspective view of the vessel with
inlet and
outlets depicted in the system of FIG. 15;
[Para 46] FIGURE 18 is a cross-section of the vessel of FIG. 17
taken along line
18-18 thereof;
[Para 47] FIGURE 19 is an illustration of the shaft with trays and
baffles of the
system of FIG. 15;
[Para 48] FIGURE 20 is an illustration of a tray of the system of
FIG. 15;
[Para 49] FIGURE 21 is an illustration of a baffle of the system of
FIG. 15;
[Para 50] FIGURE 22 is a side view of a tray indicated by line 22-22
in FIG. 20;
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[Para 51] FIGURE 23 is an opposite side view of the tray indicated
by line 23-
23 of FIG. 20;
[Para 52] FIGURE 24 is a side view of a baffle indicated by line 24-
24 in FIG.
21;
[Para 53] FIGURE 25 is a partial cross-sectional view of the shaft,
tray and
baffle as disposed in the vessel;
[Para 54] FIGURE 26 is a cross-sectional view of a tray taken along
line 26-26
of FIG. 20;
[Para 55] FIGURE 27 is a cross-sectional view of a baffle taken
along line 27-
27 of FIG. 21;
[Para 56] FIGURE 28 is a schematic diagram of a control screen for a
system of
the present invention;
[Para 57] FIGURE 29 is a schematic illustration of the processes
occurring at
various points throughout the water processing vessel of the present
invention;
[Para 58] FIGURE 30 is an illustration of an embodiment of the shaft
with trays
and baffles of the system of FIG. 15 with an increased diameter and an
increase
number of scoops and apertures on the trays and baffles;
[Para 59] FIGURE 31 is a side view of a tray excerpted from FIG. 30;
[Para 60] FIGURE 32 is a side view of a baffle excerpted from FIG.
30;
[Para 61] FIGURE 33 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of
the
system of the present invention, including a salt water capture system and
storage tank;
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[Para 62] FIGURE 34 is a schematic illustration of the salt water
capture system
of the present invention;
[Para 63] FIGURE 35 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of
the
system of the present invention, including an elevated condenser and holding
tank with a hydro-electric generator;
[Para 64] FIGURE 35A is a schematic illustration of the condenser of
FIG. 35;
[Para 65] FIGURE 36 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of
the
system of the present invention, including a bring recirculating system and a
brine drying system;
[Para 66] FIGURE 37 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of
the
system of the present invention, including a control system with a graphical
display;
[Para 67] FIGURE 38 is a schematic illustration of the control
system with
graphical display of the main screen;
[Para 68] FIGURE 39 is a schematic illustration of the control
system with
graphical display of the graphs screen;
[Para 69] FIGURE 40 is a schematic illustration of the control
system with
graphical display of the trends screen;
[Para 70] FIGURE 41 is a flow chart illustration of wastewater
purification
system and process according to the present invention;
[Para 71] FIGURE 42 is a flow chart illustration of an alternate
embodiment of a
wastewater purification system and process according to the present invention;
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[Para 72] FIGURE 43 is a flow chart illustration of a biological
wastewater
decontamination system and process according to the present invention;
[Para 73] FIGURE 44 is a flow chart illustration of an alternate
embodiment of
the biological wastewater decontamination system and process according to the
present invention; and
[Para 74] FIGURE 45 is a flow chart illustration of a further
alternate
embodiment of the biological wastewater decontamination system and process
according to the present invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[Para 75] As shown in the drawings, for purposes of illustration,
the present
invention resides in a system and method for decontaminating water and
generating water vapor. The method and system of the present invention is
particularly suitable for desalinization of salt water, such as ocean or other
brackish waters, as well as river water or other liquids/slurries. This
preferred
treatment will be used for exemplary purposes herein, although it will be
understood by those skilled in the art that the system and method of the
present
invention could be used to decontaminate other water sources. The present
invention may be used to remove dissolved or suspended solids
(decontamination), as well as heavy metals and other pollutants. Moreover, as
will be more fully described herein, the system and method of the present
invention can be used in association with relatively clean water to create
water
vapor, in the form of steam, which has a sufficient pressure and temperature
so
as to be passed through a turbine which is operably connected to an electric
generator for the generation of electricity, or other steam heating
applications.
[Para 76] In the following description, multiple embodiments of the
inventive
method and system for decontaminating water and generating water vapor are
described. Throughout these embodiments and with reference to the drawing
figures, functionally equivalent components will be referred to using
identical
reference numerals.
[Para 77] With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the system - a
vaporization-
desalination unit - generally referred to by the reference number 10, includes
a
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water processing vessel or chamber 12 defining an inner chamber 14, wherein
salt and other dissolved solids and contaminants are removed from the water to
produce essentially mineral-free, potable water. In one embodiment, the
processing vessel 12 receives contaminated water from a feed tank 16 through
an inlet valve 18 via a feed tank tube 20. In this illustration, the inlet
valve 18
enters the vessel 12 laterally through a side wall. This inlet valve 18 can be
alternately positioned as described below. The source of water can be sea or
ocean water, other brackish waters, or even water which is contaminated with
other contaminants. Moreover, the present invention envisions supplying the
contaminated water directly from the source, wherein the feed tank 16 may not
necessarily be used.
[Para 78] With reference now to FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the
vessel 12 is
comprised of a lower shell and an upper shell portion 12b such that the lower
and upper shell portions 12a and 12b can be opened or removed relative to one
another so as to access the contents within the inner chamber 14 of the vessel
12. The vessel 12 may also be constructed as a single unit as opposed to lower
and upper shell portions. The water processing vessel 12 includes, within the
inner chamber 14 a plurality of rotatable trays 22 spaced apart from one
another
and having a baffle 24 disposed between each pair of trays 22. As will be more
fully explained herein, the rotatable trays 22 include a plurality of scoops
26
formed therethrough and the baffles 24 typically comprise plates having a
plurality of apertures 28 formed therethrough. The baffles 24 are fixed to the
vessel 12 so as to be stationary. The baffles 24 may comprise a lower portion
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disposed in the lower shell 12a of the vessel and an upper portion attached to
and disposed in the upper shell 12b of the vessel 1 2 and designed to form a
single baffle when the lower and upper shells 12a and 12b of the vessel 12 are
in
engagement with one another and closed. Alternatively, each baffle 24 may
comprise a single piece that is attached to either the lower shell 12a or the
upper
shell 12b in the earlier embodiment or at multiple points in the single unit
embodiment. In either embodiment, the baffle 24 will remain generally
stationary as the water and water vapor is passed therethrough.
[Para 79] As shown in FIGS. 2, 10, 11, and 12, a variable frequency
drive 30
may regulate the speed at which electric motor 32 drives a transmission 34 and
a
corresponding shaft 36. The shaft 36 is rotatably coupled to bearings or the
like,
typically non-friction bearings lubricated with synthetic oil, Schmitt
couplers, or
ceramic bearings 38 and 40 at generally opposite ends of the vessel 12. The
shaft 36 extends through the trays 22 and baffles 24 such that only the trays
22
are rotated by the shaft. That is, the trays 22 are coupled to the shaft 36.
Bearings, or a low-friction material, such as a layer or sleeve of Teflon is
disposed between the rotating shaft 36 and the aperture plate baffle 24 to
reduce friction therebetween, yet stabilize and support the spinning shaft 36.
Teflon is not preferred as it could fray and contaminate the fluid.
[Para 80] Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 12A, the system 10
may be
controlled by a direct drive motor 32a that is directly coupled to one end of
the
shaft 36. The direct drive motor 32a allows for the use of high speed electric
motors or gas turbine direct drive. By using a direct drive motor 32a one can
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avoid the step down in power and force associated with the resistance inherent
in
transmission gearing. For example, in a typical geared drive system a motor at
200 HP and 300 ft-lb could produce rotor parameters of 60 HP and 90 ft-lb
after
gearing. In contrast, a direct drive motor would only need to provide 60 HP
and
90 ft-lb to achieve the same parameters at the rotor - no step down is
experienced because the gearing in the transmission is eliminated.
[Para 81] Although the inventive system 10 with a geared drive
transmission
may be prepared as fixed installation or a mobile installation, as on a
trailer, the
elimination of the transmission in a direct drive system facilitates the
mobile
aspect of the system 10. A smaller, more compact direct drive system 10 fits
more easily on a trailer that is more easily mobile and transported from site
to
site.
[Para 82] As can be seen from the drawings, the water processing
vessel 12 is
oriented generally horizontally. This is in contrast to the Wallace '026
device
wherein the water processing chamber was oriented generally vertically, and
the
top of the rotating shaft was secured by a bearing and a bearing cap, which
supported the chamber itself. As a result, the rotating shaft sections were
only
solidly anchored to the base of the unit. At high rotational operating speeds,
vibrations within the system cause excessive bearing, shaft and seal failure.
In
contrast, horizontally mounting the water processing vessel 12 to a frame
structure 42 distributes the rotational load along the length of the vessel 12
and
reduces vibrations, such as harmonic vibrations, that could otherwise cause
excessive bearing, shaft and seal failures. Moreover, mounting the vessel 12
to
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the frame structure 42 enhances the portability of the system 10, as will be
more
fully described herein. Supporting the very rapidly rotating shaft 36 through
each
baffle 24 further stabilizes the shaft and system and reduces vibrations and
damage caused thereby.
[Para 83] As mentioned above, the shaft 36, and trays 22 are rotated
at a very
high speed, such as Mach 2, although slower speeds such as Mach 1.7 have
proven effective. This moves the water through the scoops 26 of the trays 22,
which swirls and heats the water such that a water vapor is formed, and the
contaminants, salts, and other dissolved solids are left behind and fall out
of the
water vapor. Most of the intake water is vaporized by 1) vacuum distillation
and
2) cavitation created upon impact with the first rotating tray 22, the
centrifugal
and axial flow compression causes the temperatures and pressures to increase
as
there is a direct correlation between shaft RPM and temperature/pressure
increases or decreases. The water and water vapor is then passed through the
apertures 28 of the baffles 24 before being processed again through the next
rotating tray 22 with scoops 26. The configurations of the trays 22 and
baffles
24 are designed to minimize or eliminate drag and friction in the rotation of
the
shaft 36 by providing sufficient clearance at the perimeter of the trays 22
and
through the central opening 59 of the baffles 24. At the same time leakage
around the perimeter of the trays 22 and through the central opening 59 of the
baffles 24 is to be minimized so as to increase efficiency.
[Para 84] As the water and water vapor passes through each
subchamber of
the vessel 12, the temperature of the water vapor is increased such that
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additional water vapor is created and leaves the salts, dissolved solids, and
other
contaminants behind in the remaining water. The centrifugal forces on the
water
and contaminants force it to the wall of the inner chamber 14 and into a set
of
channels 44 which direct the contaminants and non-vaporized water to an outlet
46. The water vapor which is generated passes through a water vapor outlet 48
formed in the vessel 12. Thus, the water vapor and the contaminants and
remaining water are separated from one another. It is important to note that
the
system 10 produces water vapor - not steam. The water vapor is created
through a combination of decreased pressure and increased temperature. The
system 10 maintains the temperature of the water vapor at temperatures equal
to
or less than that of steam, thus avoiding the latent heat of vaporization and
the
additional energy necessary to convert liquid water to steam. Because of this,
the
energy required to return the water vapor to liquid water is correspondingly
lower.
[Para 85] As mentioned above, the trays 22 are rotated by the shaft
36. The
shaft 36 is supported within the interior of the water processing vessel 12 by
a
plurality of bearings, as mentioned above. The bearings are typically non-
friction bearings lubricated with synthetic oil, steel, or ceramic. Prior art
desalinization systems incorporate standard roller bearings which would fail
under high rotational speeds and high temperatures. Thus, desalinization
systems known in the prior art had high failure rates associated with standard
roller bearings. In the present invention, the lubricated non-friction
bearings,
sealed steel ball bearings, or ceramic bearings 38 and 40 are more durable
than
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standard roller bearings and fail less often under high rotational speeds and
temperatures. The bearings 38, 40 may include internal lubrication tubes to
allow for lubricant flow therethrough to minimize wear and tear from
operation.
The bearings 38, 40 also include vibrational sensors (as described below) to
monitor and minimize the amount of vibration occurring during operation.
Moreover, the shaft 36 may be intermittently supported by the low friction
materials, such as Teflon sleeves or bearings 50 disposed between the baffle
plate 24 and the shaft 36. This further ensures even distribution of weight
and
forces on the shaft 36 and improves the operation and longevity of the system.
[Para 86] With particular reference now to FIGS. 5 and 6, an
exemplary tray 22
is shown, having a plurality of scoops 26 formed therethrough. Although
fourteen scoops 26 are illustrated in FIG. 5, it will be appreciated that the
number may vary and can be several dozen in a single tray 22, thus the dotted
line represents multiple scoops of a variety of numbers.
[Para 87] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the tray 22 and the
scoop 26
formed therein. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the scoops 26 are
tapered such that a diameter of an inlet 52 thereof is greater than the
diameter
of an outlet 54 thereof. The tapered scoop 26 is essentially a Venturi tube
that
has the vertical opening or inlet 52 substantially perpendicular to the
horizontal
surface of the rotating tray base 22. Liquid and vapor accelerates through the
tapered scoop 26 because the tapered scoop has a larger volume at the entrance
52 thereof and a smaller volume at the exit or outlet 54 thereof. The change
in
volume from the inlet to the outlet of the tapered scoop 26 causes an increase
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velocity due to the Venturi effect. As a result, the liquid water and water
vapor is
further accelerated and agitated, resulting in increases in temperature and
pressure. This further enables separation of the contaminants from within the
water vapor. The tapered scoop 26 may be attached to the rotating tray 22 by
any means known in the art.
[Para 88] Once again, it will be appreciated that there will be more
or less
tapered scoops 26 distributed in the entire area of the rotating tray 22, the
particular number and size of the scoops 26 will vary depending upon the
operating conditions of the system 10 of the present invention. Moreover, the
angle of the scoop 26, illustrated as approximately forty-five degrees in FIG.
6,
can be varied from tray to tray 22. That is, by increasing the angle of the
spinning scoop, such as by twenty-five degrees to thirty-one degrees to thirty-
six degrees on the subsequent tray, to forty degrees, forty-five degrees on a
next tray, etc. the increase in angle of the scoop 26 of the spinning tray 22
accommodates increases in pressure of the water vapor which builds up as the
water vapor passes through the vessel 12. The increase in angle can also be
used to further agitate and create water vapor, and increase the pressure of
the
water vapor, which may be used in a steam turbine, as will be more fully
described herein.
[Para 89] With reference now to FIGS. 7 and 9, a baffle 24, in the
form of an
apertured plate, is shown in FIG. 7. In this case, the baffle 24 is formed as
a first
plate member 56 and a second plate member 58 which are connected by
connectors 60 to the inner wall of the vessel 12. The connectors 60 can
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comprise bolts, dowels, rods, or any other connecting means which is adequate.
Alternatively, as described above, the baffle 24 can be formed as a single
unit
connected to either the upper or the lower vessel shell 12a and 12b. When
formed as dual plate members 56 and 58, preferably the plate members 56 and
58 inter-engage with one another when the vessel 12 is closed so as to
effectively form a single baffle 24.
[Para 90] As described above, a plurality of apertures 28 are formed
through
the baffle plate 24. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of one such aperture 28.
Similar to the tray described above, the aperture preferably includes an inlet
62
having a diameter which is greater than an outlet 64 thereof, such that the
aperture 28 is tapered which will increase the pressure and velocity of the
water
and water vapor which passes therethrough, further increasing the temperature
and creating additional vapor from the water. Similar to the tray 22 described
above, apertures 28 may be formed in the entire baffle plate, as represented
by
the series of dashed lines. The particular number and size of the apertures 28
may vary depending upon the operating conditions of the system 10.
[Para 91] With reference now to FIG. 8, the shaft 36 is illustrated
extending
through the rotating tray 22. In one embodiment, a cone-shaped water director
66 is positioned in front of the tray 22. For example, the director 66 may
have a
forty-five degree angle to deflect the remaining water and vapor passing
through
the central opening 59 of the baffle 24 from the shaft 36 and towards the
periphery or outer edge of the tray 22 for improved vaporization and higher
percentage recovery of potable water.
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[Para 92] Referring again to FIGS. 3 and 4, as mentioned above, in a
particularly preferred embodiment the vessel 12 may be formed into two shells
or sections 12a and 12b. This enables rapid inspection and replacement of
vessel components, as necessary. Preferably, the wall of the inner chamber 14
and any other components such as the trays 22, baffle plates 24, shaft 36,
etc.
are treated with Melon ite, or other friction reducing and corrosion resistant
substance. Of course, these components can be comprised of materials which
are corrosion resistant and have a low friction coefficient, such as polished
stainless steel or the like. The lower and upper sections 12a and 12b of the
vessel 12 are preferably interconnected such that when closed they are
substantially air and water tight. Moreover, the closed vessel 12 needs to be
able
to withstand high temperatures and pressures due to the water vaporization
therein during operation of the system 10.
[Para 93] With reference now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 10, typically a
transmission 34
interconnects the electric motor 32 and the drive shaft 36. The motor 32 may
be
a combustion engine (gasoline, diesel, natural gas, etc.), electric motor, gas
turbine, or other known means for providing drive. The speed of the
transmission 34 is set by the variable frequency drive 30. The illustrations
in
FIGS. 1, 2 and 10 are only schematic and not representative of the relative
sizes
of the variable frequency drive 30, the motor 32m and the transmission 34. The
variable frequency drive 30 is primarily regulated by a computerized
controller
68, as will be more fully described herein. The shaft 36 may be belt or gear
driven. As described below, the motor 32 may also be directly connected to the
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shaft 36. With particular reference to FIG. 10, the shaft 70 of the motor is
connected to an intermediate shaft 72 by a belt 74. The intermediate shaft 72
is
connected to the shaft by another belt 76. The high-speed industrial belt and
pulley system shown in FIG. 10 drives the shaft 36 inside the water processing
vessel 12. As shown, a plurality of belts 74 and 76 and a set of intermediate
shafts 72 increase the rotational output speed at the shaft 36 by a multiple
of the
rotational input speed applied by the electric motor 32 on the electric motor
driveshaft 70. Of course, the ratio of rotational input speed to rotational
output
speed can be changed by changing the relative rotational velocities of the
belts
74 and 76 and corresponding intermediate shafts 72. By coupling the electric
motor driveshaft 70 to the shaft 36 via belts 74 and 76 and intermediate shaft
72, and adding a Schmitt coupler on the shaft 36 between the transmission 34
and the chamber 12, the present invention is able to avoid the vibrational and
reliability problems that plague other prior art desalinization systems.
[Para 94] With reference again to FIG. 1, as mentioned above, the
water vapor
is directed through a water vapor outlet 48 of the vessel 12. The water vapor
travels through a recovery tube 78 to a vapor recovery container or tank 80.
The
water vapor then condenses and coalesces into liquid water within the vapor
recovery tank 80. To facilitate this, in one embodiment, a plurality of spaced
apart members 82, such as in the form of louvers, are positioned in the flow
pathway of the water vapor such that the water vapor can coalesce and condense
on the louvers and become liquid water. The liquid water is then moved to a
potable water storage tank 84 or a pasteurizing and holding tank 86. If the
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water and water vapor in the vessel 12 is heated to the necessary temperature
for
pasteurization, so as to kill harmful microorganisms, zebra mussel larvae, and
other harmful organisms, the liquid water may be held in holding tank 86.
[Para 95] With reference now to FIGS. 15-27, another preferred
embodiment of
the system 10 and water processing vessel 12 is shown. FIG. 15 illustrates the
overall system 10 including the alternate single piece construction of the
vessel
12. In this embodiment, the vessel 12 has a construction similar to the
previously described embodiment, including elements such as the inner chamber
14, the inlet valve 18, the trays 22 having scoops 26, the baffles 24 having
apertures 28, the brine outlet 46, and the vapor outlet 48. The inlet valve 18
comprises multiple inlets, preferably at least two, to the vessel 12. These
inlets
18 are disposed on the end of the vessel around the shaft 36 so as to more
evenly distribute the fluid across the inner chamber 14. The inlets 18
preferably
enter the vessel 12 in-line with the shaft 36 so as to avoid a steep,
especially a
right angle, of entry into the inner chamber 14 relative to the direction of
movement through the vessel 12. The contaminant outlet 46 is preferably
oversized so as to not restrict the flow of concentrated fluid out of the
system
10. The recirculating feature described below can address any excessive
allowance of liquid that may be permitted to exit the system 10 through the
oversized contaminant outlet 46. A shaft 36 supported by ceramic bearings 38,
40 passes through the center of the trays 22 and baffles 24.
[Para 96] The trays 22 are affixed to the shaft 36 and extend
outward toward
the wall of the inner chamber 14 as described above. The baffles 24 preferably
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comprise a single piece extending from the walls of the inner chamber 14
toward
the shaft 36 with a central opening 59 forming a gap between the baffles 24
and
the shaft 36 as described above. The baffles 24 are preferably fixed to the
walls
of the inner chamber by screws or dowels 60 also as described above. In a
particularly preferred embodiment, the vessel 12 includes six trays 22 and
five
baffles 24 alternatingly dispersed through the inner chamber 14.
[Para 97] In this alternate embodiment, the inner chamber 14
includes an
internal sleeve 45 disposed proximate to the brine outlet 46. The internal
sleeve
45 has an annular shape with a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the
inner chamber 14. The internal sleeve 45 extends from a point downstream of
the last tray 22 to another point immediately downstream of the brine outlet
46.
An annular passageway 47 is created between the internal sleeve 45 and the
outer wall of the inner chamber 14. In a typical construction, the internal
sleeve
45 is about six inches long and the annular passageway 47 is about 1-11/2
inches
wide. This annular passageway or channel 47 captures the brine or contaminate
material that is spun out from the rotating trays 22 to the outer wall of the
chamber 14 as described above. This annular passageway 47 facilitates
movement of the brine or contaminate material to the outlet 46 and minimizes
the chances of contamination of the vapor discharge or buildup of material
within the chamber 14.
[Para 98] FIGURE 16 illustrates a close-up of the trays 22 and
baffles 24. One
can clearly see how the baffles 24 extend from the wall of the vessel 12
through
the chamber 14 and end proximate to the shaft 36. One can also see how the
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trays 22 are affixed to the shaft 36 and have scoops 26 disposed therethrough
as
described. A cone 66 is preferably disposed on each tray 22 so as to deflect
any
fluid flowing along the shaft as described above (FIG. 8). FIG. 17 illustrates
an
external view of the vessel 12 indicating the inlets 18, the outlets 46, 48
and the
shaft 36. Ordinarily, the ends of the vessel 12 would be enclosed and sealed
against leaks. They are depicted open here for clarification and ease of
illustration. FIG. 18 illustrates a cross-section of the vessel 12 shown in
FIG. 17,
further illustrating the internal components, including the trays 22, baffles
24,
internal sleeve 45 and annular passageway 47. FIG. 19 illustrates the shaft 36
with trays 22 and baffles 24 apart from the vessel 12. FIGS. 30, 31, and 32
illustrate an alternate embodiment of the trays 22 and baffles 24 along the
shaft
36. In this alternate embodiment, the trays 22 and baffles 24 are of an
increased
diameter with an increased number of rows - preferably 3 to 4 rows - and a
corresponding increase in the number of scoops and apertures therein. These
increases allow for a larger volume of fluid to be processed per unit of time.
Of
course, the vessel 12 will have a corresponding increase in its diameter to
accommodate the larger trays 22 and baffles 24. This increased diameter
creates
a situation where the outermost edges of the rotating trays 22 have a
significantly greater rotational velocity compared to the trays 22 of smaller
diameter.
[Para 99] FIGURES 20 and 21 illustrate the tray 22 and baffle 24,
respectively.
FIGS. 22, 23 and 26 illustrate various views and cross-sections of the tray 22
in
FIG. 20. FIGS. 24 and 27 similarly illustrate various views and cross-sections
of
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the baffle 24 in FIG. 21. As discussed, the tray 22 includes scoops 26 which
pass
through the body of the tray 22. The scoops 26 include a scoop inlet 52 and a
scoop outlet 54 configured as described above. The scoop inlet 52 is
preferably
oriented such that the opening faces into the direction of rotation about the
shaft. This maximizes the amount of fluid that enters the scoop inlet 52 and
passes through the plurality of scoops. The angle of the scoops 26 on
successive trays 22 may be adjusted as described above. The baffle 24 also
includes a plurality of apertures 28 configured and profiled (FIG. 9) as
described
above. FIG. 25 illustrates the shaft 36 and a pairing of a tray 22 with a
baffle 24.
The arrows indicate the direction of rotation of the shaft and accordingly the
tray
22 in this particular figure. The scoops 26 with the scoop inlet 52 are
illustrated
as facing in the direction of the rotation, i.e., out of the page, in the top
half of
the figure. In the bottom half of the figure, the scoop 26 with scoop inlet 52
is
also illustrated as being oriented in the direction of rotation, i.e., into
the page,
as the tray 22 rotates with the shaft 36. The direction of rotation may be
either
clockwise or counter-clockwise. The direction of rotation can be changed
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. As described in
the
previous embodiment, the scoop inlet 52 has a larger diameter than the scoop
outlet 54 so as to increase the flow rate and decrease the fluid pressure.
[Para 100] In a particularly preferred embodiment, when the main goal of the
system 10 is to remove contaminants from the contaminated water, such as salt
water, so as to have potable water, the temperature of the water vapor is
heated
to between one hundred degrees Fahrenheit and less than two hundred twelve
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degrees Fahrenheit. Even more preferably, the water vapor is heated to between
one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit and one hundred seventy degrees
Fahrenheit for pasteurization purposes. However, the water vapor temperature
is
kept to a minimum and almost always less than two hundred twelve degrees
Fahrenheit such that the water does not boil and become steam, which is more
difficult to condense and coalesce from water vapor to liquid water. Increased
RPMs result in increased temperatures and pressures. The RPMs can be adjusted
to achieve the desired temperatures.
[Para 1011 The water is boiled and the water vapor temperature is brought to
above two hundred twelve degrees Fahrenheit preferably only in instances where
steam generation is desirable for heating, electricity generating, and other
purposes as will be more fully described herein. This enables the present
invention to both pasteurize the water vapor and condense and coalesce the
water vapor into liquid water without complex refrigeration or condensing
systems, which often require additional electricity and energy.
[Para 102] In one embodiment, the contaminated water, referred to as brine in
desalinization processes, is collected at outlet 46 and moved to a brine
disposal
tank 88. As shown in FIG. 1, polymers or other chemistry 90 may be added to
the brine to recover trace elements, etc. Moreover, the salt from the brine
may
be processed and used for various purposes, including generating table salt,
agricultural brine and/or fertilizer.
[Para 103] In one embodiment of the present invention, the treated
contaminated water is reprocessed by recycling the contaminants and remaining
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water through the system again. This may be done multiple times such that the
amount of potable water extracted from the contaminated water increases, up to
as much as ninety-nine percent. This may be done by directing the
contaminants and waste water from the outlet 46 to a first brine, or
contaminant,
reprocessing tank 92. The remaining waste water, in the form of brine or other
contaminants, is then reintroduced through inlet 18 of the vessel 12 and
reprocessed and recirculated through the vessel 12, as described above.
Additional potable water will be extracted in the form of water vapor for
condensing and collection in the vapor recovery tank 80. The remaining
contaminants and wastewater are then directed to a second brine or contaminant
reprocessing tank 94. The concentration of contaminants or brine will be much
higher in the reprocessing tank 92. Once a sufficient level of wastewater or
brine
has been accumulated in the reprocessing tank 92, this contaminated water is
then passed through the inlet 18 and circulated and processed through the
system 10, as described above. Extracted potable water vapor is removed at
outlet 48 and turned into liquid water in the vapor recovery tank 80, as
described
above. The resulting contaminants and wastewater can then be placed into yet
another reprocessing tank, or into the brine disposal tank 88. It is
anticipated
that an initial pass-through of seawater will yield, for example, eighty
percent to
ninety percent potable water. The first reprocessing will yield an additional
amount of potable water, such that the total extracted potable water is
between
ninety percent and ninety-five percent. Passing the brine and remaining water
through the system again can yield up to ninety-nine percent recovery of
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water, by recycling the brine at little to no increase in unit cost. Moreover,
this
reduces the volume of the brine or contaminants, which can facilitate trace
element recovery and/or reduce the disposal costs thereof.
[Para 104] With reference now to FIG. 11, in a particularly preferred
embodiment, a computer system is integrated into the system 10 of the present
invention which regulates the variable frequency drive 30 based on
measurements taken from a plurality of sensors that continually read
temperature, pressure, flow rate, rotational rates of components and remaining
capacity of a variety of tanks connected to the water processing vessel 12.
Typically, these readings are taken in real-time.
[Para 105] For example, temperature and/or pressure sensors 96 may be
employed to measure the temperature of the water or water vapor within or
exiting the vessel 12, as well as the pressure thereof as needed. In response
to
these sensor readings, the control box 68 will cause the variable frequency
drive
30 to maintain the rotational speed of shaft 36, decrease the rotational speed
of
the shaft 36, or increase the rotational speed of the shaft 36 to either
maintain
the temperature and pressure, reduce the temperature and pressure, or increase
the pressure and temperature, respectively, of the water and water vapor. This
may be done, for example, to ensure that the water vapor temperature is at the
necessary pasteurization temperature so as to kill all harmful microorganisms
and other organisms therein. Alternatively, or in addition to, a sensor may be
used to detect the rotational speed (RPMS) of the shaft 36 and/or trays 22 to
ensure that the system is operating correctly and that the system is
generating
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the necessary water vapor at a desired temperature and/or pressure. The
computerized controller may also adjust the amount of water input through
inlet
18 (GPMS) so that the proper amount of water is input as to the amount of
water
vapor and wastewater which is removed so that the system 10 operates
efficiently. The control box 68 may adjust the flow rate of water into the
vessel
12, or even adjust the water input.
[Para 1061 FIGURE 28 illustrates schematically a computer display 112 or
similar
configuration. This computer display schematically illustrates the vessel 12
with
the various inlets and outlets 18, 46, 48, as well as the shaft 36 and the
plurality
of trays 22. The shaft 36 has multiple vibration and temperature sensors 114
disposed along its length. The bearings 38, 40 also include vibration and
temperature sensors 114. The vibration and temperature sensors 114 are
configured to detect horizontal and vertical vibrations at each point, as well
as
the temperature of the shaft 36 generated by the friction of rotation. The
bearings 38, 40 include oil supply 116a and return 116b lines to provide
lubrication thereof. The inlets 18 and brine outlet 46 include flow meters 118
to
detect the corresponding flow rates. Temperature and pressure sensors 96 are
disposed throughout the vessel 12. The temperature and pressure sensors 96
are also disposed throughout the vessel 12 to take measurements at various
predetermined points.
[Para 107] As indicated above, the contaminated water may come from a feed
tank 16, or can be from any other number of tanks, including reprocessing
tanks
92 and 94. It is also contemplated that the collected water storage tank could
be
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fluidly coupled to the inlet 18 so as to ensure that the water is purified to
a
certain level or for other purposes, such as when generating steam which
requires a higher purity of water than the contaminated water may provide. As
such, one or more sensors 98 may track the data within the tanks to determine
water or wastewater/brine levels, concentrations, or flow rates into the tanks
or
out of the tanks. The controller 68 may be used to switch the input and output
of the tanks, such as when the brine is being reprocessed from a first brine
reprocessing tank 92 to the second brine reprocessing tank 94, and eventually
to
the brine disposal tank 88, as described above. Thus, when the first brine
reprocessing tank reaches a predetermined level, fluid flow from the feed tank
16
is shut off, and instead fluid is provided from the first brine reprocessing
tank 92
into the vessel 12. The treated contaminants and remaining wastewater are then
directed into the second brine reprocessing tank 94, until it reaches a
predetermined level. Then the water is directed from the second brine
reprocessing tank 94 through the system and water processing vessel 12 to, for
example, the brine disposal tank 88. Brine water in the first reprocessing
tank
92 may be approximately twenty percent of the contaminated water, including
most of the total dissolved solids. The residual brine which is finally
directed to
the brine disposal tank 88 may only comprise one percent of the contaminated
water initially introduced into the decontamination system 10 via the feed
tank
16. Thus, the temperature and pressure sensors, RPM and flow meters can be
used to control the desired water output including water vapor temperature
controls that result in pasteurized water.
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[Para 108] The controller 68 can be used to direct the variable frequency
drive
30 to power the motor 32 such that the shaft 36 is rotated at a sufficiently
high
velocity that the rotation of the trays boils the input water and creates
steam of a
desired temperature and pressure, as illustrated in FIG. 12. FIG. 12
illustrates a
steam turbine 100 integrated into the system 10. The steam turbine 100 may
also be used with the vessel depicted in FIGS. 15-27. Water vapor in the form
of
steam could be generated in the water processing vessel 12 to drive a high
pressure, low temperature steam turbine by feeding the vapor outlet 48 into an
inlet on the turbine 100. The turbine 100 is in turn coupled to an electric
generator 102, for cost- effective and economical generation of electricity.
As
shown in FIG. 12A, the steam turbine 100 may be eliminated with the shaft 36
of
the vessel 12 extended to turn the generator 102 directly or indirectly. In
this
case, the later stages of the trays and baffles inside the vessel 12 act as a
steam
turbine due to the presence of the water vapor which aids the rotation of the
shaft.
[Para 109] In the case of a steam turbine, the water vapor can be heated to in
excess of six hundred degrees Fahrenheit and pressurized in excess of sixteen
hundred pounds per square inch (psi), which is adequate to drive the steam
turbine 100. Aside from the increased velocity of the trays, the incorporation
of
the tapered nature of the scoops 26 of the trays 22, and the tapered nature of
the apertures 28 of the aperture plate baffles 24 also facilitate the
generation of
water vapor and steam. Increasing the angles of the scoops 26, such as from
twenty-five degrees at a first tray to forty-five degrees at a last tray, also
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increases water vapor generation in the form of steam and increases the
pressure
thereof so as to be able to drive the steam turbine 100. FIGS. 13 and 14
illustrate an embodiment wherein a steam outlet 104 is formed at an end of the
vessel 1 2 and the steam turbine 100 is directly connected thereto such that
the
pressurized steam passes through the turbine 100 so as to rotate the blades
106
and shaft 108 thereof so as to generate electricity via the electric generator
coupled thereto. A water vapor outlet 110 conveys the water vapor to a vapor
recovery container 80 or the like. The recovery tank 80 may need to include
additional piping, condensers, refrigeration, etc. so as to cool the steam or
high
temperature water vapor so as to condense it into liquid water.
[Para 110] Of course, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
the
steam generated by the system 10 can be used for other purposes, such as
heating purposes, removal of oil from oil wells and tar and shale pits and the
like, etc.
[Para 111] It will also be appreciated that the present invention, by means of
the
sensors and controller 68 can generate water vapor of a lower temperature
and/or pressure for potable water production, which water vapor is directed
through outlet 48 directly into a vapor recovery container, and the system
sped
up to create high temperature water vapor or steam for passage through the
steam turbine 100 to generate electricity as needed. For example, during the
nighttime hours, the system 10 may be used to generate potable water when very
little electricity is needed. However, during the daylight hours, the system
10
can be adjusted to generate steam and electricity.
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[Para 112] As described above, many of the components of the present
invention, including the variable frequency drive 30, electric motor 32,
transmission 34, and water processing vessel 12 and the components therein can
be attached to a framework 42 which is portable. The entire system 10 of the
present invention can be designed to fit into a forty foot long ISO container.
This
container can be insulated with a refrigeration (HVAC) unit for controlled
operating environment and shipping and storage. The various tanks, including
the feed tank, vapor recovery tank, portable water storage tank, and
contaminant/brine reprocessing or disposal tanks can either be fit into the
transportable container, or transported separately and connected to the inlet
and
outlet ports as needed. Thus, the entire system 10 of the present invention
can
be easily transported in an ISO container, or the like, via ship, semi-tractor
trailer, or the like. Thus, the system 10 of the present invention can be
taken to
where needed to address natural disasters, military operations, etc., even at
remote locations. Such an arrangement results in a high level of mobility and
rapid deployment and startup of the system 10 of the present invention.
[Para 113] FIGURE 29 schematically illustrates the processes occurring at
various points, i.e., sub-chambers, throughout the vessel 12. The inner
chamber
14 of the vessel 12 is effectively divided into a series of sub-chambers as
illustrated. The vessel 12 contains five sub-chambers that perform the
functions
of an axial flow pump, an axial flow compressor, a centrifugal flow
compressor,
an unlighted gas turbine and/or a hydraulic/water turbine. In operation, the
system 10 has the capability to vaporize the water through a mechanical
process,
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thereby enabling efficient and effective desalination, decontamination and
vaporization of a variety of impaired fluids. Before entering the vessel 12,
the
fluid may be subject to a pretreatment step 120 wherein the fluid is passed
through filters and various other processes to separate contaminants that are
more easily removed or that may damage or degrade the integrity of the system
10. Upon passing through the inlets 18, the fluid enters an intake chamber 122
which has an effect on the fluid similar to an axial flow pump once the system
10
reaches its operating rotation speed. An external initiating pump (not shown)
may be shut off such that the system 10 draws the contaminated water through
the inlet, i.e., the intake chamber functions as an axial flow pump, without
the
continued operation of the initiating pump. A significant reduction in intake
chamber pressure causes vacuum distillation or vaporization to occur at
temperatures below 212 F. Following the intake chamber 122, the fluid
encounters the first tray 22 where it enters the first processing chamber 124.
This first processing chamber acts as both a centrifugal flow compressor and
as
an axial flow compressor through the combined action of the rotating tray 22
and the adjacent baffle 24. A high percentage of the intake water is vaporized
through cavitation upon impact with the high speed rotating tray 22 in the
first
processing chamber 124. A centrifugal flow compression process occurs within
the first processing chamber 124 and each subsequent processing chamber. The
centrifugal flow compression process casts the non-vaporized dissolved solids
and at least some of the liquid water to the outer wall of the processing
chamber
124. This action separates the dissolved solids and most of the remaining
liquid
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from the vapor. An axial flow compression process also occurs within the first
processing chamber 124 and each subsequent chamber. This axial flow
compression process compresses the vapor and liquid which also increases the
pressure and temperature within the processing chamber. The second
processing chamber 126 and the third processing chamber 128 both function
similarly by compounding the action of the centrifugal flow compressor and
axial
flow compressor features of the first processing chamber 124.
[Para 11 4] By the time the fluid reaches the fourth processing chamber 130 it
has been subjected to centrifugal flow and axial flow compression processes
such that the nature of the fluid and its flow through the vessel 12 has
changed.
In the fourth processing chamber the fluid behaves as if it is passing through
an
unlighted gas turbine or an hydraulic/water turbine by causing rotation of the
shaft 36. The fifth processing chamber 1 32 compounds this unlighted gas
turbine or hydraulic/water turbine process. The turbine processes of the
fourth
and fifth processing chambers 130, 132 supply a measure of force to drive
rotation of the shaft 36 such that power on the motor 32 may be throttled back
without a loss of functionality in the system 1 O. After exiting the fifth
processing
chamber 132 the fluid has been separated to a high degree such that nearly all
of
the contaminants in the form of brine pass through the annular passageway 47
to the outlet 46 and the purified vapor passes through the central portion of
the
inner chamber 14 to the vapor outlet 48. The turbine operations of the fourth
and fifth processing chambers 130, 132 allow for continued operation of the
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system 10 with a reduced energy input (by as much as 25%) as compared to a
startup phase once an equilibrium in the operation is reached.
[Para 115] After the fifth processing chamber 132, the system includes a
discharge chamber. The discharge chamber 134, which is larger than any of the
preceding processing chambers, contains the two discharge outlets 46, 48. The
large increase in volume results in a dramatic reduction in pressure and a
physical separation of the dissolved solids and the remaining water from the
vapor.
[Para 116] The dimensions of the vessel 12 are preferably configured such that
the combined processing chambers, 124-132 occupy about one-half of the total
length. The discharge chamber 134 occupies about one-third of the total
length.
The remainder of the length of the vessel, about one-sixth of the total
length, is
occupied by the intake chamber 122. The processing chambers 1 24-1 32 are
divided into approximately three-fifths compressor functionality and two-
fifths
turbine functionality. Once the fluid exits the last processing chamber 132,
it
has achieved about eighty percent vaporization as it enters the discharge
chamber 134 and is directed to the respective outlets 46, 48.
[Para 117] FIGS. 33 and 34 illustrate an embodiment of the system 10 that
includes a system to capture water from a body of water 150. In this
embodiment, the body of water 150 is preferably a sea or ocean containing salt
water, but could be any body of water. The capture system 152 includes a
capture vessel 154 that is disposed in the body of water 150 such that an open
top or sides 156 of the vessel 154 are at least partially above a median water
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level for the body of water 150. The system 10 may function with an open top
156 on the vessel 154 as shown in FIG. 33, but the vessel preferably has open
sides 156 facing the seaward and landward sides of the vessel 154 to take
advantage of both the incoming and receding waves/tide. For this system to
work, the water level of the body of water 150 must vary sufficiently to allow
a
portion of the body of water to enter the open sides 156 but not completely
submerge the vessel 154. Ideally, this would occur with the rise and fall of a
tide
in a sea or ocean, as well as waves that may occur in such a body of water.
The
distance that the open sides 156 of the vessel 154 extend above the median
water level depends upon the variability in the water level for a particular
body of
water 150. The open sides 156 are preferably covered by a filter screen 158 to
reduce the occurrence of living organisms and other large objects in the body
of
water 150 from entering the vessel 154. The open sides 156 preferably also
include pivoting louvers 157 disposed over the screens 158 that can be opened
or closed so as to control the amount of water and/or sand entering the vessel
154.
[Para 118] Inside the vessel 154 is a capture funnel 160 or similar structure
configured to direct most of the water that enters the vessel 154 into a feed
pipe
162. The capture funnel 160 is preferably positioned below the median water
level for the body of water. Although the vessel 154 and capture funnel 160
are
illustrated as generally square shaped, they may be configured in other forms.
It
has been found that the square shape, with a corner thereof oriented into the
a
wave or tide that is preferably present in the body of water 150 facilitates
the rise
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of the wave or tide over the vessel 154 such that water enters the open sides
156. The vessel 154 may also be configured whereby the open sides 156 angled
other than vertical on a side that faces the incoming waves or tides so as to
facilitate entry of water thought the open side 156. The open sides 156 are
preferably disposed with most of their surface area above the median water
level
so that there is less likelihood of sand or other sediment being in the higher
portion of the wave or tide when it reaches the open side 156.
[Para 119] The feed pipe 162 preferably passes to the shore and into a storage
vessel 164. The system 10 may include multiple storage vessels 164 to
accommodate and store a sufficient quantity of captured seawater. The feed
pipe 162 may be underground as it passes to shore, but realizing that any
changes in elevation to an above ground facility would require appropriate
piping
and pumps. The storage vessel 164 may be located near the body of water 150
or located some distance from the body of water 150 depending upon the need
of the user. Once a sufficient quantity of water is stored in the vessel 164,
a
pump 166 attached to an outlet 168 on the vessel 164 directs the stored water
through an inlet pipe 170 to the inlet 18 on the processing system 10. The
inlet
pipe 170 preferably includes a filtration system 172 to remove and large
sediment or particles that may have made it through the storage vessel 164 and
pump 166. The system 10 can then be used to desalinate the water as described
elsewhere.
[Para 1201 FIGURE 35 illustrates another embodiment of the inventive system
10, wherein the system 10 is used to generate electricity from the water vapor
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produced from the vapor outlet 48 as described elsewhere. In this embodiment,
the system 10 further includes a condenser 174 disposed a first distance 176
above the vessel 12. A vapor pipe 178 directs the water vapor from the vapor
outlet 48 to the condenser 174. Since the water vapor is lighter than air and
rises
under its own power, no mechanical means are necessary to raise the water
vapor through the first distance 176 to the condenser 174. Preferably, the
vapor
pipe 178 has a generally vertical section 178a that extends at least the first
distance 176, if not slightly more than the first distance 176. A generally
horizontal section 178b of the vapor pipe 178 extends from the end of this
vertical section 178a to an inlet 180 on the condenser 174. This generally
horizontal section 178b may have a slight decline from the end of the vertical
section 178a to the inlet 180 on the condenser 174. This allows for the
possibility that any incidental condensing that occurs in the vapor pipe 178
runs
down the slope of the generally horizontal section 178b into the condenser
174.
The vapor pipe 178 and all sections thereof is preferably insulated to prevent
the
premature loss of heat and minimize the occurrence of condensation during the
rise to the condenser.
[Para 1211 Although FIG. 35A illustrate the condenser 174 in a particular
generally diamond-shape, the condenser 174 may be constructed in other
shapes as known by those skilled in the art of processing vapor or steam. The
purpose of the condenser is to fully condense vapor that is produced by the
system 10. The preferably includes sufficient structures inside as are known
to
those skilled in the art to facilitate condensation of the vapor. As the vapor
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condenses, it flows through an outlet 182 on the condenser 174 and into a
condensate holding tank 184.
[Para 122] The holding tank 184 is preferably disposed a second distance 186
above a hydro-electric generator 188. Once a sufficient quantity of condensed
processed fluid is stored in the holding tank 184, the condensed processed
fluid
is released from an outlet 190 on the holding tank 184. The condensed
processed fluid falls under the force of gravity across the second distance
186
into the hydro-electric generator 188. The hydro-electric generator 188
converts
the kinetic energy of the falling condensed processed fluid into electrical
energy
for storage or immediate use. The electrical energy may be stored in a
rechargeable chemical battery, a capacitor, or similar known means of
electrical
storage 192. The condensed processes fluid that falls into the hydroelectric
generator 188 is released through a generator outlet 189 to be used for
subsequent processing (not shown), as would typically be done with such
treated
water.
[Para 123] Although the first distance 176 and the second distance 186 are
depicted in FIG. 35 as apparently "stacking" one on top of the other, that is
not a
requirement of these distances. The only requirement on either of these
distances is that the second distance 186 be sufficiently above the hydro-
electric
generator 188 so as to allow for the efficient conversion of kinetic energy of
the
falling processed fluid into electrical energy. Preferably, this second
distance 186
is at least ten feet, but may be twenty feet or more, depending upon the
quantity
of condensed processed fluid and the capabilities of the hydro-electric
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generator. The first distance 176 needs to be of sufficient distance to place
the
condenser 174 and holding tank 184 above the second distance 186.
Necessarily, the first distance 176 depends upon the sizes of the condenser
174,
the holding tank 184, and the second distance 186.
[Para 124] FIG. 36 illustrates another embodiment of the inventive system 10,
wherein the brine outlet 46 and vapor outlet 48 are both used for further
processing. Specifically, a brine reprocessing tank 194 receives the brine
from
the brine outlet 46 through a reprocessing inlet 196. The brine reprocessing
tank
194 also includes a reprocessing outlet 198 and a recirculating outlet 200. A
first
portion of the brine in the brine reprocessing tank 194 is passed to the
recirculating outlet 200 where it is directed by a recirculating pipe 202 back
to
the inlet 18 of the system 10 for re-processing. In this way, the brine is
reprocessed to recover additional water vapor from the processing fluid.
[Para 125] A second portion of the brine in the brine reprocessing tank 194 is
passed to the reprocessing outlet 198 for storage in a brine holding tank 204.
This reprocessing outlet 198 may include a valve 206 for restricting or
completely closing off the flow of the second portion of the brine to the
brine
holding tank 204. The brine holding tank 204 is connected to a brine drying
system 208 which includes a heat exchanger 210 with circulating heat pipes
212.
The circulating heat pipes 212 pass back and forth as is typical of heat
exchangers 210. Being part of the inventive system 10, the heat exchanger 210
receives its heat source from the water vapor from the vapor outlet 48.
Specifically, a vapor diverting pipe 214 extracts a portion of the water vapor
from
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vapor out 48 and communicates to the circulating heat pipes 212 of the heat
exchanger 210. The stored brine from the brine holding tank 204 passes over
the heat exchanger 210 and any residual water is dried from the heat of the
water vapor.
[Para 1261 The dried brine is then transported to a dried brine holding tank
216
for subsequent use or processing. Such dried brine could be used to produce
salt or other compounds found in salt water. In addition, any useful
contaminants, i.e., metals, elements, or other valuable compounds, found in
the
water processed in the inventive system 10 may be recovered from the dried
brine for resale or other subsequent processing.
[Para 127] As shown in FIGS. 37 and 38, the system 10 may be controlled by a
control system 218 that measures various operating parameters of the system
10. The control system 218 includes a graphical display 220 that is touch
screen
sensitive. The graphical display 220 can be used to adjust the power, torque,
and
rpms of the motor and shaft, as well as the flow rate of fluid entering the
system
10. This graphical display 220 is similar to the graphical display depicted in
FIG.
28. The graphical display 220 includes a schematic graphical depiction of the
system 10 corresponding to various components thereof. The control system 218
and graphical display 220 described herein is an updated from the version of
FIG.
28. The graphical display 220 includes indicator lights 238 around its border
that
indicate power, CPU activity, and operating modes, corresponding to the fluid
being processed in the system 10, i.e., (1) brackish water, (2) sea water, (3)
produced water, and (4) pasteurizing water.
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[Para 128] The updated graphical display provides measurement data captured
by a plurality of operating sensors 222 connected to the system 10, as well as
an
internal clock to measure operating time and determine a rate for any of the
data
measured by the operating sensors 222.
[Para 129] The operating sensors 222 include temperature and pressure
sensors 224 associated with each of a plurality of processing stages 226
within
the system 10. The processing stages may include an inlet stage 226a, an
outlet
stage 226b, and tray/baffle stages 226c associated with each operating pair of
a
tray 22 followed by a baffle 24. The operating sensors 222 also include
rotational
sensors 228 associated with the shaft 36 and the motor 32, 32a. The rotational
sensors 228 are configured to measure revolutions per minute, torque,
horsepower, runtime, and total revolutions. The operating sensors 222 may also
include bearing sensors 230 associated with the bearings 38, 40 on either end
of
the shaft 36. The bearing sensors 230 are configured to measure temperature
and flow rate of a lubricant passing through the bearings 38, 40, as well as
vibration of the shaft 36. The operating sensors 222 may also include flow
sensors 232 associated with the fluid inlet 18 and contaminant outlet 46. The
flow sensors 232 are configured to measure an opened or closed state of a
valve
on the fluid inlet 18, flow rate in the fluid inlet 18 and concentrate outlet
46, and
total fluid flow in the fluid inlet 18 and concentrate outlet 46.
[Para 130] The graphical display 220 has several display modes. The main
screen is shown in FIG. 38 and displays the values measured by the operational
sensors 222 in the schematic illustration of the system 10. A graphs screen,
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shown in FIG. 39 displays the values measured by the temperature and pressure
sensors 224 in a bar graph format 234 configured to represent the orientation
of
the plurality of operational stages 226. The graphs screen also displays
numerical measurement values for the rotational sensors 228, the bearing
sensors 230, and the flow sensors 232. A trends screen, shown in FIG. 40,
displays a line graph 236 of the values measured by the temperature and
pressure sensors 224 against time. On this line graph, each operational stage
226 associated with one of the temperature and pressure sensors 224 is
depicted as a separate line. The line graphs may show present operational
conditions or may be reviewed to show historical operational temperature and
pressure data. The trends screen may also display data measured by the other
sensors, including at least revolutions per minute of the rotor from the
rotational
sensors 228. The display screen 220 also has functionality to capture an image
of the graphical display, as well as, to regulate whether data logging is on
or off.
[Para 131] FIGS. 41 and 42 illustrate schematic flowcharts of preferred
systems
and methods for purifying a waste water source.
[Para 132] The system 250 of the first preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 41,
begins with a waste water source 252. The waste water source 252 can be any
contaminated water source that typically needs to cleaned or purified, i.e.,
sewage, domestic wastewater, effluent, run-off, industrial waste, etc. The
flow
from the waste water source 252 is first passed through a macro filter-
strainer
254 that is designed to remove large objects, i.e., rocks, branches, etc.,
from the
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flow. The goal is to remove solid objects that might be too large to pass
through
the remainder of the system 250.
[Para 133] After the macro filter-strainer 254, the waste water flow passes
into
a separation tank 265. The separation tank 256 relies on weight or density
differences to allow for the waste water flow to separate into different
regions,
i.e., a heavy fraction region 256a at the bottom, an intermediate fraction
region
256b in the middle, and a light fraction region 256c at the top. The heavy
fraction is typically sludge or similar solid or semi-solid contaminants. The
light
fraction is typically oil or similar lighter contaminants. The waste water
flow
removed from an intermediate fraction outlet 258 in the intermediate region
256b is passed on for further processing. The tank 256 also includes a heavy
fraction outlet 258a and a light fraction outlet 258c, whereby both fractions
may
be removed when needed. The intermediate fraction outlet 258 is preferably
disposed in the intermediate fraction region 256b, but close to the heavy
fraction
region 256a to maximize the accessibility of the intermediate fraction.
[Para 134] The waste water flow from intermediate outlet 258 enters vaporizer-
desalination unit 10 constructed as described above and is processed in the
same manner as described above. The contaminant outlet flow 46 is directed to
contaminant flow tank 260 for storage or subsequent processing. The vapor
outlet flow 48, having been purified, is directed elsewhere for subsequent
processing, where it is condensed for use in clean water systems, including
but
not limited to potable or irrigation water. Optionally, the contaminant outlet
flow
46 may be recycled - in whole or in part - via recycle line 46a back through
the
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vaporizer-desalination unit 10 for further purification. Rather than
recycling, the
contaminant outlet flow 46 may be processed through a second vaporizer-
desalination unit 10 set-up in series with the first unit.
[Para 135] Use of the vaporizer-desalination unit 10 allows for the
elimination
of conventional filtration systems and chemical process treatments found in
typical water treatment plants. Such systems and treatments typically involve
chemicals and/or reverse osmosis and similar filtration systems that are
expensive to operate and maintain. Use of the inventive system 250 reduces or
eliminates these expenses.
[Para 136] A second embodiment of the water purification system 262 is shown
in FIG. 42. The second system 262 is the same as the first system 250 up
through the separation tank 256 and the vaporization-desalination unit 10. In
this second system 262, the contaminant outlet flow 46 is directed into a
contaminant flow tank 264. The contaminant flow tank 264 includes heat
exchanger pipes 266 that are connected to the vapor outlet flow 48. The heat
from the vapor outlet flow 48 dries the contaminant outlet flow 46. The dried
contaminant outlet flow 268 is then sent to further processing for contaminant
mineral recovery 270. After the heat exchanger pipes 266, the vapor outlet
flow
48 has been cooled and is sent to a decontaminated water recovery tank 272.
[Para 1 37] It has been found that initial processing through a vaporizer-
desalination unit 10 in either system 250, 262 purifies approximately 75% of
the
water content in a contaminated water flow. A second round of processing
through such a unit 10 will purify approximately 75% of the remaining
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contaminated flow. The combined processing results in over 90% purified water
content from a waste water source.
[Para 138] FIGS 43-45 illustrate embodiments of a variation on the
purification
and/or decontamination system and process of the present invention. In
particular, FIG 43 generally illustrates system 280 for the decontamination of
a
waste water stream containing biological waste as might be found in a
slaughterhouse or similar business. The system 280 generally includes a
wastewater source 282 that feeds into an inlet 284a on a macro-filter/strainer
284. Similar to those described above, the macro-filter/strainer 284 is
configured to remove larger contaminant materials that are generally easier to
remove. In the context of decontamination of slaughterhouse wastewater, the
macro-filter/strainer 284 might remove chunks of tissue or other biological
solids.
[Para 139] An outlet 286 from the macro-filter/strainer 284 leads into a
decontamination unit 10, which is constructed as the vaporizer-desalination
unit
described above. The decontamination unit 10 is designed to vaporize the
liquid portion of the wastewater source 282 by passing it through the series
of
alternating rotating trays 22 and stationary baffles 24. The vaporized portion
of
the wastewater source 282 exits the decontamination unit 10 through the vapor
outlet 48. The non-vaporized and remaining solid portions of the wastewater
source 282 exits the decontamination unit 10 through the contaminant outlet 46
into the contaminant outflow 260. The vapor outlet 48 and the contaminant
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outflow 260 may be further processed in any of the ways described above in
connection with the other embodiments.
[Para 140] In a further function of this embodiment, the shaft 36 of the
decontamination unit 10 extends from one end of the vessel 12 a length
sufficient to allow for functional connection to an electrical generator 288.
In
this embodiment, the rotation of the shaft 36 is converted into electricity by
the
generator 288 and, as shown in FIG. 45, can be used to power electronic
circuits
294 in the system 280. Such circuits 294 might include sensors, temperature
gauges, pressure gauges, vibration sensors, lubrication systems, flow rate
sensors, computers, etc. In addition, the electricity from the generator 288
can
be used to power electronic controls 296 in the system 280. Such controls 296
might include pumps, valves, motors, etc.
[Para 141] This electrical generator 288 provides particular benefit to
operate
the electronic circuits 294 and controls 296 without significant external
electrical
input. As described above, the decontamination unit 10 might be started by
initially rotating the shaft 36 by a starter motor 32, which may be gasoline
or
electric. The starter motor 32 is designed to only be used at the beginning to
impart initial rotation to the shaft 36. As the unit 10 ramps up to full
operation
speed, the shaft 36 acquires a measure of self-rotation through the force of
the
wastewater stream flowing through the unit 10. This self-rotation of the shaft
36 provides a source of electricity that can be used as described.
[Para 142] FIG 44 shows an alternate embodiment of the system 280 in FIG 43,
in particular, the introduction of a first macro-filter/strainer 284 and a
second
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macro-filter/strainer 285 installed in parallel. In this way, the waste water
source 282 can be run through one of the macro-filter/strainers 284, 285 while
the other is being cleaned allowing for virtually uninterrupted operation of
the
system 280. Specifically, the wastewater source 282 is introduced into the
inlet
290a of a switching valve 290 having two outlets 290b, 290c, which separately
direct the wastewater source 282 from the inlet 290a to one or the other - but
not both - of the outlets 290b, 290c. The outlet 290b is connected directly to
the inlet 284a on the first macro-filter/strainer 284. The outlet 290c is
connected directly to the inlet 285a on the second macro-filter/strainer 285.
[Para 143] The outlets 284b, 285b from the filter/strainers 284, 285 are both
fluidly connected to a fluid junction 292 that includes a one-way check valve
292a. The outlets 284b, 285b connect to separate inlets on the check valve
292a. The check valve 292a provides for the outlet flows 284b, 285b from the
filter/strainers 284, 285 to flow into the fluid junction 292 without back
flowing
into the other filter/strainers 284, 285. The outlet 286 from the fluid
junction
292 is effectively the outlet 286 from the filter/strainers 284, 285 that is
introduced into the inlet of the decontamination unit 10.
[Para 144] In this way, the use of two macro-filter/strainers 284, 285 with
the
switching valve 290 and fluid junction 292 allows for the operation of one of
the
filter/strainers 284, 285 while the other is being cleaned. When the switching
valve 290 and fluid junction 292 are configured as described, wastewater flow
is
prevented from entering the filter/strainer 284, 285 that is currently being
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PCT/U52021/040692
cleaned. This configuration maximizes the operation time of the system 280
while facilitating cleaning of filter elements in the filter/strainers 284,
285.
[Para 145] Although several embodiments have been described in detail for
purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing
from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not
to
be limited, except as by the appended claims.
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