GB1002732A - Sea water conversion process and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

1,002,732. Evaporators ; distilling sea water. J. P. LYNAM. April 16, 1962, No. 14668/62 Heading B1B. In an apparatus, for distilling liquids such as sea water, comprising a primary evaporator 34 and a secondary evaporator 22, both evaporators being divided into a series of chambers each embodying a flash-section and a condenser-section, wherein an auxiliary flash chamber 33 is connected between the flashsection of the final chamber 16 of the primary evaporator and the first flash section of the secondary evaporator 22, the vapour which is flashed off in the auxiliary flash chamber 33 is passed to a compressor 28 and the compressed vapour is conveyed to a heater 27 where it is used to supply additional heat to the sea water (or other liquid) which has been passed through the condenser tubes 37 of the primary evaporator ; the hot sea water is then introduced through conduit 30 into the first flash section 1 of the primary evaporator. The sea water to be distilled is pumped into the system through conduit 17, and most of it is first passed through the condenser tubes 40 of the secondary evaporator. Some of the sea water is diverted through heat-exchanger 20, where it is heated by the warm condensate (i.e. distilled water) withdrawn from the trays 36 in the primary evaporator and from the heater 27. The two streams of sea water, which have left the tubes 40 and the heat-exchanger 20 respectively, are re-united in conduit 20 ; and the water is then pumped, together with some of the water withdrawn from auxiliary flash chamber 33, though the condenser tubes 37 of the primary evaporator. The remainder of the water withdrawn from chamber 33 flows to the secondary evaporator. The distilled water which has left heat-exchanger 20 is united with that withdrawn from the collecting-trays of the secondary evaporator, and the combined stream is pumped out of the apparatus. The compressor 28 is actuated by a steam turbine or I.C. engine 38. The waste heat of the prime mover is used to produce steam in boiler 35, and this steam may be used to heat the sea water in an auxiliary heater 25, which may be disposed in either of the two positions shown. If desired, some of the distilled water may be submitted to flash distillation in order to obtain doubledistilled water.