BRPI0720810A2 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LIQUID TREATMENT - Google Patents

Description

System and method for the treatment of liquids. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments for the present invention relate to the field of liquid desalination. Embodiments for the present invention relate to a desalination device and a method for using the desalination device.

DESCRIPTION OF ART RELATED TO THIS INVENTION

Less than one percent of the water on the earth's surface is suitable for domestic consumption or industrial applications. With limited sources of natural drinking water, deionization of seawater or brackish water, in a process commonly known as desalination, is a way of producing fresh water. There are several techniques for desalination, which are currently employed for deionization or desalination of a water source.

Capacitive deionization is an electrostatic process whatever! operates at low voltage (around 1 V) and low pressure (around 1.02 atm (15 psi)). When brackish water is pumped through a large surface area electrode assembly, ions in the water - such as dissolved salts and some inorganic substances - are attracted to the optically charged electrodes. This concentrates the ions near the electrodes and reduces the concentration of ions in water. When the capacity of the electrodes is depleted, water flow must be stopped to discharge the capacitor, with the ions being discarded back into a solution that is now concentrated.

This fact makes it desirable for a device or system for desalination that differs from these devices or systems for which they are currently available. It is preferable to have a desalination method or the use of a desalination device which differs from those methods which are currently available.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THIS INVENTION

According to, and in one embodiment, a method is presented which includes the discharge of a solute from a solute-oriented os into a discharge to the flow of liquid, where the flow of the discharged liquid has a relatively high concentration of solute, and is then fed into a feed stream from which the solute-directed electrode has gained solute.

In one embodiment, a desalination system is provided such that it includes a first subsystem and a second subsystem in communication with the fluid of the first subsystem. The second subsystem includes a means for discharging a solute from a solute directed electrode into a liquid discharge stream, wherein the liquid discharge stream has a relatively higher solute concentration than the feed stream. solute-oriented from which the solute-directed electrode obtained solute gain.

According to one aspect, a desalination system which has a first subsystem receives a fluid supply and produces a first and a second flow of flowing fluids. The first fluid flow of fluid has a concentration which is relatively lower than the concentration of the solute in the fluid supply. The second fluid flow of fluid has a solute concentration which is relatively higher than the solute concentration of the fluid supply.

In one embodiment, a treatment system is provided, which system includes a first subsystem, a second subsystem in communication with the fluid of the first subsystem, and a controller in communication with the second subsystem. In response to a signal from the controller, the second subsystem discharges a solute from the electrode directed at the solute in a liquid discharge stream. The discharge liquid flow has a relatively higher concentration of solute than a solute-oriented feed stream from which the solute-directed electrode has solute gain.

According to one aspect, the first subsystem receives a liquid supply and releases a first flow and a second flow. With regard to liquid supply, the first flow has a lower amount of solute and the second flow has a higher amount of solute. The second stream flows to a second subsystem as does the solute-directed feed stream. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FOLLOWING THIS INVENTION

Similar numbers represent substantially the same parts from figure to figure.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a device which comprises one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows an exploded perspective view of a portion of the stack shown by Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows the schematic diagram of another device which comprises an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 shows a perspective diagram of a supercapacity desalination cell during a load state of the operation according to some of the embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a supercapacity desalination cell during the discharge state of the operation according to some of the embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 6 shows a block diagram of a desalination system according to some of the embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 7 shows a block diagram of a fit test according to some embodiments of the present invention;

Figures 8 to 10 show graphical representations of the test results that are obtained during the first exemplary form of fit test according to figure

7;

Figures 11 and 12 are graphical representations of the test results obtained in a second exemplary fit test experiment according to Figure 7;

- Figure 13 shows a block diagram of a desalination system for the

water waste management;

Figure 14 shows a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of a desalination system for water waste management; and

Figure 15 shows a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of a desalination system for water waste management.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of liquid desalination. Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for using the desalination device.

A supercapacitive desalination cell (SCD) according to one embodiment of the present invention may be employed for the desalination of seawater or the deionization of other brackish waters so as to reduce the amount of salt to permissible level for domestic and industrial use. Such supercapacity desalination cell (SCD) can remove or reduce other charged or ionized impurities from a liquid.

Language suitability, as used from this point forward,

throughout the description and claims may be applied to modify any quantitative representation which may vary in a permissible manner without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Similarly, a value modified by a term, or terms, such as 35 over, should not limit the precise value specified. In some situations, the suitability of the language may correspond to the accuracy of an instrument for measuring value.

A supercapacitor is an electrochemical capacitor which has a relatively higher energy density compared to that of a common capacitor. As, for example, employed in the present work, a supercapacitor is inclusive of other alternative performance capacitors, such as ultracapacitors. A capacitor is an electrical device which can store energy in the electric field between a pair of slightly separated conductors (called 'plates'). When a voltage is applied to a capacitor, charges of equal magnitude but of opposite polarity focus on each of the plates. The term saturated water refers to water which is saturated with at least one type of solute, or salt, at a given temperature. As used herein, the term supersaturated water refers to water which contains an amount of at least one type of solute, or salt, which is greater than the solubility limit of that solute, or salt, given a certain temperature. The term scalar refers to the accumulation of concentrate, or precipitation of otherwise dissolved salts, or solutes, on a side wall in contact with the solute-oriented salt or liquid.

Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a desalination supercapacitor device 10 which has a controller (which is not shown) and employs a desalination vessel 12. Desalination vessel 12 has an internal surface which defines a volume. Inside the desalination volume is a supercapacitant desalination cell 14. Supercapacitator desalination cell 14 includes several supercapacitor desalination cells 16. Each of the various supercapacitor desalination cells

16 includes a pair of electrodes, an insulating material separator, and a pair of current collectors. Furthermore, the desalination vessel includes at least a small crevice 18 from which a fed liquid enters the desalination vessel, and a drainage 20 from which the liquid leaves the desalination vessel after contact has been made. with its supercapacitor desalination cells. Liquid may be guided into the desalination vessel using external forces. Suitable external forces may include gravity, suction, and pumping.

The salinity of the liquid leaving the desalination vessel through the outlet 20 will differ from the salinity of the fed liquid which enters the desalination vessel through the crimping. The difference in salinity may either be larger or smaller, depending on whether the cells are in charge operation mode (which will remove salt and / or other impurities from the liquid fed fluid), or else mode operation. (where salt and / or other impurities are added to the flow of liquid fed). The controller can communicate with appropriate controls, such as valves, sensors, switches, and the like, such as the switch for reversing operating mode, from charging mode to discharge mode, in response to to a predefined criterion. Such criteria may include elapsed time, saturation value, conductivity, specific resistance, and the like.

During the charging phase, the liquid fed may pass through the battery once or more than once. This is more than one iteration that may be required to deionize the liquid to a predefined value of samples loaded via a properly located sensor in communication with the controller. In some embodiments for the present invention, several such cells may be arranged within the desalination vessel such that the outlet of one cell may be treated as a liquid feed to another cell. In this way, the liquid may be allowed to pass through the deionization cells several times before exiting through the sewer.

The desalination vessel may be made from materials suitable for desalination vessels. Materials that are suitable for desalination vessels include one or more materials that are selected from metal or plastics. Suitable metals include noble metals and ferrous base alloys such as stainless steel. Suitable plastics may include thermo-rigids such as acrylics, urethanes, epoxies, and the like; and thermoplastics such as polycarbonates, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyolefins. Suitable polyolefins may include polyethylene and polypropylene. As is readily apparent to all those of ordinary skill in the art, the selection of materials for the desalination vessel is such that the desalination vessel must not interfere with the impurities of the liquid which must undergo the deionization or desalination process. The desalination vessel may have a cylindrical shape. Furthermore, the desalination vessel may be shaped such that there is convergence to the crimps and outlets as illustrated by FIG. 1. Other shapes and dimensions may be employed for the desalination vessel.

Referring now to Figure 2, an arrangement of various elements employed in a supercapacity desalination stack, such as supercapacity desalination stack 14 of Figure 1, as illustrated. In the embodiment illustrated, the supercapacity desalination stack includes several supercapacitive desalination cells and several current collectors.

Supercapacitive desalination cells include at least one pair of electrodes. Each electrode pair includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a spacer electrical insulator which is disposed between the two electrodes. In some embodiments for the present invention, in battery charge operation mode, the first and second electrodes may absorb ions from L 6/30

of the liquid which must be deionized. In charge operation mode, the surfaces of the first and second electrodes can each accumulate an electric charge or polarized electrical potentials. The potential of the first electrode may differ from the potential of the second electrode. Subsequently, when liquid flows through these electrodes, the accumulated electric charges on the electrodes attract the optically charged ions from the liquid, and these charged ions are then absorbed to the electrode surface. After the electrode surface is saturated with the charged and absorbed ions, the battery operating mode can be switched from charging operating mode to discharged operating mode 10.

Charged ions may be removed, or

•s

absorbed from the electrode surface by discharging the cell. In discharge operation mode, absorbed ions disassociated from the surface of the first and second electrodes may combine with the liquid flowing through the cell during discharge operation mode. In some embodiments for the present invention, during the cell discharge operation mode, the polarities of the first and second electrodes may be the same, as the other, the charge and discharge of the cell will be discussed and illustrated in greater detail when referring to figures 4 and 5.

In some embodiments for the present

invention, each of the first electrodes may include a first conductive material and each of the second electrodes may include a second and different conductive material. As used herein, the term conductive material refers to materials that are electrically conductive, regardless of thermal conductivity. In these embodiments for the present invention, the first conductive material and the second conductive material may include an electrical conductive material, for example, a composite polymer. In some embodiments of the present invention, the first conductive material and the second conductive material may have smaller sized particles and larger surface areas. Due to the large surface areas, such conductive materials can result in high absorption capacity, high energy density and high capacitance of the cell. The capacitance of the battery may be greater than around 10 Farad per gram. In one embodiment of the present invention the capacitance of the

*

& pile may range from around 10 Farad per gram to up to around 50 Farad per gram

35 gram, from around 50 Farad per gram to around 75 Farad per gram, around 75 Farad per gram to around 100 Farad per gram, around 100 Farad per gram to around 150 Farad per gram, from around 150 Farad per gram to around 250 Farad per gram, around 250 Farad per gram, up to around 400 Farad per gram, around 400 Farad per gram to around 500 Farad per gram, around 500 Farad per gram up to 750 Farad per gram, around 750 Farad per gram to around 800 Farad per gram, or even greater than 80 Farad per gram.

Suitable first conductive materials and second conductive materials may be formed of particles which have an average size which is less than about 500 micrometers. In addition, the particles must be present in a mono-modal particle distribution of around 1.

In other embodiments for the present invention. Particle size distribution may be multimodal, such as, for example, bimodal. The use of multimodal particle distribution can enable cluster control, and ultimately the flow rate and surface area across the particle bed. Naturally, the first conductive material and the second conductive material may differ from each other in terms of surface area, configuration, porosity and composition. In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the particle size of the first conductive material and the second conductive material may be in the range of about 5 micrometers to 10 micrometers, from 10 micrometers to about 30 micrometers, from 30 micrometers to around 60 micrometers, from 10 micrometers to around 30 micrometers, or from 60 micrometers to around 100 micrometers.

Furthermore, the first conductive material and the second conductive material may have a high porosity. In one embodiment, the porosity of the first and / or second materials may be in the range of from 10 percent to 95 percent theoretical density. Each electrode may have a relatively high Brunauer - Emmet - Teller (BET) surface. A relatively high surface area can be in a range of about 5.5 x 106 feet lb'1 or around 400 to 1,100 square meters per gram (m2g'1). In one embodiment of the present invention, the surface area of the electrode may range in the range of up to 1.3 x 107 feet lb -1 or around 2,600 m2 g'1. Each electrode may have a relatively low specific electrical resistance in one embodiment of the present invention, additional materials may be deposited on the first and second electrode surfaces, where such additional materials may include catalysts, fouling preventers, modifiers. of surface energy, and the like.

Furthermore, the first conductive material and the second conductive material may include organic or non-organic materials, for example, such conductive materials may include polymers, or may include non-organic compounds which are conductive. In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention the inorganic material may include carbon, metals or metal oxides. Furthermore, the first and second electrodes may be formed of, or contain, the same materials as each other. Alternatively, the first and second electrodes may employ different materials from one another, or placement or amounts of the same materials may be differentiated. Additionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the first conductive material and the second conductive material may be reversibly doped. In these embodiments the first and second materials may or may be the same. In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the doping elements may include both anions and cations. Examples of cations, which should not be construed as limiting the present invention, include: Li ", Na +, K +, NH4 +, Mg2 +, Ca2 +, Zn 2+, Fe2 +, Al3 +, or any combination derived therefrom. which should not be construed as limiting the present invention include: Cl ', NO3 ", So4', and Po43".

As for conductive polymers, one or more of the suitable polymers are polypyrrole, polythiophene or polyaniline. In some embodiments for the present invention, conductive polymers may include sulfonic, chloride, fluoride, alkyl, phenyl, polypyrrole derivatives, polythiophene, or polyaniline. In one embodiment of the present invention, the conductive material may include carbon, or carbon-based materials. Suitable carbon-based materials may include activated carbon particles, porous carbon particles, carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes and carbon air gels. Suitable materials for use with the first conductive compound and the second conductive compound may include titanium carbides, zirconium, vanadium, tantalum, tungsten and niobium. Other materials suitable for use with the first conductive compound and the second conductive compound may include magnesium and iron. In one of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the conductive material may include powders which have nanoscale sized particles. Suitable nanoscale powders may include ferrite based materials.

In addition, electrical filler materials may also be used in conjunction with conductive materials. As well as adhesives, hardeners, or catalysts may be employed with conductive materials. Fillers, or additives, may affect one or more attributes of conductive materials, such as smaller width, viscosity, curing profile, adhesion, electrical properties, chemical resistance (such as resistance to humidity, solvent resistance), the transition to glass, thermal conductivity, heat distortion temperature, and the like. The filler may have an average particle diameter of less than 500 micrometers. In one embodiment of the present invention, the filler material may have medium diameter particles in the range of from about 1 nanometer to about 5 nanometers, in the range of from about 5 nanometers to about 10 nanometers. , in the range of about 10 nanometers to around 50 nanometers, in the range of around 50 nanometers to around 100 nanometers, in the range of around 100 nanometers to around 1,000 nanometers, in the range of around 1 micrometer to around 50 micrometers, in the range from about 1 micrometer to around 50 micrometers, in the range of around 50 micrometers to around 100 micrometers, in the range of around 100 micrometers to about 250 micrometers, in the range of about 250 micrometers to about 500 micrometers, or larger than about 500 nanometers.

In some embodiments for the present invention, the filler particles may have shapes and sizes which may be selected based on the specific application criterion. Suitable shapes may include one or more spherical particles, semi-spherical particles, sticks, fibers, geometric shapes, and the like. The particles may be hollow, or solid center, may also be porous. Long particles such as fibers may have lengths that differ from widths.

In one embodiment of the present invention where an electrical conductive polymer is employed as a conductive material, the capacitance of the cell may be increased due to the reversible Faraday mechanism, or the electron transfer mechanism of the polymers. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the capacitance of the cell may be increased from about 3 times to about 5 times. Such capacitance values are higher than the capacitance values of this cell, employing carbon active materials. In some embodiments for the present invention, the cell capacitance employed using polymeric compounds may range from about 100 Farad per gram to up to about 800 Farad per gram. Due to the alternating capacitance values, the first electrode and the second electrode can each absorb a considerable amount of ions on their respective surfaces without requiring high operating pressure or electrochemical reactions, and thus resulting in a relatively lower energy consumption when compared to systems employing other distillation techniques.

A large surface area of conductive polymers can facilitate the deposition of a relatively high amount of ions such that a device of similar efficiency may have a relatively smaller size or footprint. As used by this disclosure, the term "footprint" refers to the number of supercapacity desalination cells employed by a given stack, or the number of supercapacity desalination cells employed in a project to achieve certain pre-productivity. -determined. In some embodiments of the present invention, the footprint of a supercapacitive desalination device 200 may be larger than 1 supercapacitive desalination cell. In one embodiment of the present invention, the footprint of a supercapacitive desalination device 200 may be less than 1,000 supercapacitive desalination cells. In one embodiment of the present invention, the footprint may not be in the range of about 1 supercapacitive desalination cell to about 10 supercapacitive desalination cells, from about 10 supercapacitive desalination cells to about 100 supercapacitous desalination cells, or about 100 supercapacity desalination cells to up to about 500 supercapacity desalination cells.

Although in the illustrated embodiments of the present invention, the first and second electrodes are shaped like a plate which are arranged parallel to one another to form a stack structure in other embodiments. In this embodiment, the first and second electrodes may have different shapes. Such formats may include wrinkled and canister configurations. In one embodiment of the present invention, the first and second electrodes may be arranged concentric with respect to each other in a roll arrangement.

Suitable electrical insulating spacers may include electrical insulating polymers. Suitable electrical insulating polymers may include olefin-based materials. Suitable olefin materials may include polyethylene and polypropylene, which may receive the addition of a halogen. Other suitable electrical insulating polymers may include, for example, polyvinyl chloride, polytetrafluoroethylene, polysulfone, polyarylene ether and nylon. In addition, the insulating spacer may have a thickness which it would make in a range of from about 0.0000010 centimeters to about 1 centimeter. In one embodiment of the present invention the thickness may be in the range from about 0.0000010 centimeters to up to about 0.00010 centimeters, in the range from around 0.00010 centimeters to up to about 0.010 centimeters. , in the range of about 0.0010 centimeters to about 0.10 centimeters, or in the range of about 0.10 centimeters to about 1 centimeter. The electrically insulating spacer may be in the form of a membrane, a pickup network, a mat, a film, or a wave. To allow fluid communication, the electrically insulating spacer may be porous, perforated, or have fluid channels extending from one main surface to the other. Fluid channels, pores and perforations may have an average diameter of less than 5 millimeters, and may be configured to increase the turbulence of the liquid flowing through. In one embodiment of the present invention, the average diameter is in the range of from about 5 millimeters to about 4 millimeters, in the range of from about 4 millimeters to about 3 millimeters, in the range. around 3 mm to up to around 2 mm, in the range of around 2 mm to up to around 1 mm, in the range from around 1 mm to up to around 0.5 mm. With such an increase in turbulence, positive effects on the approximate electrode performance can be had. In one embodiment of the present invention, a net is used such that the filaments are not coplanar. Off-plane filaments can increase the turbulence of the liquid flowing through the system.

Furthermore, as illustrated, each cell may include a current collector 30 which are coupled to the first and second electrodes. Current collectors conduct electrons. The selection of materials for current collector 30 and operating parameters may be affected by power consumption and cell life. For example, a high contact resistance between one of the electrodes and the corresponding collector may result in high power consumption. In some embodiments for the present invention, the conductive material, or the first and second electrodes of the cell may be deposited on the corresponding current collector. In such embodiments for the present invention, electrode conductive materials may be deposited on the collector surface by one or more deposition techniques. Techniques that are suitable for deposition may include sputtering, spraying, spin coating, printing, dipping, or other coating.

A suitable current collector may be formed as a metal blade, or a mesh. The current collector may include an electrical conductive material. Suitable electrically conductive materials may include one or more of the following: aluminum, copper, nickel, titanium, platinum or paladin. Other suitable conductive materials may include iridium and rhodium, one or both, or an iridium alloy or a rhodium alloy. In one embodiment of the present invention, the current collector may be a titanium mesh. In one embodiment of the present invention the current collector may have a metal core with another metal disposed on the surface thereof. In another embodiment of the present invention, the current collector may include paper / carbon felt, or a carbon based conductive material.

The stack may additionally include support plates 32 for providing mechanical stability to the structure. Suitable support plates 5 may include one or more materials which are selected from plastics or metals. Suitable metals include noble metals, and iron based alloys such as, for example, stainless steel. Suitable plastics may include thermo stable plastics such as acrylics, urethanes, epoxies and the like; and thermo plastics such as, for example, polycarbonates, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyolefins. Suitable polyolefins may include polyethylene and polypropylene.

Support plates may act as electrical contacts to the battery to provide electrical communication between the battery and the power source, or the power recovery transformer. In the embodiment illustrated, the support plates, electrodes, and current collectors may define openings, or holes 21, for directing liquid flow, and for defining the path of hydraulic flow between the pair of electrodes. As illustrated, the liquid is directed into the cell from the direction indicated by the direction arrow which is labeled with reference numeral 22. After entering the cell, the liquid is directed in such a way that it makes contact. , and flows through, the corresponding electrode surface as indicated by the hydraulic flow path which is indicated by the direction arrow which is designated with reference numeral 23. Liquids may flow in such a way that the liquid crosses through the antenna array maximum portion of the corresponding electrode surface. The longer the residence time, or the contact time between liquids and the electrode surface, the greater the absorption of charged particles or ions from the liquid to the electrode surface. That is, a longer contact time between liquid and electrode surface may result in a shorter iteration time is required to reduce the concentration of charged particles in the liquid to a predetermined value. Subsequently,

The liquid leaves the cell as indicated by the direction arrow which is labeled with reference numeral 25.

While the stack of Figure 2 is described with reference to its incorporated in a desalination vessel, in one of the alternative embodiments for the present invention, the stack may also be employed without the use of the desalination vessel. Indeed, as illustrated by Figure 3, the stack, including the cells, can be interspersed between the support plates without using the desalination vessel. Applying mechanical forces to the support plates can hold the stack together. As previously described, each cell includes electrodes separated by means of insulating spacer. In addition, current collectors are coupled to the first and second electrodes. According to the embodiment of the present invention which is indicated by means of Figure 3, the crevice and outlet align with openings in the support plates to allow liquid to flow through the stack as described by middle of figure 2.

As a comparative example, a conventional SCD system operates by alternating between the loading and unloading steps. In a conventional system, water fed to the loading and unloading steps is supplied from the same water source. During operation in charge mode, water is fed into the SCD system to remove salt or other impurities from the flow. Similarly, the SCD system during load operation mode (ie “diluted flow”) has lower salinity than the fed flow. During flush operation mode, when SCD cells have salt or other impurities eliminated, salt or other impurities are released from SCD cells into the incoming feed stream, and this forms the product during flush mode. Operating discharge (ie “concentrated flow”) is more saline than the fed flow. Because the concentrated stream is more saline than the fed stream, it can be considered as dump water to be eliminated.

Embodiments for the present invention operate in contrast to the comparison example above. An SCD Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system is provided having defined operating modes. A principle of SCD

ZLD is shown by means of Figures 4 and 5. According to embodiments of the present invention, saturated or supersaturated water is fed into the supercapacity desalination device during the discharge step, whereas normal water feed is performed for the supercapacity desalination device during the loading step. In addition to salt, water may or may not contain other salts which may or may not be saturated or supersaturated. Moreover, this salt and water may or may not contain other salts which may or may not be saturated or supersaturated.

In some embodiments for the present invention, saturated or supersaturated water (the concentrated stream) is continuously circulated and reused for the discharge steps. Similarly, the degree of supersaturation of the flow is continuously increased as the discharge is continued. As a result, the degree of saturation will increase to a point where precipitation begins to occur. When the precipitation rate at the discharge step equals the salt removal rate at the charge step, the degree of supersaturation of the concentrated stream will no longer increase and an equilibrium will be established. Advantageously, according to the system that has been described, the volume of water discharged does not increase with the number of cycles, and thus the system liquid discharge is zero, or very close to zero. The SCD - ZLD system advantageously reduces or eliminates the amount of wasted liquid, and thus provides advantages over typical water treatment systems.

Referring briefly to Figure 4, an exemplary cell 16 is illustrated in the charge operation mode. As previously described, SCD cell 16 typically includes electrodes 24 and 26. Electrodes 24 and 26 are electrically coupled to a power source (not shown), and charged opposite. The power source may either act as an energy recovery transformer, or may be in operational association with the power transformer. Similarly, during charging mode operation, SCD cell 16 stores energy. According to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, electrode 24 is coupled to the negative terminal of the power source and acts as a negative electrode. Similarly, electrode 26 is coupled to the positive terminal of the power source and acts as a positive electrode. As previously described and illustrated with reference to Figure 2, an insulating spacer may also be disposed between two oppositely charged electrodes. During charge operation mode, a feed stream 34 which has charged particles is fed into the SCD cell. When the feed stream 34 passes between the electrodes, charged particles, or ions of the liquid feed stream, accumulate on the electrodes. As illustrated, cations 36 move toward the negative electrode, and anions 38 move toward the positive electrode. As a result of this charge accumulation process within the cell, a dilute flow 40 (the outlet liquid) from the cell has a lower concentration of charged particles as compared to the liquid which is fed into the cell.

As noted above, in some embodiments of the present invention, the diluted flow may be deionized by feeding it through another cell similar to the cell, or by feeding it back to the cell as a feed flow. In some embodiments for the present invention, several such cells may be employed in a stack as described above. The system may also include several batteries. Alternatively, the diluted flow may then be fed to another type of desalination device, such as a reverse osmosis unit (which is not shown), for further treatment.

As shown and illustrated by Figure 4, during charge of the SCD cell, charged particles (anions and cations) from the feed stream are accumulated on the surface of the electrodes charged with opposite charges. Accumulation of charged particles on the electrodes continues until the cell is discharged, a saturation limit is reached, or the specific ion layer resistance is d around the same electrode voltage potential.

Figure 5 illustrates the cell during discharge operation mode. During discharge mode operation mode, the cell releases stored energy that is captured during charge operation mode. The charged particles are absorbed from the electrode surfaces. And instead of using the same feed stream during the load and unload operation modes, a different feed flow can be fed from a different source into the cell during the unload operation mode, and thus reducing the amount of liquid discharged and which needs to be disposed of. More specifically, a saturated feed stream 42 is fed into the cell during discharge operation mode. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, in the cell discharge operation mode, the cations and anions are removed from the electrode surfaces and moved out of the cell along with the saturated feed flow and from it. producing the discharge stream 44, which can then be recycled and regenerated repeatedly for each discharge operation mode. During the discharge operating mode, the liquid arriving from the supercapacity desalination cell (discharge flow 44) will be greater than an ionic concentration when compared to the saturated feed flow 42 which is fed into the supercapacitive desalination cell. . The discharge stream 44 may be more saturated than the feed stream, and may be supersaturated.

As noted above, when the desalination supercapacitor operating mode is shifted from the charging operating mode to the discharge operating mode, there is energy release in the system, similar to the energy that is released when a battery is discharged. from fully charged operation mode to discharge operation mode. In some embodiments for the present invention, it may be desirable to collect this energy for use. The desalination system may include an energy recovery device such as a transformer (which is not displayed). In this way, the cell can also be in communication with the energy recovery device.

In charge operation mode, the drive directs the supplied power from a power source, such as a battery (not shown) or from a power grid to the cell. In the opposite mode, in discharge operation mode, the converter redirects, or recovers, the electrical energy that is released by the cell. This redirection, or recovery of energy, may be at least partially transferred to energy storage equipment such as the battery or the network. For example, this energy recovered from the cell can be used at a later stage, while charging the cell, a different cell 5 from the cell stack, or from different cells in the stack. The reclaimed energy converter may be referred to as a bi-directional converter considering that there are two directions of the energy flow through the converter. For example, power throughput may flow from the stack to the grid, or bus, such as from the grid, or bus, to the stack. In some of the preferred embodiments for the present invention, the converter may recover energy from the discharging cell in direct current form in the discharge operating mode and later transfer that energy to the direct current cell to to charge the cell from the charge state to a discharge state.

Referring again to Figure 5, the saturated fed flow may be fed into the cell from a reclaimed resource, such as, for example, the recovery tank 46. As shown, during the reciprocating operation mode. discharge, the recovery tank can set a feedback loop Ioop. The feedback loop can provide saturated feed flow to the cell and receive the discharge flow from the cell. Because the same flow recirculates through the cell during each discharge step, the fed flow and discharged flow become increasingly saturated as the discharge steps continue. Eventually, the recirculated liquid, which in this present work is also referred to as "regenerated water" or "regenerated liquid", will become saturated such that precipitation begins and precipitation of solids 48 begins to form. The precipitate may be filtered such that it remains in the regeneration tanks. The precipitate may be removed from the regeneration tank while the cell is not being discharged. Thus, to remove the precipitate, the system may also include a crystal separation unit. Suitable operating units may include a centrifuge, a filtration membrane, a bleed valve, a skimmer, a filtration unit, or an evaporation unit. By this method of removing the solids or mixing the semisolids, there may be a liquid waste of zero, or very close to zero, in the system that is presented in this paper. When the precipitation rate at the discharge step equals the salt removal rate at the charge step, the degree of supersaturation of the concentrated stream will not increase and the equipment can then be established. According to the system described, the volume of water discharged may not increase with the number of cycles, and thus the system liquid discharge is zero, or very close to zero. As precipitation occurs at the discharge of the regeneration tank, the cell that is employed in the SCD system may operate in combination with a crystallizer, or a container which functions as a crystallizer, to improve crystallization due to supersaturation. , as described below.

The described system can operate using the same water.

regenerated indefinitely during discharge cycles so that no liquid waste needs to be disposed of. But when the flow changes from regenerated water (the operation discharge mode) to normal feed water (charge operation mode), a portion of the regeneration water that is retained in the 10 SCD cells during The unloading operation can mix in the feed stream during the load operation mode. This effect may have an adverse effect on desalination. The magnitude of this adverse “mixing effect” depends on the difference in concentration between regenerating water and fed flow, just as the volume of regenerated water that is retained in cells. Thus, if the feed stream 15 contains sparingly soluble salts, the concentration of salts that are dissolved in the regenerating water may not be high (in the range of about 0.1 ppm to around 10,000 ppm) due to precipitation. to be continued. In this case, the possible reuse time of the regeneration water may be unlimited. However, when the feed stream contains highly soluble salts, for example sodium chloride, the concentration of the dissolved salts in the regenerating water can be very high (in the range of about 20,000 ppm to around 200,000 ppm), where the penalty of the mixing effect on the desalination process can be considerable. In this case, in case the regenerating water is continuously reused, cycle by cycle, the concentration of the regenerating water may be increased to a point at which the penalty due to the mixing effect is equivalent to the desalination capacity at the load step, which reduces or eliminates gross desalination capacity in subsequent desalination cycles.

In order to reduce or eliminate the penalty resulting from the mixing effect, various approaches may be applied. One of the 30 approaches is to use phase or sequential drift to divert liquid into the supercapacity desalination device over a period of time (eg, 10 to 30 seconds) ahead of flow drift. out of the supercapacity desalination device. This approach allows a portion of the regeneration water contained in the cells at the end of the discharge process to be withdrawn to the regeneration tank, which will reduce the penalty that is associated with the mixing effect. Another approach for reducing the mixing effect is to pump air or another gas into the supercapacity desalination device and push the trapped water out as far as possible before the feed stream is reintroduced into the device. supercapacity desalination during loading operation mode. This approach can also reduce the penalty that is associated with the mixing effect. Yet another possible approach is the washing of feed water. For example, at the end of the discharge step, a certain amount of the fed stream may be used to flush the supercapacity desalination device before the drainage of the supercapacity desalination device is alternating to deposit the output of liquid during operation mode. operation load to its target destination (for example, a dilute tank for desalinated / usable water storage). The water that is used to wash the supercapacity desalination device may be directed instead of the regeneration tank or into a separate container. If this approach is to be used, some regeneration water may need to be removed from the regeneration tank to maintain a fixed volume of regeneration water. For use during unloading. One limitation of this inter-cycle washing technique may be that some water recovery may be lost. Moreover, either of these approaches may be employed in combination. For example, washing with some feed water followed by washing with an air flow may be used.

An additional consideration of the system presented through the present work involves "escalation". High concentration of dissolved salt or solute in the regeneration liquid (eg saturated feed flow and discharge flow) may increase the potential for scaling. In one embodiment of the present invention, a supercapacitive desalination device is charged and discharged alternately, and a supercapacitive desalination device (and therefore individual cells) is exposed to both normal feed flow and high concentration saturated feed flow alternately. Compared to RO systems where concentrated flow always flows through a concentrated spacer during operation, the reduced intermittent exposure of the supercapacity desalination device to the supersaturated feed stream reduces the scaling potential as compared to the potential of scaling of RO systems.

The SCD system which has been described can provide scaling reduction compared to ERD systems, too. As with SCD desalination processes, EDR cameras are also exposed with alternate dilute and concentrate. However, it is well known that one of the major causes for scaling EDR systems is the change in local pH due to the polarization of dilution chambers and the fact that the resulting OH- migrate through the anion membrane to the chamber. where the concentration transfer rate of anions and cations are very high and precipitation occurs primarily under certain conditions. As will be appreciated by all those skilled in the art in the SCD process, there is neither polarization nor change in local pH during the discharge steps, and thus the risk of scaling decreases.

The supercapacity desalination device may have alternately diluted and concentrated tanks of one another. Concentration of diluted water limits operating current during operation of an EDR system; in contrast to the diluted water concentration, only limiting the current in the supercapacity desalination device during the loading steps. This feature makes the operation of the supercapacity desalination device relatively more flexible than the operation of EDR systems. For example, low operating currents with long load times may be employed during charging steps in the supercapacity desalination device to avoid polarization, while higher operating currents are employed during short discharge intervals. This ratio may be employed while maintaining the same output for one cycle, which may reduce the risk of scaling through less polarization and less time exposure to higher concentration liquids.

Referring now to Figure 6, a block diagram of an SGD 50 system according to one of the preferred embodiments for the present invention is illustrated. As described above, the SCD 50 system includes an SCD unit 52 which includes one or more SCD cells arranged in a stack configuration. During load operation mode, a feed stream 54 is directed to the crimp 62 of the SCD unit 52 through valve 64 and to a desired destination. In fact, the deionizing dilute 60 may be directed to a dilute tank (which is not displayed) for use. Alternatively, the diluted stream may be redirected into an SCD system as the feed stream for further processing; and the diluted flow may be directed to a different desalination system, such as an RO system, for further processing. As described above, the diluted flow is less saline than the flow that is fed.

During discharge operation mode, a saturated feed stream 66 is directed to the crimping 56 of the SCD unit 52. Saturated feed stream 66 is provided by a regeneration tank 68 through valve 70 and valve 58. As discussed above, the regeneration tank 68 includes saturated and supersaturated liquids for use during the discharge operating mode. Saturated feed stream 66 is directed through the SCD unit 52 to the outlet 62 where it is fed back to the regeneration tank 68 as a discharge stream 72 through the valve 64. As described above, The discharge stream is more saline than the saturated feed stream. When the precipitation rate at the discharge step equals the salt removal rate at the loading step, the degree of supersaturation of the concentrated flow circulating between the regeneration tank and the SCD unit will not increase further and the equilibrium will be established. . The amount of water discharged required will not increase with the number of cycles, so the system liquid discharge can be zero, or very close to zero. Independently, most of the tailings will consist of solid material tailings, which can be removed through tailings drain 74 in the regeneration tank.

While the system described above may be suitable for most applications, the system may optionally include an evaporator 78 and / or a crystallizer 80 to provide 100 percent water recovery. Evaporator 78 and crystallizer 80 may both be employed as illustrated by FIG. 6, or only one of them may be used, or both may be combined into a single evaporation and crystallization system. According to the embodiment of the present invention which is illustrated, at the end of the discharge flow, a certain amount of feed flow is fed into the SCD unit through the valve. The outflow is directed through the outlet into the regeneration tank through the valve. To maintain a constant volume in the regeneration tank, a corresponding amount of liquid in the regeneration tank may be fed into the evaporator through the valve and the flow path. This liquid can be highly concentrated (e.g., 10 to 30% by weight) after evaporation on the evaporator, which can then be fed to the crystallizer via the flow path. The crystallizer may be a thermal crystallizer, such as a dryer, for example. The crystallizer produces solid waste 84 which can be disposed of by conventional means.

Control of each of valves 58, 64 and 70 may be predetermined and / or controlled by an external controller (not shown) to provide proper functionality of the liquid flow control system through of the system. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present alternative invention, various crimps and outlets may be provided with the SCD unit such that each source of liquid flowing into the SCD unit has a path for respective crimping and that each destination for liquid flowing out of the SCD unit has a respective path to the outlet. In addition, (even if not displayed), other mechanisms such as pumps can be used to draw water through the SCD unit to / from other system components.

The following examples are included to provide additional guidance to all those of ordinary skill in the art in the practice of the claimed invention.

EXAMPLE 1

A test system 86 as shown by means of Fig. 7 is employed. Test system 86 includes an SCD unit 88, a dilute tank 90, and a regeneration tank 92. The dilute tank 90 is employed to provide a flow of liquid fed into the SCD 88 unit during charge operation mode. . A pump 94 is employed to pump the liquid fed through the SCD unit 88 during load operation mode. Regeneration tank 92 is used to provide a flow of liquid fed to the SCD unit 88 during flush operation mode. A pump 96 is employed to pump the liquid fed through the SCD unit 88 during the discharge operation mode.

A first experiment is performed using water and CaSO4. Given that CaSO4 is considered to be the most notable of inorganic salts and where precipitation is a major obstacle to the membrane process that operates at higher recoveries (eg RO systems), a nearly saturated solution of CaSO4 (2,025 ppm, 96.3% saturation) is employed for both the load operation mode (feed flow) and the discharge operation mode (saturated feed flow). The volume of charged water is 2,000 ml while that of regenerated water is 250 ml. The process is run in batch mode (ie both the loading water and the regenerating water are circulated in successive cycles, with the flow rate around 100 ml / min).

A single cell SCD unit (88) is used to conduct the experiments. The electrodes, with an effective area of 16 cm by 32 cm, which consist of activated carbon and a titanium mesh as the active material and current collector, respectively. A plastic spacer mesh with a thickness of 0.95 even is placed between the two electrodes. To block opposing ions and increase current efficiency, an anion exchange membrane and a cation membrane are placed between the electrodes and on each side of the spacer. An electrochemical instrument, in this test example, a battery, is connected to the two electrodes of the cell. With the anion membrane side as the positive pole and the cation membrane side as the negative pole. A suitable battery testing system is commercially available from Kingnuo Electronic, Inc. (Wuhan, China). As shown by Figure 7, the flow diagram of the experiments, four ball valves 98, 100, 102, and 104 are installed in the sockets and outlets of the SCD 88 unit to control the flow going to in and out of the SCD 88 unit. Needle valves 106 and 108 are also employed for more precise control of liquid flow into and through test system 86. The timing of electric charge and discharge is controlled. by means of an electro chemical instrument. In the experiment that is described, each cycle includes a constant current charging step (600 mA), followed by a 1 minute rest time. After the 1 minute rest time, the cycle continues with discharge step and a constant current of 600 mA for 10 minutes, followed by another 1 minute rest time. The cycle is then repeated.

In the steps where loading occurs, the loading water in the diluted tank 90 is circulating the SCD unit 88 by opening the ball valve 98 and the ball valve 102 and by closing the ball valve 100 and the valve on 104. In the discharge steps, PS opening and closing states of ball valves 98, 100, 102 and 104 are reversed such that ball valve 98 and ball valve 102 are closed and valve 100 and ball valve 104 are open to allow the regeneration water in the regeneration tank 92 to flow through the SCD unit 88. In order to minimize undesirable mixing of the loading water and the During regeneration during displacement between discharge load steps, air is pumped into the SCD unit 88 at each rest step to minimize water trapped in the cell resulting from the previous step. As described above, each cycle takes around 22 minutes (10 minutes for the loading step, 10 minutes for the discharging step and two 1 minute waiting steps each). More than one cycle is conducted simultaneously to investigate the desalination of the loading water and the evolution of the conductivity to the regenerating water, as well as the crystallization and mixing effect.

During the process which is presently described, the conductivity of the charge water is monitored at the end of each step. Figure 8 illustrates the evolution of the concentration in the loading water over the 30 cycles. The resulting salt concentration in parts per million (ppm) is indicated along axis 110 versus cycle which is indicated along axis 112. As indicated in the salt concentration follow-up curve 114, the Cargo water concentration decreases with each cycle, resulting in a reduction in concentration from around 2,000 ppm to around 500 ppm after 30 cycles. As indicated along axis 116, gross salt removal in grams per cycle is also monitored. As indicated in the Physical Layer Salt Removal Best Fit (PHY) curve 118 the amount of salt that is removed in each cycle is distributed over a relatively narrow range (between about 0.07 g and 0.16 g ), especially at the back of the experiment sequence. Thus, the salt removal capacity of the SCD 88 unit showed a degradation over the 30 cycles that were conducted.

The evolution of conductivity in the regenerating water by cycles is illustrated in figure 9. The graph illustrates the measured conductivity (mS / cm), indicated by axis 120, the calculated percentage of saturation, which is indicated by axis 122, at each cycle, which is indicated by axis 124. As will be seen, conductivity is a measure of the amount of salt dissolved in water, from which the percentage of regeneration water supersaturation can be calculated. As illustrated by conductivity plot 126, the regeneration water conductivity is rapidly increased in the first few cycles, while the new regeneration water supersaturation is relatively low, as indicated by the regeneration water plot. However, as the new supersaturation increases, the rate of increase in conductivity decreases due to increased salt precipitation at higher supersaturation, while the same amount of dissolved salt is released into the concentrated stream in each stream. unloading step.

As illustrated by Figure 9, two sudden drops in the conductivity of the discharge steps at the end of the tenth and thirtieth cycle are observed, which represents two long rest steps during the experiment (around 12 for one night and 64 hours for a weekend, respectively). As indicated, a considerable amount of crystallized salt and precipitated salt leave the water supersaturated during the long rest period, which results in a drop in the concentration of dissolved salts. Crystallization will be discussed in greater detail in the following section. However, it should be emphasized that even for a brief period, that is, the time of the loading step, when regenerating water is at rest, regenerative water conductivity decreases slowly. In one example, the regeneration water conductivity decreases from 7.69 mS / cm to 7.67 mS / cm after an 8 minute rest. This indicates that precipitation is occurring all the time, including during the loading and unloading steps.

As discussed above, the supersaturation of the regenerating water increases as the number of cycles is increased. At the end of the tenth cycle, some particles are observed at the bottom of the regeneration tank 92. After a 2 hour rest, the precipitation at the bottom of the regeneration tank 92 increases significantly. After a 12 hour rest (over night), the amount of precipitate is further increased while the regenerative water conductivity decreases. The result obtained by an electron scanning microscope (SEM) is used to analyze the volume of precipitates, which proved to be CaSO4 when analyzed by the X-ray diffraction method.

Another interesting phenomenon which is noted is that the material employed to construct the regeneration tank 92 appears to have had an effect on the crystallization process. Two cylindrical columns define the regeneration tank 92 and maintain the regeneration water in the experiments. The first column is a 250 ml glass cylinder which is used for the 30-cycle test which was discussed above. After 30 cycles, regeneration water is transferred to another column which is made of a polymer based material (PMMA). Circulate for another 10 cycles of the same area on the polymer column. Figure 10 illustrates a graph which compares the evolution of the regenerative water conductivity in the glass column with that of the polymer column during successive cycles. The conductivity (mS / cm) is indicated along the y-axis 132 and the number of cycles is indicated along the x-axis 134. As shown, the conductivity of the regenerating water in the polymer column increases faster with respect to that of the glass column. This is indicated by conductivity plot 136 (organic glass) compared to conductivity plot 130 (glass). Crystallization can be difficult on the polymer column, and the use of such material in the regeneration tank construction can affect system efficiency. The glass surface can increase polarity with respect to polymer surfaces, which is favorable for the formation of inorganic salt nuclei.

Different materials are used inside the regeneration tank 92 and the pipeline. In one embodiment of the present invention, the regeneration tank 92 may be elongated having first and second terminations, and each termination may be constructed of a different material. During use, the first termination may be the top, or the top with respect to the second termination, which may be lower, or the bottom. A first type of material is used for the first termination of the regeneration tank 92. Another type of material is used for the second termination of the regeneration tank 92.

The crystallization zone of the regeneration water tank is smaller than that of the regeneration tank where the crystallized particles come together and stay. Suitable materials for construction may include, for example, inorganic compounds as the structure or as the filtration which constitutes an inner surface of the regeneration tank. Suitable materials may include ceramics, metals and glass. The polymer based material can be used as the material for the container clarification zone, where clear, saturated or supersaturated water is fed into the SCD unit. Suitable polymer materials can be obtained from engineering plastics. The use of filtration, or liner, may allow the regeneration tank to be constructed by the use of a single material, with an aftertreatment on one on an inner surface of some other material.

EXAMPLE 2

As noted, the supersaturated regeneration water can be up to 600 percent (see figure 9). Despite the fact that the SCD process exhibits good supersaturated tolerance for regeneration water, a saturation level may be beneficial and may exhibit a penalty of a low mixing index and lower risk of scaling. To demonstrate, sand is placed in the regeneration tank. The height of the sand in the regeneration column is around 25 cm. The sand is sieved to have a granularity in the range of from about 1 mm to about 3 mm. The sieved sand is washed with deionized water several times before being placed on the column. During the unloading steps, the unloading water is pumped out from the bottom of the column and pumped to the crush of the SCD unit. Regeneration flow from the SCD unit outlet is loop-fed back to the regeneration tank.

Figure 11 illustrates the conductivity profiles (the y-axis 140) versus the cycle (the x-axis 142) for both dilute streams 144 from the charge cycle and concentrated flow 146 during the discharge cycle. Figure 11 illustrates how the conductivity of dilute flow 144 decreases over cycles except for the jump to the end of the twentieth cycle, where the original loading water is replaced by another fresh tank. The concentrated flow conductivity 146 demonstrates a relatively rapid increase in the first cycles while tending to be constant over subsequent cycles. Both falls (cycle 10 and cycle 16) are due to long rest times. The first long rest interval is due to a 45 minute rest step, while the second fall is due to a 12 hour rest time. These trends are very similar to trends that are observed in experiments without the sandbed. Precipitates are observed at the top of the sand bed in the regeneration column.

When comparing the supersaturation of the regeneration waters with the sand and without the sand in the regeneration column, as illustrated by Figure 12, the difference can be significant. Figure 12 illustrates the conductivity (the y-axis 148) versus the cycle (the x-axis 150) of concentrated flow, with and without sand, in the regeneration tank. Although in both cases the conductivity of the regeneration water tends to be constant as the cycles pass, the absolute supersaturation of the regeneration in these two chaos (the with and without sand) differ. Specifically, a much smaller balance of conductivity can be observed when sand is present in the regeneration tank as illustrated by plot 154 than when no sand is placed in the regeneration tank as shown. as indicated by plotting 152. The mechanism behind this phenomenon may be that sand provides many germination points or core generation. Core generation points improve precipitation in regeneration water. Another function of the sand bed is that it serves as a filtering layer for regenerating water. Due to the high supersaturation, there may be many small crystals suspended in the regeneration water which are filtered through the sand before entering the SCD unit during the discharge steps. In addition to the sand bed, other crystallization enhancing technologies may include forced precipitation, improved crystal germination, improved magnetic fields, chemical precipitation, pH control, scaling control, and the like. EXAMPLE 3

Previously described experiments (EXAMPLE 1 and EXAMPLE 2) are conducted using CaSO4 in water. In Example 3, synthetic water with a concentration of 2 times that of the city of Los Angeles is produced and tested, the composition of synthetic water is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Composition of synthetic water

Salts CaCl2 CaSO4 MgSO4 Na2SO4 Na2HCO3 Na2CO3 Total Concentration 224.3 264.1 252.5 284.1 379.7 14.8 1.419.5 (ppm) The water that is used in Example 3 is heavy and can be seen.

and can be seen as the Los Angeles RO water treatment plant concentrate, with a 50% water recovery, for example. Prior to the experiments, an automated test with automated key solenoid valves is constructed. During the experiments the volumes of loading water and regenerating water are 4,500 ml and 200 ml respectively. The results of the tests are similar to the results of the experiments described above, in terms of conductivity profiles, for loading water and regeneration water. Small particles of precipitation are observed in the sand bed. One difference is that the conductivity of the regenerating water continues to increase to around 16 milliSiemens per centimeter (mS / cm), while experiments using calcium sulfate in water below 10 mS / cm. cm. This effect may be due to the presence of highly soluble salts such as sodium chloride. Sometimes the presence of highly soluble salts is less desirable for the process due to the mixing effect, which demonstrates a gradual decline in desalination capacity with repeated cycles.

Referring now to Figure 13, a desalination system 160 includes a first subsystem 162 and a second subsystem 164. 5 Each subsystem may be a water treatment system. The first subsystem 162 may be a reverse osmosis system, and subsystem 164 may be a supercapacity desalination system. In one embodiment of the present invention, the second subsystem may also be a ZLD - SCD system. Additionally, the subsystem may be located in the water treatment plant, 10 while the second subsystem may be located remotely with respect to the treatment plant.

The first subsystem receives a feed stream 166 (input stream) which must be desalinated or treated and generates two output streams, the first subsystem produces a first dilute stream 168 which has dissolved or suspended solids 15, relatively low ratio compared to the feed flow. Diluted flow can be used for human consumption, for example. The first subsystem produces a second concentrated stream 170 which has a relatively higher value of suspended solids (more saline) than the feed stream. The concentrated stream receives the reference outflow or wastewater. If the first subsystem 162 is in a treatment plant, the second subsystem 164 is remotely located, the second subsystem may treat what might otherwise be considered rejected water (which needs to be disposed of) from the treatment plant. treatment.

The second subsystem 164 receives the concentrated flow that flows out from the first subsystem, and may desalination, or otherwise treat the concentrated flow. The second subsystem 164 may include an SCD or a ZLD system.

- SCD. The second subsystem 164 produces two outgoing streams: a dilute stream 172 which has a relatively low (less saline) dissolved or suspended solids concentration than the concentrated fluid. Dissolved flow may be available for human consumption, for example. The second subsystem also produces a residual stream, or discharge stream 174. The discharge stream may be liquid waste, such as a concentrated stream which has a higher salinity than the concentrated stream. Alternatively, in the case of a ZLD - SCD system, the discharge flow may be a mixture, a semi-solid, or a solid tail, or a mostly solid tail. For example, the second subsystem may have a relative volume which is less than 10% of the concentrated flow volume (about 90 percent of the concentrated flow is desalinated and converted to diluted flow). In addition, the second subsystem may waste less than 1 percent of concentrated flow (99 percent of concentrated flow is desalinated and converted to diluted flow). Some or all of the diluted flow can be fed back to the first subsystem via feedback path 176 for further processing.

Referring now to Figure 14, a system of

desalination 160 is provided and which includes a first subsystem 162 and a second subsystem 164. In the embodiment of the present invention which is illustrated, the first subsystem includes brackish water double pass reverse osmosis (RO) system which has a first RO 178 unit and a second RO 180 unit. The first and second RO units together define the RO system of a desalination plant. A feed stream 166 for the first RO 178 unit produces two outgoing streams: a clean diluted stream 168 and a concentrated subflow 182. The clean diluted stream 168 may be consumed, or may be used in a final application which need pure water. Concentrated subflow 182 may be directed to second unit RO 180 as an incoming stream for further desalination. As with the first RO 178 unit, the second RO 180 unit produces two outgoing streams: a diluted clean stream (also indicated by reference number 168) which can be used to be diverted for consumption or use in applications. that require pure water, and a concentrated stream (also indicated by reference number 170). In some treatment plants or treatment systems, the second concentrated stream 170 is discarded water which needs additional treatment.

The first subsystem may be a double pass RO system, and may be combined with the second series subsystem 164 to receive the second concentrated stream 170 from a treatment plant. In the embodiment of the present invention which is illustrated, the second subsystem 164 includes a zero-capacity supercapacitive desalination cell (ZLD-SCD) liquid discharge system. The supercapacity desalination cell zero-discharge system (ZLD - SCD) includes an SCD unit 184 and a regeneration tank 186 which may be employed to manage the second concentrated flow 170. The SCD unit and the Regeneration systems are arranged in a backfeed configuration such that a discharge flow (in both concentrated and superconcentrated form) circulates between the SCD unit and the regeneration tank when the SCD unit is in discharge operation mode. . The second subsystem includes the SCD unit without the regeneration tank. In this alternative embodiment of the present invention, tail 174 may include relatively more liquid than if a regeneration tank is employed.

In desalination system 160 of FIG. 14, water recovery increases beyond that of a system which incorporates only the two-pass RO system. For example, an RO plant incorporating a two-pass 75 percent water recovery RO system plus a 90 percent water recovery SCD concentrate management unit will produce 1 - (1 - 0.75) x ( 1 - 0.90) = 9.75 percent water recovery for the entire system. The relative increase in water recovery may be beneficial for desalination plant operation. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the RO units may be part of a desalination plant, or a separation system, wherein the rejected water released from the RO unit (concentrated flow 170) is sent to the second one. subsystem comprising an SCD unit or a ZLD - SCD unit. In this way, the ZLD - SCD unit of the second subsystem can be employed to manage the rejected water from an established treatment plant.

In the desalination system illustrated, the RO concentrate is partly recovered as production water (a diluted stream), the flow rate of the feed stream 166 may be decreased accordingly. Due to the decrease in the flow rate of the feed stream, the concentrated water that is actually treated by the second subsystem 164 (second concentrated flow 170) is also decreased. Compared to the original two-pass RO system, there may be an economic benefit to the RO system if it is assumed that the cost of capital is proportional to the flow rate of the feed stream.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention which is illustrated by means of Fig. 15, the diluted stream 172 of the second subsystem 164 is fed back to the first subsystem 162 for further desalination. That is, instead of directing diluted flow 172 for use as pure water or for consumption, diluted flow 172 may receive an additional desalination treatment to the first subsystem 162. Diluted fluid produced from the SCD unit when The SCD unit is in load operation mode and is directed back to the input of the second RO 180 unit.

This embodiment of the present invention allows for further treatment of diluted flow. Moreover, this embodiment of the present invention reduces the need for pure water storage or disposal to the second subsystem. This operational configuration can be useful when the first subsystem is a water treatment and pure water production plant, while the second subsystem treats and manages concentrated water rather than having to deal with fresh water (diluted flow). which has to be produced. After treatment, to the first subsystem, the diluted flow 172 may be directed to the use of fresh water along the clean diluted flow 168.

Embodiments for the present invention described herein are examples of compositions, structures, systems, and methods having elements of the present invention reported in the claims. This written description enables all those of ordinary skill in the art of making and using embodiments, with alternative elements which also correspond to elements of the present invention reported in the claims. The scope of the present invention therefore includes compositions, structures, systems and methods which do not differ from the literal language of the claims, and which additionally include other structures, systems and other methods with non-substantial different from the literal language. of the claims. While only 10 certain features and embodiments have been illustrated and represented herein, many modifications and alterations can occur to all those of ordinary skill in the relevant art. The appended claims cover all such modifications and changes.

Claims (12)

A method for treating liquids comprising: discharging a solute from a solute directed electrode into a liquid discharge stream, the liquid discharge stream having a relatively higher concentration of solute than feed from which the solute-directed electrode gained solute. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the electrode is a supercapacitor electrode and further comprises absorbing the solute from the feed stream to the electrode to form a solute-directed electrode and a output stream, where the outlet stream has a solute concentration which is relatively lower than the feed stream. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises the Ioop of a discharge liquid flow such that the flow flows through the electrode more than once before leaving a compartment which houses the electrode. electrode, Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises storing the energy to the electrode in the first mode of operation and recovering the energy of the electrode in a second mode of operation. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the electrode is a positively charged electrode and the solute is negatively charged. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the discharge comprises supersaturation of the discharge liquid flow. A method according to claim 1, further comprising reducing the water content of the liquid discharge stream. 8. Desalination system, characterized in that it comprises: - a first subsystem; and - a second subsystem in fluid communication with the first subsystem, wherein the second subsystem comprises a means for discharging a solute from a solute oriented electrode to a discharge liquid stream, where the discharge liquid flow has a relatively higher solute concentration than a solute-oriented feed stream from which the solute-oriented electrode gained solute. 9. Treatment system characterized by the fact that it comprises: a first subsystem; a second subsystem in fluid communication with the first subsystem; and a controller in communication with the second subsystem, in which in response to a signal from the second subsystem controller, it discharges a solute from a solute-directed electrode into a discharge liquid stream, where the discharge liquid flow has a relatively high concentration. greater than a solute-directed feed stream, from which the solute-directed electrode gained solute. Desalination system, characterized in that it comprises: a supercapacity desalination unit which operates in a load operation mode and a discharge operation mode; a power supply configured to provide a power flow to a supercapacity desalination unit when the supercapacity desalination unit is in charge operation mode; and a regeneration source configured to provide a saturated or supersaturated feed stream for a supercapacity desalination unit when the supercapacity desalination unit is in the discharge operating mode. A desalination system comprising: a supercapacity desalination unit, a first liquid flow path comprising a first feedback loop for guiding the liquid through the supercapacity desalination unit when System is in a first mode. of operation; and a second liquid flow path comprising a second feedback loop for guiding the liquid through the supercapacity desalination unit when System is in a second mode of operation. A method for treating a liquid, comprising: feeding a first flow of liquid from a first source through a supercapacity desalination unit during charge operation mode for a first period of time; and feeding a second flow of liquid from a second source through a supercapacity desalination unit during flushing operation mode for a second period of time.