AU598831B2 - Method of and arrangement for purifying contamined water - Google Patents

Description

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AU W4409/8 PCT WORLD INTELI.,ERQA'AT INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PAENT COOPjRATION TREATY (PCT) (51) International Patent Classification 4 I (11 International Publication Number: WO 87/ 07589 C02F 1/28, 1/04, 1/02 B01D 35/18, C02F 1/20 Al (43) International Publication Date:1 17 1 December 1987 (17.12.87) I1 (21) International Application Number: PCT/US87/01159 (22) International Filing Date: (31) Priority Application Number: (32) Priority Date: (33) Priority Country: 22 May 1987 (22.05.87) 872,162 9 June 1986 (09.06.86)

US

(71) Applicant: PUREWATER SCIENCES INTERNA- TIONAL, INC. [US/US]; 124 East 37th Street, New York, NY 10016 (US).

(71)(72) Applicant and Inventor: PERANIO, Anthony [US/ US]; 650 Route 9W So., Nyack, NY 10960 (US).

(74) Agent: WEINSTEIN, Louis; Weinstein Kimmelman, 2410 Two Mellon Bank Center, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (US).

This document conLailns the amendments made under Section 49 and. is correct for printing.

(81) Designated States: AT, AT (European patent), AU, BE (European patent), BR, CH, CH (European patent), DE, DE (European patent), DK, FI, FR (European patent), GB, GB (European patent), IT (European patent), JP, KR, LU, LU (European patent), NL, NL (European patent), NO, SE, SE (European patent).

Published With international search report.

Before the expiration of the time limit for amending the claims and to be republished in the event of the receipt of amendments.

i. .J.p 11 F IB 1988

AUSTRALIAN

11 JAN 1988 PATENT OFFICE (54) Title: METHOD OF AND ARRANGEMENT FOR PURIFYING CONTAMINED WATER (57) Abstract Contaminated water is purified by introducing a finite amount of water to be purified into a filter filtering the thus introduced water to obtain partially purified water, accumulating the partially purified water in a confined space (9a) to form a body of water (12) therein, heating the partially purified water to a temperature to and about its boiling point, reintroducing the partially purified water in the same filter, and continuously repeating the filtering, accumulation and heating steps with the partially purified water with attendent further purification of the partially purified water, until the degree of contamination of such water has drorp,'d below a predetermined level. A predetermined portion of the purified water of the body may be distilled (43) subsequent to the completion of the purification operation, and the distilled water is collected (46) in a collecting space (45) for eventual consumption. An arrangement for performing the above method includes a vessel which has a filter arranged at its upper region (20) which bounds an accumulation chamber at its lower region and a lid which is removably supported on the vessel. An electric resistance heater (10) is arranged either in the accumulation chamber (Fig. 1) or at the exterior of the vessel (Fig.

and a riser tube which may have a steam collecting bell at its lower end, rises from the heater to the filter. The vessel may be received in and communicate with a steam condensing receptacle (45) for distilled water (46).

iJ r 1 1: Iii: i 1:L; i:I i 7~~ 3 'i orJ au'^Ce~-E- 0 f E s &i *4c2/1/ y s s2 CL P. rPCFT WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION M International Bureau INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT) International Patent Classification 4 (11) International Publication Number: WO 87/ 07589 C02F 1/28, 1/04, 1/02 Al (43) International Publication Date: B01D 35/18, C02F 1/20 17 December 1987 (17.12.87) (21) International Application Number: PCT/US87/01159 (81) Designated States: AT, AT (European patent), AU, BE (European patent), BR, CH, CH (European patent), (22) International Filing Date: 22 May 1987 (22.05.87) DE, DE (European patent), DK, FI, FR (European patent), GB, GB (European patent), IT (European patent), JP, KR, LU, LU (European patent), NL, NL (31) Priority Application Number: 872,162 (European patent), NO, SE, SE (European patent).

(32) Priority Date: 9 June 1986 (09.06.86) Published (33) Priority Country: US With international search report With amended claims.

(71) Applicant: PUREWATER SCIENCES INTERNA- Date of publication of the amended claims: TIONAL, INC. [US/US]; 124 East 37th Street, New D a e of publicat o he ame1988 (2 York, NY 10016 25 August 1988 (25.08.88) (71X72) Applicant and Inventor: PERANIO, Anthony [US/ US]; 650 Route 9W So., Nyack, NY 10960 (US).

(74) Agent: WEINSTEIN, Louis; Weinstein Kimmelman, 2410 Two Mellon Bank Center, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (US).

(54) Title: METHOD OF AND ARRANGEMENT FOR PURIFYING CONTAMINED WATER (57) Abstract Contaminated water is purified by introducing a finite amount of water to be purified into a filter filtering the thus introduced water to in a confined space (9a) to form a body of water (12) therein, heating I/ the partially purified water to a temperature to and about its boiling 2 point, reintroducing the partially purified water in the same filter, and continuously repeating the filtering, accumulation and heating steps with I the partially purified water with attendent further purification of the par- i.

tially purified water, until the degree of contamination of such water has dropped below a predetermined level. A predetermined portion of the 2

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purified water of the body may be distilled (43) subsequent to the completion of the purification operation, and the distilled water is collected (46) in a collecting space (45) for eventual consumption. An arrangement for performing the above method includes a vessel which has a filter arranged at its upper region (20) which bounds an accumulation chamber at its lower region and a lid which is removably supported on the vessel. An electric resistance heater (10) is arranged either a in the accumulation chamber (Fig. 1) or at the exterior of the vessel (Fig. 0 and a riser tube which may have a steam collecting bell at its lower end, rises from the heater to the filter. The vessel may be received in and communicate with a steam condensing receptacle (45) for distilled. water (46).

~1 WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 METHOD OF AND ARRANGEMENT FOR PURIFYING CONTAMINATED WATER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to water purification in general, and more particularly to method of and an arrangement for purifying contaminated water.

The invention described here is designed to produce really safe drinking water, costing only pennies per gallon of water, from all municipally treated water supplies, but also from water drawn from wells or springs and other water sources, preferably such which provide water that is not excessively contaminated. The present invention is based on the recognition of the fact that tap water, even though claimed or presumed to be safe for human consumption, often contains a considerable amount of contaminants or pollutants which may at least detract from the esthetic appeal of the tap water by discoloring or clouding it, or by giving it an unpleasant odor or taste, if not being actually harmful or toxic. This is true in spite, and at least in some instance because, of the fact that the municipal tap water is fluorinated or chlorinated, sometimes very heavily, to rid it of harmful organisms, such as bacteria or the like. The problem of tap water contamination is exacerbated by the fact that WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -2especially large municipalities, like New York City, have to use river water, such as that of the Hudson River, particularly during severe or persistent drought conditions, to replenish their reservoirs. Such river water contains all kinds of contaminants, such as polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) or other carcinogenic compounds, and various industrial and domestic wastes (with or without treatment) have also found their way into the river. Furthermore, the river water is already rather rich in natural and synthetic organic material and bacterial and other biological contaminants.

Obviously, the river water is not suited for consumption without treatment. Thus, such river water is usually chlorinated before it is admitted into the reservoirs, and the water supplied from the reservoirs into the aqueducts is chlorinated again. However, the act of chlorination, as effective as it may be in killing most of the harmful organisms, especially when applied to polluted water, produces cancer-causing trihalomethanes. In addition thereto, at least in some of the older municipal water supply systems, bacterial infestation of the distribution piping by organisms against which chlorine is ineffective can cause dangerous pollution. Giardia lamblia S- cysts which can cause infection of the small intestine are an example of such harmful and -t v Ilil~l-msffuusrr~*n-;~ru~ WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -3otherwise harmful substances, such as Jead, copper, zinc or asbestos can be introduced into the previously treated water in the distribution piping.

Additionally, industrial discharges of highly toxic organic compounds, and the agricultural use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and similar substances, not to mention the variety of dangerous chemicals used in our homes, can pollute the water. High levels of common salt and other sodium ion salts, from the intrusion of sea water, for instance, or introduced by certain water softeners and treatment methods, can cause undesirably high levels of sodium in drinking water. Other contaminant salts include nitrates which can cause methemoglobemia (or "blue babies"), and fluorides which can cause teeth mottling and bone disorders. High nitrate concentration can result from water source contamination by human and animal sewage or, eupecially in inland and arid regions, can be the result of natural (geological) pollution.

Flouride contamination can also result either from human activity, or from natural contamination. Then there are toxic heavy metal salts which are widely used in or are by-products of certain processes performed by industrialized societies. Such heavy metal salts include, for instance, the salts of cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead and arsenic (which also causes cancer). Finally, in this L. I i i S 1 *4 WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -4day and age of nuclear weapon production, testing, and previous use in warfare, as well as nuclear power generation and accidents, and the mining, processing, reprocessing and disposal of radioactive materials, the chances that the water supplies will one day contain objectionable quantities of dissolved or entrained radioactive materials increase year by year.

In view of the above, it should be apparent that the only way of assuring that the drinking water will indeed be harmless as well as devoid of most if not all contaminants is to subject the tap water to final purification directly at the point of use. Consequently, there have already been developed various arrangements and systems for accomplishing this purpose. So, for instance, it has been proposed to first filter the tap water to rid it of particulate contaminants and other pollutants which can be absorbed, adsorbed or otherwise captured by a filtration medium, such as activated carbon or charcoal, and then to heat the thus filtered water to an elevated temperature, possibly as high as its boiling point, to thereby kill all or at least most of the bacteria, germs, viruses and other ?biological contaminants, as well as to cause i substances with low boiling points to escape into the ambient air. However, experience with !i .this approach has shown that, at least in some instances, the results of such a process are .,iE i -i I WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 rather disappointing, particularly since many of the contaminants remain in the water being purified after the original filtration and are not expelled therefrom by the heating, and that some materials which could be filtered out stay in the water. This inefficient filtration is apparently attributable to the very limited dwell or residence time of the water being purified in the filter.

0 It has also been proposed to obtain the purified water -at the point of use by resorting to a distillation process, and various arrangements employing this distillation principle, some of them rather complex and correspondingly expensive, have been proposed.

However, this approach also suffers from a.

rather serious drawback, which resides in the fact that at least some substances with a boiling point lower that that of water will evaporate before the water does, and will precipitate during the following condensation phase of the distillation process, rather than escape into the ambient atmosphere, thus tually increasing the concentration of these zabstances in the distilled water, particularly in view of the fact that not all of the water may be available for distillation and not all of :1 the water which is available for distillation is actually converted into water vapor or steam and caused to condense, particularly when the distillation is performed with discrete batches of water, rather than on a continuous basis, if

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I-ln*L~au WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -6for no other reason than in order not to form heavy encrustations or scales of the minerals and other high boiling substances contained in the water being distilled on the various surfaces which come into contact with the water in its liquid state. Also, the distilling process is usually rather expensive since it requires a substantial amount of energy, especially for converting the water from its liquid state into its gaseous state or water vapor or steam.

Examples of arrangements of the above-discussed type, or of equipment to be used in conjunction with such arrangements, are described in U.S. patent applications Serial Nos. 300,423, 442,951 and 443,599, all of which have been abandoned.* So, for instance, the application Serial No. 300,423 discloses a water distiller in which the water being purified flows toward an evaporator in quite convoluted paths to increase its dwell time in the .arrangement prior to reaching the evaporator and thus to increase the chance of volatilization and escape of low boiling contaminants from the water. The application Serial No. 442,995 describes another distillation arrangement in which the water is evaporated in an evaporator and condensed in a separate vessel which is so constructed as to also accumulate the distilled water and to keep the internal surfaces of such vessel sterile. However, in either one of these arrangements, none of the water is recirculated, ,.WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -7and no filter is included in the flow paths of water to the evaporator, so that the degree of purification obtained by these arrangements is lower than desired. Finally, the application Serial No. 443,599 discloses another distillation arrangement in which the water to be purified, which is continuously admitted into the arrangement to replenish the water that has been converted to steam and then condensed in an external condensation receptacle, first passes through a sedimentation device. However, even here, there is no recirculation of the partially purified water, and no passage of such water being rccirculated through any filtering means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a water purifying method which accomplishes a high degree of water purification.

Still another object of the present invention is to develop a method of the type here under consideration which can rid the water I of most if not all kinds of contaminants at a H relatively low cost.

A A concomitant object of the present invention is to devise an arrangement which is 30 capable of performing the above-mentioned method 4. 1 WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -8and is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use and reliable in operation nevertheless.

It is yet another object of the present invention to design the water purifying arrangement of the above type in such a manner as to be able to rid the water being purified of contaminants which have a boiling point lower than that of water and also at least of such contaminants which can be captured in a filtering medium.

In keeping with the above objects and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the present invention resides in a method of purifying water, this method comprising the steps of introducing a predetermined finite amount of impure water to be purified into a filter; filtering the water being introduced to obtain partially purified water; accumulating the partially purified water in a confined space to form a body of water therein; heating the partially purified water to a temperature to and about the boiling point thereof; reintroducing the partially purified water into the same filter; and continuously repeating the filtering, accumulating and i heating steps with the partially purified water contents of the body with attendant further purification of the partially purified water, until the degree of contamination of such water has dropped below a predetermined level. A particular advantage of 2kr" ,WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -9the method of the present invention as described so far is that, by repeatedly causing the partially purified water to be filtered, a much higher proportion of the contaminants capable of being filtered out of the water than if the water passed through the filter only once will be retained in the filter and thus removed from the purified water. Moreover, by repeatedly heating the partially purified water to and about its boiling temperature, a much higher proportion of the low boiling contaminants than otherwise will be driven off from the water and escape into the ambient atmosphere.

According to another advantageous concept of the present invention, the inventive method further comprises the steps of distilling a predetermined portion of the purified water contents of the body subsequently to the completion of the repeating step; and collecting the distilled water in a collecting space for eventual consumption. An advantage of this feature is that even a higher proportion of both t1e low and high boiling point contaminants than before will be removed from the water being purified.

The present invention is also directed to an arrangement of purifying water, this arrangement comprising means for defining a confined space; means for introducing a predetermined finite amount of impure water to be purified into the confined space; means for filtering the water being introduced to obtain t i WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 j, partially purified water; means for bounding an accumulation chamber within the confined space for accumulating the partially purified water in the form of a body of water therein; means for heating the partially purified water to a temperature to and about the boiling point thereof; and means for continuously circulating the partially purified wate,r contents of the body through the filtering means, the accumulation chamber and past the heating means with attendant further purification of the partially purified water, until the degree of contamination of such water has dropped below a predetermined level. It is further advantageous in this context when the defining and bounding means includes a vessel having an upper region receiving the filter means and a lower region constituting the accumulation chamber, and a perforated lid removably supported on the upper region. Then, the heating means may advantageously include an electric resistance heater so situated in the accumulation chamber as to be fully immersed in the body of water, and the circulating means may include a steam collecting bell disposed upwardly of the heater for collecting steam generated by the heater, and a riser tube extending from the steam Arl collecting bell toward the filtering means for conducting the collected steam, together with slugs entrained thereby, to the filtering means. It is advantageous in this context when the riser tube has an external support collar i WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -11and when the filtering means is a cartridge having a central passage for receiving a portion of the riser tube, and supported on the support collar of the riser tube when received in the upper region of the confined space.

According to another facet of this invention, the vessel has an outlet at the lower region thereof, the heating means includes,an external heater situated at the exterior of the vessel and communicating with the outlet, and the circulating means includes a riser tube situated at the exterior of the-vessel and communicating with the heater, and a spout which communicates with the riser tube and is directed back into the confined space for diverting steam generated by the heater and slugs of water entrained by- such steam for jointly rising in the riser tube toward the filtering means.

However, it is also advantageous when the circulation means includes 'a riser tube extending upwardly from the heating means, and a spout communicating with an upper end of the riser tube and directed back into the confined space for diverting steam generated by the heating means and slugs of water entrained by such steam for jointly rising in the riser tube toward the filtering means. A particularly advantageous construction of the arrangement of the present invention is obtained when it comprises a holding cup received in the upper region of the vessel at least when the lid is supported on the upper region of the vessel and oy f i WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -12including a neck portion into which the introducing means and the spout are directed, and a main portion accommodating the filtering means in such a manner that water flowing from the neck portion enters the filtering means from below to flow upwardly through the filtering means and to be discharged from an upper region of the filtering means and spill over the holding cup to proceed toward the accumulation chamber.

The arrangement of the present invention may advantageously further comprise means for selectively interrupting the flow of purified water contents of the body through the circulating means subsequently to the completion of the purifying operation with attendant rise in the temperature of the water contents of the body to its boiling point and conversion of a portion of such water into steam, in which case the vessel has at least one discharge opening situated above the accumulation chamber for the discharge of the thus generated steam therethrough out of the confined space. There may then be further provided means for condensing the thus discharged steam into water and for collecting the condensed water in a collecting space for eventual consumption. Last but not least, it is also advantageous when the condensing means includes a receptacle which surrounds the vessel in an assembled condition of the arrangement.

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.i W 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -13- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Fig. 1 is a partly sectioned side elevational view of a water purifying arrangement of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but of a modified construction of the water purifying arrangement; Fig. 3 is another view similar to Fig 1 but of a further modification of the water purifying arrangement; Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the arran.gement of Fig 3 and Fig. 5 is still another view similar to Fig. 1 but of a further modified and amplified construction of the water purifying arrangement of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED

EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawing in detail, and first to Fig. 1 thereof, it may be seen that the reference numeral 1 had been use~ -herein to 25 identify a stream of water to be purified in a water purifying arrangement of the present invention. The water stream 1 is directed into a filter/purifier cartridge 2 through a perforated or open lid 3 of the water purifying a

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xn(~ WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 I -14arrangement. The lid 3 is shown to be perforated by perforations 3a to permit the water of the stream 1 to flow therethrough and also to permit various vapors or gaseous media to escape therethrough from the interior of the water purifying arrangement to its exterior and into the ambient atmosphere. However, if so desired, the lid 3 may be removed during an initial or filling phase of operation of the water purifying arrangement during which the water stream 1 is being introduced into the arrangement, so as to expedite the filling of the arrangement with water, in that the water stream 1 can be directly aimed at the filter/purifier cartridge 2, without being hampered by the lid 3.

The filter/purifier cartridge 2 includes an upper horizontal wall 4a and a lower horizontal wall 4b which are joined with one another by a circumferential wall 5. The circumferential wall 5 has an extension 5a which extends upwardly beyond the upper horizontal wall 4a to bound a distribution space 5b for the water to be or being purified. It will be appreciated that, regardless of whether or not the lid 3 is present during the initial phase of operation, the water from the water stream 1 reaches this distribution space 5b from where it is substantially uniformly distributed over the cross section of the filter/purifier cartridge 2 ,WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 in that it accumulates to a certain extent in this distribution space 5b and thus spreads from the point or points of introduction of the water stream 1 to regions of the upper horizontal wall 4a of the filter/purifier cartridge 2 which are spaced from such point cr points. Obviously, the perforated lid 3 if present during the initial or filling phase, further enhances or even by itself accomplishes the desired distribution effect with respect to the water stream 1 in that the water of the water stream 1 spreads on the lid 3, basically in the indicated manner, before it flows through the perforation 3a. To avoid spillage of the water of the stream 1 over the outer periphery cf the lid 3, the lid 3 includes an upstanding collar 3b which circumferentially completely surrounds a receiving space 3c for the water of the stream 1.

The upper and lower horizontal walls 4a and 4b, together with the circumferential wall further bound an internal chamber 20 which receives two sediment filters 6a and 6b which are respectively juxtaposed with the upper and lower horizontal walls 4a and 4b and which may be made of cloth, fiber sliver or other materials capable of capturing particulate material from the water flowing therethrough.

Sandwiched between the two sediment filters 6a and 6b, and filling a predominant part of the volume of the internal chamber 20, is a S! filtering medium 7, such as activated carbon or r i 7 WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -16charcoal or any other known substance capable of adsorbing or absorbing dissolved impurities from the water passing therethrough. Each of the upper and lower horizontal walls 4a and 4b is perforated with a number of openings 8a and 8b, respectively, to permit the water being purified to pass under the influence of gravity from the distribution space 5b through the openings 8a into the internal chamber 20 and from there through the openings 8b into an accumulation space 9a of a vessel or container 9 to accumulate in this accumulation space 9a.

Impure water of the water stream 1 is directed in the above-mentioned manner through the filter/purifier cartridge 2 until the interior of the vessel 9 is about two-thirds, full.

An electric resistance heater 10 is situated at the bottom region of the accumulation space 9a of the vessel 9. The electric resistance heater 10 is supplied with electric current via an electric cable 11 when an electric plug lla of the cable 11 is plugged into an electric outlet and when an electric switch llb interposed in the electric cable 11 is switched on. The electric resistance heater is completely immersed in a body 12 of water which is accommodated in the accommodation space 9a. When the electric resistance heater 10 is turned on, it heats the water contents of the body 12 which is to be purified. At this time, the lid 3 is put on the upper rim of the vessel

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9, if it was not in place before, so that vapors and i :.WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -17other gaseous media can escape from the interior of the vessel 9 only through the perforations 3a of the lid 3, thus reducing to the desired level the flow-through cross-sectional area for the escape of such gaseous media.

As the heating of the water contents of the body 12 by the electric resistance heater proceeds, and in the course of several minutes, steam bubbles 13 start to form in the body 12 of water and particularly on'the electric resistance heater 10, even though the temperature of the water contents of the body 12 as a whole has not yet been raised to the boiling point. As the temperatures of the electric resistance heater and of the water of the body 12 rise further, these steam bubbles 13 become disassociated from the electric resistance heater 10 and rise in the body 12 of water, to be eventually captured by and collected in a steam collecting bell 14.

The steam collecting bell 14 merges at its upper central region into an upwardly extending riser tube 16 which passes through the central region of the filter/purifier cartridge 2 and terminates at a predetermined distance above the upper horizontal wall 4a of the cartridge 2. The cartridge 2 has a tubular i internal partitioning wall 18 which bounds a passage for the riser tube 16. The riser tube 16 is provided at its exterior with a supporting collar 19 on which the filter/purifier cartridge is 3 supported. Thus it may be seen that the filter/purifier cartridge is self-contained and can be easily removed from .1 1 1 4 WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/0O1159 -18the riser tube 16 for replacement, simply by sliding it upwardly on the riser tube 16 after the lid 3 has been removed from the vessel 9. A new or replacement filter/purifier cartridge 2 can just as easily be mounted on the riser tube 16 by introducing the upper end of the riser tube 16 into the passage bounded by the partitioning wall 18 and then sliding the cartridge 2 downwardly on the riser tube 16 until it comes to rest on the supporting collar 19.

Relatively soon after the commencement of the operation of the purifying arrangement of the present invention, as the temperature of the water being purified approaches its boiling point without actually reaching it except in the immediate vicinity of the electric resistance heater 10, the steam collected in the steam collecting bell 14, together with entrained water slugs 15, will start to rise through the interior of the riser tube 16, since the specific weight of the mixture of steam and entrained water in the interior of the riser tube 16 is considerably lower than the specific weight of the considerably colder water of the body 12 being purified which is situated outside the riser tube 16 and the steam collecting bell ~14. Consequently, this imbalance in the specific weights and thus downward pressures of the water columns situated, on the one hand, in the interior and, on the other hand, at the _i 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -19exterior, of the riser tube 16 will cause the colder water to move downwardly and through respective slots 17 into the interior of the steam collecting bell 14, while the :steam collected in the steam collecting bell 14 and the aforementioned water slugs 15 entrained thereby will rise in the riser tube 16.

As the heating continues, the water slugs 15 will spill over or be ejected, together with the steam, from the upper end of the riser tube 16, possibly striking the lower major surface of the lid 3, whereafter the water slugs and any water which may have precipitated on the lid 3 from the steam will fall by gravity onto the upper horizontal wall 4a of the filter/purifier cartridge 2, substantially as indicated, to be again distributed over this upper horizontal wall 4a and flow again through the openings 8a into the internal chamber 20 of the filter/purifier cartridge 2, where it is acted upon again by the sediment filters 6a and 6b and the filtering medium 7 sandwiched therebetween and flows by gravity toward and through the openings 8b in the lower horizontal wall 4b to rejoin the water contents of the water body 12. In other words, the heated water percolates through the filtering medium 7.

After leaving the internal chamber 20 of i ^the filter/purifier cartridge 2 through the openings 8a, the purified water drips in the form of drops 21 into the body 12 of water and is mixed with the water contents of such body 12 due to S 1 1 1 WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 the agitation caused by the heating of the water contained in the accumulation space 9a of the vessel 9. Then, the heating and filtering cycle described above will be repeated several times during the twenty or so minutes allotted to the purifying operation. In other words, the amount of water flowing through the filter/purifier cartridge 2 after the commencement of the heating of the water of the body 12 is several times larger than the amount of water of the body 12.

After about twenty minutes of being continuously heated by the electric resistance heater 10, rising through the interior of the riser tube 16, and flowing downwardly through the filter/purifier cartridge 2, the water being.

purified will have had ample residence or contact time with the filtering medium 7 during the many times it has been carried up c.id allowed to pass down back into the accumulation space 9a of the vessel 9 to substantially rid it of all dissolved impurities. At this point, the switch llb is switched into its off position, and the electric resistance heater 10 and the now purified water of the body 12 will commence to cool off. The filter/purifier cartridge 2 is removed from the interior of the vessel 9, together with the riser tube 16 and the steam collection bell 14, and then the purified water can be dispensed from the vessel 9.

i It will be appreciated that virtually all low boiling point or volatile organic and i S 11 ,WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -21inorganic material will have been driven out of the water being purified. This is so because such volatile vapors and gases will be discharged into the ambient atmosphere through the perforations 3a in the perforated lid 3, as indicated at 31. Volatile organic compounds, which would otherwise tend to be adsorbed by the filtering medium 7, will also be driven off and discharged into the atmosphere due to the high temperatures of about 85 to 90 0 C, or 185 to 195 0 F reached in the filter/purifier cartridge 2. Also, any bacterial or other biological growth in the filtering medium 7 will be stopped or prevented by the moist heat cycling of water and steam through the filter/purifier cartridge 2.

Turning now to Fig. 2 of the drawing, it will be seen that it depicts a modified construction of the water purifying arrangement according to the present invention, which is similar to that described above in so many respects that the same reference numerals as before will be utilized in conjunction with Fig 2 to identify corresponding components and only the differences between these constructions will be addressed here in detail. This modified construction of the water purifying arrangement, like that discussed above, is to be used for producing batches of purified water. The vessel 9 of this modified water purifying arrangement is constructed as an urn, and the riser tube 16 is arranged rt the exterior of the vessel 9 and yN <l WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -22is connected by a connecting sleeve 24 to a spout 22 which opens into a neck portion 26 of a holder cup 25. The water stream 1 is also introduced into the neck portion 26 of the holder cup 25 during the initial or filling operation to fill a holding chamber 25a of the holding cup 25 and eventually'to overflow and fill the accumulation space 9a of the vessel 9 to tha desired level to constitute the body 12 of the water to be purified therein.

In this construction, the water is not heated inside the vessel 9. Rather, it flows through an outlet 23 to the heater 10 which is arranged at the exterior of the vessel 9, and from the heater 10 into the'riser tube 16. The and' water slugs, and heats the bottom of the vessel 9 so as to additionally heat the body 12 of water contained in the accumulation space of 9a of the vessel 9. The holder cup 25 is arranged at the upper region of the interior of the vessel 9, and it accommodates the filter/purifier cartridge 2 which is similar to if not identical with'that described above. In this case, after the completion of the initial or filling operation, and after energization of the external heater 10, steam and water slugs not shown in Fig 2, which issue from an open end of the spout 22, enter the neck portion 26 of the holder cup 25 and the water collects therein. This collected water, like the water of the stream 1 before, flows upwardly through 4., t~~i1 4. WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -23the filter/purifier cartridge 2, that is, it enters the internal chamber 20 of the cartridge 2 through the openings 8b of the lower horizontal wall 4b of the cartridge 2 and leaves the internal chamber 20 through the opening 8a provided in the upper horizontal wall 4a of the cartridge 2, after having passed through the filtering medium 7 and through the respective sediment filters 6b and 6a,(not shown in Fig.

As the water level in the holder cup rises, the water which has been purified and filtered rises above a rim 28 of the holder cup and spills over this rim 28 to descend under the influence of gravity into the body 12 of water to mix with the water contained in the internal space 9a of the vessel 9.

The vessel 9 is equipped with its own cover 3 which is provided with perforations 3a which permit volatile vapors to leave the interior of the vessel 9 and be vented into the ambient atmosphere, as again indicated at 31.

The purified water contents of the body 12 of water can be conveniently drawn from the interior of the vessel 9 after the termination of the purification operation, which again involves repeated circulation of the water through the riser tube 16 and the filter/purifier cartridge 2, through a faucet which is equipped with an actuating handle 29.

These differences not withstanding, the above-described constructions of the water purifying arrangement of the present invention Soperate in the same way.

.1 O 87/07589 PCT US 759-- -36- WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -24- Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing reveal another modified construction of water purifying arrangement of the present invention,- which is particularly well suited for use for small models of this arrangement, particularly those to be used by tourists and travelers. Here again, the same reference numerals as before have been used to identify corresponding parts.

The vessel 9 of this arrangement could be made, for instance, from stainless steel and its open upper end can be closed by the lid 3 which is correspondingly shaped. An important design feature of this modified construction is that all of the essential components of the arrangement, that is, the steam collecting bell 14, the riser tube 16, the holder cup 25, the internal electric resistance heater 10, and the filter/purifier cartridge 2, are physically mounted on and are affixed to the lid 3, and/or are integral parts of the lid 3.The cartridge'2 is removable from the holder cup 25 and can therefore be easily replaced when the filtering medium 7 is expended.

In this particular construction, the stream 1 of raw water to be purified is introduced'into the interior of the arrangement through a water filling aperture 32 provided in the lid 3. The action of the filter/purifier <2 cartridge 2, and the flow of water therethrough, are the same as explained ab in conjunction with Fig. 2 of the drawing. The electric power cord or cable 11 is provided, at its end remote

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S..WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 from the plug lla, with an additional plug 33 which can be plugged into a socket 34 that is mounted on the lid 3 and is electrically connected with the heater 10 to supply electric energy thereto during the purifying operation.

On the other hand, when the water purifying arrangement is out of use, the plug 33 can be unplugged from the socket 34 and the electric cord or cable 11 can be stored in the interior of the vessel 9. Because of its rectangular shape, and if built in a small size, this particular arrangement can be easily stored in a traveler's bag or in a suitcase. In all other respects, the modified construction of Figs 3 and 4 is the same in terms of construction and mode of operation to the constructions described befbre.

All of the materials of the parts used in this water purifying arrangement that are not made of stainless steel should be non-toxic material and capable of withstanding heat without damage thereto the at temperature of boiling water. Also, when the vessel 9 is made of a high-temperature heat resistant material, such as the aforementioned stainless steel, the water purifying arrangement of the present invention can be operated, in the absence of 71 electric power, directly over an open fire or any other source of heat.

Finally, Fig. 5 of the drawing shows an additional modification of the water purification arrangement of the present invention, in which the water which is purified S-N i :i 11-- 1 WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -26in the manner described above is subjected to a final stage of distillation, and only such di-.illed water is then being used for consumption. Once more, parts of the arrangement which correspond to those which have already been discussed before will be identified with the same reference numerals, and only such parts which have not been described before or which have been modified with respect to those described above will be discussed in some detail.

The construction shown in ?ig. comprises three principal components, namely a condenser/storage receptacle 35, the vessel 9 for heating the body of water, and the lid or top section 3 which is mounted over the heating vessel 9 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 5. A predetermined amount of impure water, for instance three gallons, is fed in the form of the water stream 1 through the aperture 32 provided in the top section 3 into the interior of such top section 3 and more particularly into the neck portion 26 of the holding cup 25 which accommodates the filter/purifier cartridge 2 in the manner explained above. The water being fed into the top section or lid 3 flows in the manner indicated by respective arrows first downwardly through the neck portion 26, and then upwardly through the filter/purifier cartridge 2. After leaving the cartridge 2, the partially purified water flows downwardly toward and through an orifice 36 provided in a bottom wall 37 of the lid or top section 3, to enter the accumulation chamber 9 of the heating vessel 9 and to accumulate therein in the form of the body 12 of water.

.WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -27- After the predetermined amount of water, in the case presented here about three gallons, has been fed into thb water purifying arrangement, the arrangement of the present invention as illustrated in Fig 5 of the drawing, which may be called a repercolation/distillation apparatus, is connected to a source of electric power by means of the plug lla and the electric cord or cable 11. An electric switch 38 which is mounted on the top section 3 is switched on and a timer 39 which is also mounted on the top section 3 is turned to a "3 gallon" position thereof in this case. This means that electric power is applied to the resistance heater 10 which then begins to heat the water contents of the body 12. Within several minutes, steam and water slugs 15 will start to rise through the riser tube 16 and will be discharged through the spout 22 into the neck portion 26 of the holder cup 25. This heated water will then follow the same path as previously followed by the impure water fed into the neck portion 26, that is, through the filter/purifier cartridge 2 and down through the control orifice 37 into the accumulation chamber 9 for rejoining the body 12 of water.

The timing cycle as determined by the timer 39 is so arranged that this "repercolation" of the water contents of the body 12 occurs a number of times during a period of about 15 to 20 minutes. During this time period, the impure water has had an ample opportunity to be treated by the activated WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -28carbon or other active substance of the filtering medium 7, and volatile vapors of various contaminants will hava been discharged, as again indicated at 31, into the air above the top section 3 through the perforation or perforations 3a.

At the end of the 15 to 20 minute purification period, the timer 39 acts to operate a solenoid 40 which acts on respective valve members 41 and 42 which, in response to such action of the solenoid 40, close the spout 22 and the control orifice 37, respectively. It will be appreciated that, because of such closings, steam and water slugs 15 will no longer be able to travel up through the interior of the riser tube 16 and be discharged out of the spout 22. Accordingly, no water will spill over the rim 28 of the holder cup 25 and flow toward the control orifice 37. However, as mentioned before, the control orifice 37 is also closed to prevent any further flow of water into the vessel 9 for heating.

However, the heating action of the electric resistance heater 10 continues and, as a result of such continued heating, the water of the body 12 of water begins to boil vigorously, so that steam will be generated in substantial I amounts. This steam then passes, under the pressure which builds up in the otherwise sealed off interior of the heating vessel 9, via Srespective vent openings 43 provided in the circumferential wall of the heating vessel 9, 1 WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -29into an annular space 44 present between the external surface of the circumferential wall of the heating vessel 9 and the internal surface of the circumferential wall of the condenser/storage receptacle 35, where it easily condenses on the circumferential wall of the receptacle 35 since this circumferential wall is externally cooled by ambient air. The thus condensed water will then proceed downwardly into a collection chamber 45 where it will gradually build up a supply 46 of purified and distilled water.

This stage of distillation of the previously purified water which has accumulated in the heating vessel 9 is continued under the control of the timer 39 until about 2 gallons of water originally fed into the vessel 2 have been vaporized, condensed and collected in the receptacle 35. With a 1000 watt heater, this distillation phase or stage will take about 3 hours. The condenser/storage receptacle 35 has at least one atmosphere vent 47. After the completion of the distillation phase, the purified water can be discharged from the collection chamber 45 through the faucet Before the next batch of water can be purified in this purifying arrangement, a simple procedure is to be performed. First, the entire top section 3 of the water purifying arrangement 30 is lifted up and removed, together with all electrical and other major components which are secured to this top section 3, from the vessel 9.

a 1 ;a

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WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 Then, the heating vessel 9 is lifted out and the residual polluted water contained therein is discarded. The vessel 9 is then returned into the receptacle 35 and the lid or top section 3 is mounted on top of it. After this is done, the arrangement is once more ready for the performance of the filling operation with the next batch of impure The action of hot steam on the condenser/storage receptacle 35 tends to keep it in a bacteriologically safe condition, and "pasteurizes" the water stored in this receptacle 35. Only very simple maintenance is required from time to time as the need arises, this maintenance involving occasional scouring of at least the internal surface of the heating vessel 9 to remove scale deposited thereon, and replacing the filter/purifier cartridge 2 every several months, depending on the use of the arrangement and the degree and character of contamination of the impure water.

The water purifying arrangement of the present invention, and particularly that depicted in Fig. 5 of the drawing, has several advantages. For one, the activated carbon filter 7 becomes highly effective, even though it is relatively small in size, since the impure water is passed therethrough a number of times.

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,WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -31- In this manner, the "residence time" of impure water in the filtering medium 7 is many more times that of the impure water in the conventional single-passthrough filter.

Furthermore, because heated water is passed through the cartridge 2, and this water becomes heated to about 160°F in the course of the approximately 20 min:tes of operation of the arrangement in the recirculation mode, there is no danger that bacteria will colonize in this cartridge 2 as they do in the activated carbon filters which are used in the conventional manner. Moreover, due to the heat and the prolonged treatment, more volatile organic compounds are driven out of the activated carbon filer 7, thus leaving more room in the filter for adsorbing other, heavier organic compounds.

Owing to its construction (only three major components), the arrangement of the present invention is easy to service and keep clean. Nothing has to be unscrewed or disassembled. The vessel 9 in which the heating and evaporation occurs is a simple pot and can be cleaned out easily. This can be done, if required or desired, before each new batch of water is purified, so that there is no accumulation of contaminants. As a result of the batch operation, and the effective purification before distillation, the water being distilled and condensed is exceptionally pure and free of volatile and other organics I which, if not removed before distillation, would y WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -32be carried over into and concentrated in the otherwise purified distillate. Thus, it may be seen that the invention provides an integrated, space and energy efficient arrangement in which water is filtered, pre-purified, evaporated, condensed and stored in a sterilized receptacle. All other things being equal, the arrangement of the present invention will produce water of better quality than any other system or device now being marketed, at a cost which is only a small fraction of that of the known systems or devices. Furthermore, as far as the energy efficiency of the purifying arrangement of the present invention is concerned, it is comparable to that of other distiller-type purifiers.

While the present invention has been described and illustrated herein as embodied in some specific constructions of water purifying arrangements, it is not limited to the details of these particular constructions, since various modifications and structural changes are possible and contemplated by the present invention. Thus, the scope of the present invention is to be determined exclusively by the appended claims.

Claims (9)

1. A method for purifying water, comprising the steps of introducing a predetermined finite amount of impure water to be purified into a filter; filtering said water within said filter; accumulating said filtered water in a confined space to form a body of water; heating said filtered water to a temperature sufficient to expel volatile contaminants from said filtered water; venting volatile contaminants expelled from said water, heated to said temperature; reintroducing said water from which volatile contaminants have been expelled and vented, into said filter; continuously repeating said filtering, accumulating, heating and venting steps until the degree of contamination of said water has dropped below a predetermined level. S. S

2. The method as defined in claim 1, and further comprising the steps of distilling a predetermined portion of the purified water of the body subsequent to the completion of said repeating step; and collecting the distilled water in a collecting space for eventual consumption. ooooo -34-

3. An arrangement for purifying water, comprising means defining a confined space; means for introducing a predetermined finite amount of impure water into said confined space; filter means connected at its inlet to said means for introducing; an accumulation chamber connected to the outlet of said filter means; means for heating up water from the outlet of said filter means; a venting area wherein volatile contaminants expelled from water heated by said means for heating up are vented from said water; means for continuously circulating said introduced water from the outlet of said filter means to said accumulation chamber, S pass said means for heating and said venting area to said filter means, so as to continuously lower the degree of oo contamination of said water below a predetermined level. see

4. The arrangement as defined in claim 3, wherein said defining and bounding means includes a vessel having an upper o region receiving said filter means and a lower region constituting said accumulation chamber, and a perforated lid removably supported on said upper region. *see The arrangement as defined in claim 4, wherein said S heating means includes an electric i z O 87/07589 PC/US87/01159 resistance heater so situated in said accumulation chamber as to be fully immersed in said body of water; and wherein said circulating means includes a steam collecting bell disposed upwardly of said heater for collecting steam generated by said heater, and a riser tube extending from said steam collecting bell toward said filtering means for conducting the collected steam, together with water slugs entrained thereby, to the filtering means.

6. The arrangement as defined in claim wherein said riser tube has an external support collar; and wherein said filtering means is a cartridge having a central passage for receiving a portion of said riser tube, and supported on said support collar of said riser tube when received in said upper region of said confined space.

7. The arrangement as defined in claim 4, wherein said vessel has an outlet at said lower region thereof; wherein said heating means includes an external heater situated at the exterior of said vessel and communicating with said outlet; and wherein said circulating means includes a riser tube situated at the exterior of said vessel and communicating with said heater, and a spout communicating with said riser tube and directed back into said confined space for diverting steam generated by said heater and slugs of water entrained by such i WO 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -36- steam for jointly rising in said riser tube toward said filtering means.

8. The arrangement as defined in claim 4, wherein said circulating means includes a riser tube extending upwardly from said heating means, and a spout communicating with an upper end of said riser tube and directed back into said confined space for diverting steam generated by said heating means and slugs of water entrained by such steam for jointly rising in said riser tube toward said filtering means.

9. The arrangement as defined in claim 8, and further comprising a holding cup received in said upper region of said vessel at least when lid is supported on said upper region of said vessel and including a neck portion into which said introducing means and said spout are directed, and a main portion accommodating said filtering means in such a manner that water flowing from said neck portion enters said filtering means from below to flow upwardly through said filtering means and be discharged from an upper region of said filtering means and spill over the holding cup to proceed toward said accumulation chamber, i O, O 87/07589 PCT/US87/01159 -37- The arrangement as defined in claim 3, and further comprising means for selectively interrupting the flow of purified water of the body through said circulating means subsequently to the completion of the purifying operation with attendant rise in the temperature of the water of the body to its boiling point and by continued heating convert a portion of such water into steam; wherein said vessel has at least one di'scharge opening situated above said accumulation chamber for the discharge of the thus generated steam therethrough out of said confined space; and further comprising means for condensing the thus discharged steam into water and for collecting the condensed water in a collecting space for eventual consumption.

11. The arrangement as defined in claim wherein said condensing means includes a receptacle vented to the atmosphere which surrounds said vessel in an assembled condition of the arrangement. 38 4 12. An apparatus for purifying water, comprising a container for collecting and storing purified water; filter means having an inlet for receiving water and an outlet for delivering water to said container, whereby the water passing between said inlet and outlet is filtered to remove contaminants; means for delivering water from said container to said filter means inlet; means for heating said water preparatory to re-entering in said inlet of said filter means; venting means, arranged between said container and said filter means inlet to enable volatile contaminants emitted at said means for delivering water to o* oo freely escape; said delivery means including means for S* returning water delivered from said filter means to said container means back to the filter means, so long as said heater means is maintained energized to repeatedly pass the heated water through said filter means. Dated this 27th day of March 1990. *go PUREWATER SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL INC. By its patent Attorneys HALLIDAYS O