KR102079320B1 - Seawater desalination apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a seawater desalination apparatus, comprising: a freshwater generating unit into which raw water is introduced and freshwater is discharged; A cooling unit connected to the fresh water generating unit to cool the fresh water generating unit; And an ultrasonic wave generating unit connected to the fresh water generating unit to generate ultrasonic waves to generate condensed tuberculosis.

Description

Seawater Desalination Units {SEAWATER DESALINATION APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a seawater desalination apparatus, and relates to a seawater desalination apparatus that can be used to convert seawater into freshwater.

Water resources cover 70% of the world, of which only 3% is available fresh water. Climate change and population growth have increased water consumption as well as water shortages. Seawater desalination technology has been proposed as a way to solve this water shortage phenomenon, and the reverse osmosis process has recently been used as the main technology.

On the other hand, the cost for treating the concentrated water formed as a by-product in the reverse osmosis process accounts for 5% to 33% of the total process cost. In addition, the reverse osmosis process consumes a large amount of energy to apply high pressure.

Background art of the present invention is disclosed in Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-1822188 (registered on January 19, 2018, the name of the invention: high efficiency low energy lava seawater desalination system and desalination method).

It is an object of the present invention to provide a seawater desalination apparatus capable of quickly desalting seawater using low energy.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a seawater desalination apparatus in which the whole structure can be integrated.

Seawater desalination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is a fresh water generating unit for the raw water is introduced and the fresh water is discharged; A cooling unit connected to the fresh water generating unit to cool the fresh water generating unit; And an ultrasonic wave generating unit connected to the freshwater generating unit to generate ultrasonic waves to generate a coagulated tuberculosis.

The fresh water generating unit, the chamber member including an inner space; A capture member made of a net shape and positioned in the inner space to capture coagulation tuberculosis; A power generating member for rotating the capture member; And a connecting member connecting the capture member and the power generating member.

The capturing member may be a plurality, and the plurality of capturing members may be spaced apart from each other.

The chamber member is characterized in that the entire wall forming the outline is cooled by the cooling unit.

The capture member is made of metal and is plate-shaped.

The raw water is introduced to the fresh water generating unit, characterized in that it further comprises a pumping unit for discharging the concentrated water and fresh water generated in the fresh water process to the outside.

The pumping unit comprises: a first pump member for pumping the raw water to the fresh water generating unit; A second pump member for discharging the fresh water to the outside; And a third pump member for discharging the concentrated water to the outside.

As described above, the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention uses a probe-type ultrasonic wave generating unit to generate homogeneous condensation nuclei (freezing) near the freezing point of raw water, thereby easily controlling supercooling and thereby reducing the use of cooling energy. have

In addition, if the ice crystal is generated using only the cooling unit without including the ultrasonic wave generating unit, it may take a long time until the ice crystal is generated, but the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention rapidly removes the coagulation tube via ultrasonic waves. It is possible to produce ice crystals in raw water through the generated clogged tuberculosis.

That is, the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention can start the control of the formation and growth of tuberculosis near the freezing point to reduce the time to cool the solution, crystallization of the raw water immediately occurs through the induced clot production. Therefore, the overall process operation time for desalination of seawater can be reduced, thereby increasing production rate per unit time, and homogeneous ice crystals can be generated to increase freshwater purity.

In addition, the plurality of capture members coupled to the connection member in the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention serves as a support for growing ice crystals and separates concentrated water and ice crystals. This allows effective separation of concentrated water and pure ice, even if no additional separation process is carried out.

Therefore, the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention can reduce the area required for the frozen seawater desalination process, save additional energy use for separating concentrated water and ice, and increase the purity and yield of the resulting ice. .

In addition, the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention does not require pressure to separate concentrated water and desalted ice since ice crystals grow by capturing coagulated tuberculosis with a net-shaped trapping member. Therefore, since fresh water can be generated without performing the pressure reduction separation process, the pressure reduction separation process can be eliminated, thereby reducing energy consumption and reducing the process operating area.

In addition, the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention can significantly reduce the area occupied than the conventional seawater desalination apparatus. Therefore, two key processes for desalination of seawater can be carried out in the freshwater generating unit: ice crystallization process, concentrated water and freshwater separation process. Therefore, the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention only needs to increase the size of the freshwater generating unit during scale-up to increase the freshwater generating capacity, thereby moving the various chambers to the freshwater. Compared to the conventional seawater desalination apparatus to be converted may not require a lot of area.

In addition, the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention uses ultrasonic energy to induce more coagulation and to reduce the operating time required for desalination, and to operate near a freezing point, thereby reducing energy for temperature. Reduced use Thus, since the operation time can be reduced and the operating temperature can be increased, ice with high salt removal rate can be obtained at high recovery rate.

In addition, since the overall structure of the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention can be simplified than the conventional seawater desalination apparatus, process risks can be alleviated compared with the conventional seawater desalination apparatus including many chambers to perform various processes. have.

1 is a view showing a seawater desalination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing a process in which coagulation tuberculosis is generated by ultrasonic waves generated after cooling of raw water.
3 is a view illustrating a process in which stirring is stopped after the raw water is stirred.
4 is a view illustrating a process in which coagulation tubers are grown as ice crystals and heat exchanged through stirring.
5 is a view showing that the ultrasonic wave is generated inside the chamber member, and the process of stirring is repeatedly performed.
6 is a view illustrating a process in which concentrated water is discharged to the outside and ice crystals are melted.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the seawater desalination apparatus according to the present invention. In this process, the thickness of the lines or the size of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of description. In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or convention of a user or an operator. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

1 is a view showing a seawater desalination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a freshwater generating unit 110, a cooling unit 120, and an ultrasonic wave generating unit 130.

Fresh water generating unit 110 may be raw water is introduced and fresh water may be discharged. The freshwater generating unit 110 may include, for example, a chamber member 111, a capture member 112, a power generation member 113, and a connection member 114.

The chamber member 111 may include an inner space. The chamber member 111 may be a cylindrical member made of a wall of a specific thickness. The chamber member 111 may be cooled by the cooling unit 120 in its entirety.

For example, the chamber member 111 may be a cooling jacket. In more detail, the chamber member 111 may be provided with, for example, a pipe through which refrigerant is transferred into the wall. Alternatively, the liquid refrigerant may be configured such that the chamber member 111 is circulated into the wall, for example.

The capture member 112 may be formed in a mesh shape and positioned in an inner space of the chamber member 111 to capture condensation nuclei. Since the trap member 112 is formed in a net shape, the trap member 112 can more easily trap the coagulation tuberculosis.

 The capture members 112 may be plural, and the plurality of capture members 112 may be spaced apart from each other. In more detail, the plurality of capture members 112 may be located at regular intervals in the vertical direction in the internal space of the chamber member 111.

 The capture member 112 is made of metal and may be plate-shaped. As described above, when the chamber member 111 is cylindrical, the outer diameter of the capture member 112 may be slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the chamber member 111.

The power generating member 113 may rotate the catching member 112. The power generating member 113 may be, for example, a rotating motor, but is not limited thereto, and any one may be used as long as the capture member 112 may be rotated. The power generating member 113 may be positioned to be spaced upward from the chamber member 111, but is not limited thereto and may be positioned to be spaced downward from the chamber member 111.

However, the power generating member 113 may be advantageously positioned above the chamber member 111 than may be positioned below. That is, since the pipe for discharging fresh water generated in the chamber member 111 may be connected to the lower side of the chamber member 111, the interference between the power generating member 113 and the pipe is prevented and the chamber member 111 is prevented. It can be advantageous in terms of being able to utilize the space of) efficiently.

The connection member 114 may connect the capture member 112 and the power generating member 113. The connection member 114 may be, for example, a rod-shaped member. The connection member 114 may be positioned vertically through the upper side or the lower side of the chamber member 111. The plurality of capture members 112 described above may be connected to the connection member 114 along the longitudinal direction of the connection member 114.

The cooling unit 120 may be connected to the fresh water generating unit 110 to cool the fresh water generating unit 110. The raw water introduced into the fresh water generating unit 110 may have a temperature below the freezing point while undergoing a preliminary cooling process by cold air generated in the cooling unit 120.

The cooling unit 120 may be, for example, a liquefied natural gas storage device. Liquefied natural gas is stored at a very low temperature of minus 162 degrees. Cold air included in the liquefied natural gas may be used as a cold to remove the thermal energy contained in the raw water.

In general, electricity is required to perform cooling. When using the cold air included in the liquefied natural gas as the cold air of the cooling unit 120, it is not necessary to separately use the electricity required for cooling, thereby desalination of seawater. The power consumption used can be significantly reduced. As such, the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be installed adjacent to the liquefied natural gas storage facility.

The cooling unit 120 may also be a general cooling device used to cool an object, including, for example, a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, and the like.

Meanwhile, as described above, since the capture member 112 included in the fresh water generating unit 110 is formed in a metal net shape, cold air generated in the cooling unit 120 may be effectively transmitted to the capture member 112. have. Thereby, the condensation nucleus adhering to the capture member 112 can grow rapidly into ice crystals.

The ultrasonic generating unit 130 is connected to the fresh water generating unit 110 to generate ultrasonic waves so that coagulation tuberculosis can be generated. The resultant coagulated tuberculosis may be attached to the capture member 112 of the metal material while floating up in the raw water because it is less dense than raw water.

Such tuberculosis may be grown into ice crystals by receiving the cold air supplied from the cooling unit 120. In addition, the clogged tuberculosis generated through the ultrasonic energy may be trapped by the capture member 112 to achieve crystal growth, and may serve as a clogged tuberculosis of secondary nucleation that may induce ice crystal formation in raw water.

The ultrasonic wave generation unit 130 may include, for example, a controller and a probe. The controller may control the operation of the probe. A portion of the tip may be in communication with the side of the chamber member 111.

The probe may be in communication with a portion of the chamber member 111 that does not interfere with the capture member 112. For example, the probe may be located below or above the capture member 112. The probe may generate ultrasonic waves toward the inside of the chamber member 111.

When ultrasound is generated from the probe and passes through the raw water, clogged tuberculosis may be generated in the raw water. At the same time, thermal energy may be generated while particles included in the raw water vibrate by ultrasonic waves. As the capture member 112 is rotated by the power generating member 113, the heat energy generated by the ultrasonic generating unit 130 may be offset by the cold air generated by the cooling unit 120.

The application of such ultrasound may allow the control of tuberculosis formation and control of homogeneous crystal formation and growth. In more detail, the condensation generation process by the ultrasonic wave, the diffusion of the ultrasonic wave in the seawater generates an elastic vibration. Vibration forms an acoustic cycle, which can cause rapid bubble growth and collapse.

Due to the gas released as the bubble collapses, the local air pressure increases to 5 Gpa in a short time, and this high pressure reduces the level of supercooling and provides the driving force for tuberculosis production.

Thus, the formation of tuberculosis at a freezing point and in a short time can produce homogeneous and small size ice crystals. This process eventually serves to increase the purity of the ice.

Alternatively, in freshwater and seawater containing only cooling unit 120, the raw water may be excessively cooled to freeze the raw water itself, and the formation of tuberculosis, the starting point of ice crystal formation during the freezing process, is not only spontaneous and probabilistic, As it is necessary to supercool, precise control of the cooling temperature can be very difficult.

However, the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention uses the probe type ultrasonic wave generation unit 130 to generate homogeneous coagulated tuberculosis (frozen ice) near the freezing point of raw water, thereby controlling supercooling and cooling through the same. Energy use can be reduced.

In addition, if the ice crystal is generated using only the cooling unit 120 without including the ultrasonic wave generating unit 130, it may take a long time until the ice crystal is generated, but according to an embodiment of the present invention The desalination apparatus 100 rapidly generates clot tube via ultrasonic waves, which not only increases the production rate per unit time, but also generates homogeneous ice crystals, thereby increasing the purity of fresh water.

That is, the ultrasonic energy induces more coagulation tuberculosis, thereby reducing the operating time required for desalination and operating near a freezing point, thereby reducing energy use for temperature reduction. Thus, since the operation time can be reduced and the operating temperature can be increased, ice with high salt removal rate can be obtained at high recovery rate.

On the other hand, the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a pumping unit 140.

The pumping unit 140 may allow raw water to flow into the freshwater generating unit 110 and discharge the concentrated water and freshwater generated in the freshwater process to the outside.

 The pumping unit 140 may include, for example, a first pump member 141, a second pump member 142, and a third pump member 143.

The first pump member 141 may pump raw water to the fresh water generating unit 110. The first pump member 141 may be installed on the first pipe P1 connected to the chamber member 111. Raw water may be transferred to the chamber member 111 through the first pipe P1.

The second pump member 142 may discharge fresh water to the outside. The second pump member 142 may be installed on the second pipe P2 connected to the chamber member 111. The fresh water may be melted and discharged to the outside from the chamber member 111 through the second pipe P12. The fresh water may be stored in a storage tank not shown by the second pipe P2.

Meanwhile, the salt on the surface of the ice crystal is removed through a slight melting process so that the ice crystal attached to the capture member 112 reaches the target salinity, and the molten solution is also concentrated with the concentrated water in the third pump member 143. It may be pumped by) to be discharged to the outside. Then, when all the ice crystals are melted, the generated fresh water may be discharged through the second pump member 142. Here, the melting process may be implemented by limiting the operation of the cooling unit 120.

The third pump member 143 may discharge the concentrated water to the outside. The third pump member 143 may be installed on the third pipe P3 connected to the chamber member 111. The concentrated water may be discharged to the outside from the chamber member 111 through the third pipe P3.

Hereinafter, an operation process of the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described sequentially with reference to the drawings.

2 is a view showing a process in which coagulation tuberculosis is generated by ultrasonic waves generated after cooling of raw water.

Referring to FIG. 2, raw water may be introduced into the chamber member 111, and the introduced raw water may be cooled by the cooling unit 120. At this time, the raw water is stirred (a) while the capture member 112 is rotated by the power generating member 113, thereby improving cooling efficiency. When the temperature of the raw water reaches near the freezing point, the stirring is stopped and the ultrasonic wave generating unit 130 is operated to generate ultrasonic waves (b).

3 is a view illustrating a process in which stirring is stopped after the raw water is stirred.

Referring to FIG. 3, clogged tuberculosis may be generated due to the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic wave generating unit 130. At this time, since the density of the generated coagulation tuberculosis is lower than that of the concentrated water, it becomes suspended. Then, the ultrasonic wave generation unit 130 may stop (a) the generation of the ultrasonic wave, stop the rotation of the capture member 112 (b), and may induce coagulation nuclei to be captured in the metal network while floating. Here, the time at which the rotation of the capture member 112 is stopped, that is, the time at which stirring is stopped may vary depending on the design, and is not limited to a specific time.

4 is a view illustrating a process in which coagulation tubers are grown as ice crystals and heat exchanged through stirring.

Referring to FIG. 4, while the cooling temperature is maintained, the coagulation nuclei grow (a) into ice crystals in the capture member 112. When the clogged tuberculosis is captured and begins to grow into ice crystals, the capture member 112 is rotated again, and stirring is performed (b) to maximize heat growth by performing heat exchange.

5 is a diagram showing that the ultrasonic wave is generated inside the chamber member, and the process of stirring is repeatedly performed.

Referring to FIG. 5, after the operation of the power generating member 113 is stopped to stop stirring (a), the ultrasonic generating unit 130 may be operated to generate ultrasonic energy again, thereby facilitating the formation of new clot tuberculosis. The coagulation tuberculosis produced as described above may induce ice crystal formation in raw water as secondary coagulation tuberculosis, and the generated ice crystals and coagulation tuberculosis may be captured by the capture member 112. Then, the tuberculosis can be attached to the growing ice crystals so that the growth of the ice crystals can proceed rapidly, and the raw water can be condensed through the role of the tuberculosis, and the stirring can be carried out again (b). That is, the clogged tuberculosis generated through the ultrasonic energy may be trapped by the capture member 112 to achieve crystal growth, and may serve as a clogged tuberculosis of secondary nucleation, which may induce ice crystal formation in raw water.

As described above, a series of processes of stirring, generating tuberculosis through ultrasonic generation, heat exchange through stirring, stopping agitation and capturing ice crystals, growing ice crystals from the tuberculosis, and heat exchange through agitation are sufficient ice crystals to capture members 112. May be repeated sequentially until it continues to grow.

6 is a view illustrating a process in which concentrated water is discharged to the outside and ice crystals are melted.

Referring to FIG. 6, after the growth of the ice crystals is completed, the concentrated water F may be discharged to the outside by the pumping unit 140. Here, the concentrated water (F) may be stored in a separate storage tank not shown. Thereafter, the ice crystals undergo a slight melting process to reach the target salinity, and the salts on the surface of the ice crystals are removed, and the molten solution may also flow out together with the concentrated water (F).

Finally, when fresh water is produced, all ice crystals are melted (b), and the generated fresh water (W) can be discharged through the second pump member 142. Such a seawater desalination process may be implemented by repeatedly performing the above-described processes inside the freshwater generating unit 110.

On the other hand, in seawater freshwater and devices containing only cooling units, it is difficult to precisely control the supercooling state, and thus the raw water may be excessively cooled to freeze the raw water itself. In addition to being small, it can be very difficult to precisely control the temperature as it requires some subcooling.

In addition, the size of the ice crystals may be large, resulting in obtaining non-homogeneous ice crystals. And large size ice crystals and long run times can lead to low salt removal rates. Although process operating temperatures can be lowered to reduce operating time, this can lead to rapid crystallization due to inefficient use of refrigeration energy and difficulty in controlling tuberculosis production, resulting in large ice crystals that cannot be separated by salts.

In addition, a final step of the general desalination process of seawater may be performed to separate the concentrated water from the ice slurry. Without the proper separation process, pure ice is contaminated due to contact with concentrated water, which can lead to low purity.

In order to separate the concentrated water and the ice, a vacuum separation method is generally used. However, vacuum separation may move a lot of energy to the ice slurry to a separate separation device, and to separate the ice crystals and concentrated water from the ice slurry. In addition, more space is needed to expand the reduced pressure separation scale.

However, the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention uses the probe-type ultrasonic wave generation unit 130 to generate homogeneous coagulation (freezing) near the freezing point of raw water, thereby easily controlling the supercooling. Can reduce cooling energy use

In addition, when the ice crystal is generated using only the cooling unit 120 without including the ultrasonic wave generating unit 130, it may take a long time until the ice crystal is generated, but according to an embodiment of the present invention The desalination apparatus 100 may rapidly generate clot tuber via ultrasonic waves, and may induce ice crystal formation in raw water through the generated clot tuberculosis.

That is, the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to the present invention can start the control of the formation and growth of tuberculosis near the freezing point, thereby reducing the time to cool the solution, and crystallization of raw water occurs immediately through the induced tuberculosis production. . Therefore, the overall process operation time for desalination of seawater can be reduced, thereby increasing production rate per unit time, and homogeneous ice crystals can be generated to increase freshwater purity.

In addition, the plurality of capture members 112 coupled to the connection member 114 in the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to the present invention serves as a support for growing ice crystals and separates concentrated water and ice crystals. . This allows effective separation of concentrated water and pure ice, even if no additional separation process is carried out.

Therefore, through the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the area required for the frozen seawater desalination process, to save additional energy use for separating the concentrated water and the ice, and to obtain the purity and production rate of the resulting ice. It can increase.

The seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to the present invention does not require pressure to separate concentrated water and desalted ice since ice crystals are grown by trapping condensation nuclei with a net-shaped trapping member 112. Therefore, since fresh water can be generated without performing the pressure reduction separation process, the pressure reduction separation process can be eliminated, thereby reducing energy consumption and reducing the process operating area.

In addition, the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to the present invention may significantly reduce the area occupied by the conventional seawater desalination apparatus 100. Therefore, two key processes in the desalination of seawater (ice crystallization process, concentrated water and freshwater separation process) can be carried out in the freshwater generation unit 110. Therefore, the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to the present invention only needs to increase the size of the freshwater generating unit 110 during scale-up to increase the overall size in order to increase the freshwater generating capacity, thereby creating various chambers. Compared with the conventional seawater desalination apparatus 100 in which raw water is converted into fresh water while moving, it may not require much area.

In addition, the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to the present invention induces more coagulation of tuberculosis by using ultrasonic energy, thereby reducing the operating time required for desalination, and operating at a freezing point, thereby reducing temperature. To reduce energy use. Thus, since the operation time can be reduced and the operating temperature can be increased, ice with high salt removal rate can be obtained at high recovery rate.

In addition, since the overall structure of the seawater desalination apparatus 100 according to the present invention may be simplified than the conventional seawater desalination apparatus 100, the conventional seawater desalination apparatus 100 including many chambers in order to perform various processes. In comparison, process risks can be mitigated.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the drawings and the detailed description of the present invention have been exemplified only as examples of the present invention, which are merely used for the purpose of describing the present invention and are intended to limit the meaning or claims of the present invention. It is not used to limit the scope of the invention described in the scope. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

100: seawater desalination device 110: freshwater generating unit
111: chamber member 112: capture member
113: power generating member 114: connecting member
120: cooling unit 130: ultrasonic generation unit
140: pumping unit 141: first pump member
142: second pump member 143: third pump member

Claims (7)

Fresh water generating unit in which raw water is introduced and fresh water is discharged;
A cooling unit connected to the fresh water generating unit to cool the fresh water generating unit; And
And an ultrasonic wave generating unit connected to the fresh water generating unit to generate ultrasonic waves so that coagulation tuberculosis can be generated.
The fresh water generating unit,
A chamber member including an inner space;
A capture member made of a net shape and positioned in the inner space to capture coagulation tuberculosis;
A power generating member for rotating the capture member; And
Seawater desalination apparatus comprising a; connecting member for connecting the capture member and the power generating member.
delete The method of claim 1,
The capture member is plural,
Seawater desalination device, characterized in that the plurality of capture members are spaced apart.
The method of claim 1,
The chamber member is a seawater desalination device, characterized in that the entire wall forming the appearance is cooled by the cooling unit.
The method of claim 1,
The capture member is made of metal and seawater desalination device, characterized in that the plate-like.
The method of claim 1,
Seawater desalination apparatus further comprises a pumping unit for allowing the raw water to enter the fresh water generating unit, and discharges the concentrated water and fresh water generated in the fresh water process to the outside.
The method of claim 6,
The pumping unit,
A first pump member for pumping the raw water to the fresh water generating unit;
A second pump member for discharging the fresh water to the outside; And
Seawater desalination apparatus comprising a; third pump member for discharging the concentrated water to the outside.

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