RO127638A0 - Process and installation for desalting sea water - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a process and installation for desalting the sea water. According to the invention, the process achieves the temporary vacuum condition by a mechanical process and the vaporization of water in the enclosure wherein there was obtained the temporary vacuum and rapid condensation of formed water vapours to simultaneously obtain demineralized water and heat in a heat exchanger and concentrated solutions of salts, particularly sodium chloride. The installation claimed by the invention in a first constructive version, consists of a pump (1), a recipient (2) a recipient (3), where the initial level of water in the recipient (2) measured from the surface of the recipient (3) is of tens of meters and has a determining role in achieving the temporary vacuum in the upper side of the recipient (2), an air compressor (4), a light piston (5), several valves (6), a valve (7), a pipe (8), a heat exchanger (9), a float (10), a valve (11), two electric contacts (12), two openings (13), a pipe (14), a vessel (15), a heat exchanger (16), a tap (16) and a pipe (18), and in another version, the installation consists of a pump (1), a recipient (2), a motor (3), a mechanism converting the rotation motion of the motor into an oscillating motion for a lever (4), a rod (5), a piston (6), a recipient (7), two valves (8), a valve (9), a pipe (10), a heat exchanger (11), two openings (12), a vessel (13), a heat exchanger (14), a tap (15), a pipe (16), a cylinder (17) and an axle (18), in the last version the installation consisting of a pump (1), a recipient (2), an opening (4), two valves (5), a pipe (6), a valve (7), a pipe (8), a heat exchanger (9), a motor (10), a mechanism converting the rotation motion of the motor into an oscillating motion for a lever (11), a rod (12), a cylinder (13), a vessel (14), a heat exchanger (15), a small cylinder (16), an axle (17), a tap (18) and a pipe (19).

Description

The invention relates to a process and to installations that perform seawater desalination.

The most popular seawater desalination processes are divided into three categories: physical processes such as distillation, cryomineralization, electrodialysis, reverse osmosis; physico-chemical processes such as ion exchange treatment, ion exchange membrane filtration; chemical processes such as treatment with crystalline water-forming substances and precipitation of some components by treatment with silver nitrate and barium hydroxide.

The most popular installations used in practice are those that use solar energy and that use a system of lenses or mirrors that concentrate the solar energy ensuring the evaporation of large volumes of seawater, which, by condensation, becomes practically desalinated (demineralized) water; there are also known those that use vacuum pumps, those that use heating sources to obtain the boiling water temperature of the sea; most modem installations use processes with stratified filters, cartridge filters and reverse osmosis and which require high pressure pumps to produce the osmosis phenomenon.

The disadvantages of the known processes and installations are the following: they require large surfaces to make the evaporation and condensation, significant expenses determined by the consumption of energy and materials, have a complex construction, do not use the heat resulting from the condensation of water vapor nor the low temperatures caused by water vaporization. , the processes are carried out at a very slow pace and most have low flows, ensuring demineralized water for few consumers.

The problem solved by the invention is the creation of installations that produce desalination of sea water, using a process by which vacuum is made in a enclosure by a mechanical phenomenon, in vacuum is not used vacuum pumps, it is done in a time short and causes rapid water vaporization, followed by rapid condensation of formed water vapor, plants that simultaneously obtain desalinated water in large and very large quantities, heat in a heat exchanger, very cold water in the second exchanger of heat, water to be used in cooling installations, and a concentrated solution of salts, especially concentrated solution of sodium chloride.

The process according to the invention removes the disadvantages of the above, in that, by a mechanical phenomenon, a vacuum is realized in a short time, in a chamber, a vacuum which causes a rapid vaporization of the water, followed by a rapid condensation of the water vapor. water, phenomena that allow the use of heat resulting from condensation of water vapor and cold water in cooling installations, the cooling of the water being produced by vacuum vaporization.

The installations according to the invention remove the disadvantages of the above, in that, for the purpose of desalination of seawater, they are composed of pumps for supplying seawater, air compressors, pistons provided with openings and valves, containers whose volume may vary from tens of liters to thousands of cubic meters, valves controlled by floats, heat exchangers for condensation of formed vapors and heat exchangers for exploiting the low water temperatures that remain after repeated vaporization, temperatures and below zero degrees Celsius, if wants this, the concentrated solutions of salts allowing this, again to produce the phenomenon of solidification.

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Three examples of embodiments of the invention are given, in connection with Figures 1,2 and 3, which represent:

- Fig.l, the general scheme of the installation with large volume containers;

Fig.2, the general scheme of the installation with medium volume containers (I);

- Fig.3, the general scheme of the installation with medium volume containers (II).

The process of desalination of seawater, according to the invention, is carried out in an installation, according to figure 1, made up of a pump (1) for supplying seawater, an upper container (2), a lower container (3) with the volume of hundreds of cubic meters, comparable to the volume of the container (2), an air compressor (4), a light piston (5) in which there are several openings provided each with a valve (6), a valve ( 7), a pipe (8), a heat exchanger (9), a float (10) integral with a valve (11) that can interrupt the electric current supplying the compressor through two electrical contacts (12), a valve that also acts on of two openings (13) and on a pipe (14), a vessel (15) for collecting demineralized water, a heat exchanger (16) for the use of low water temperatures in the vessel (3), a tap (17) mounted on a conduit (18) to remove the high concentration salt water from the ins Talat. A height of about ten meters between the initial level of the water in the container (2) and the upper part of the container (3) is required because the atmospheric pressure exerted on the water in the container (3) balances the sum between the water vapor pressure and the hydrostatic pressure. exerted by the water column in the container (2) and which is a determining factor in obtaining the vacuum at the top of the container (2). The weight of the piston (5) is chosen so that it floats on the surface of the water. For installations with the total volume of the order of thousands of cubic meters, it is recommended a reinforced concrete construction that presents on the interior walls a foil that does not allow the exchange of substances and which ensures a good seal. For installations with a total volume of hundreds of cubic meters, it is recommended to make glass fiber containers. If working with metal bodies it is necessary that they have a protective layer and that they do not allow the phenomenon of corrosion from the seawater. We recommend the use of compressors (turbochargers) with high air flow and pressures between 2 and 4 atmospheres. The initial water level in the vessel (2) can be observed using a level indicator. When only pursuing demineralized water is sought, the pipe (8) connects to the upper part of the heat exchanger coil (16), the connections with the cooling installations supplied by the exchanger are interrupted and the demineralized water reaches the lower part of the coil and is collected in the vessel (15) to which the position is changed. In order to avoid the deposit of salts at the top of the piston (5) it is obligatory for the vaporization space to enter an amount of water greater than that which vaporizes in an operating cycle.

The operation of the installation is as follows: start the pump (1) that enters seawater into the installation up to the height of ten meters from the height of the container (2) measured from the surface of the container (3), stop the pump and start the compressor (4) introducing compressed air into the container (3), the compressed air acts on the water that rises in the container (2) with the plunger (5) acting on the air above it, closing the valves (6) and opening the valve (7) , passes through the pipe (8) and through the heat exchanger (9) and then goes out, the float (10) descends with the water level, actuates the valve (11) which descends with the float, the compressor is stopped by interrupting the electric current between the electrical contacts (12) and the air suddenly come out into the atmosphere through the openings (13) and through the pipe (14), the water drops suddenly in the container (3) of the container (2), a temporary vacuum state at the top of the container (2), the valves (6) are opened, the valve (7) is closed, the tv water 2 O 1 2 - o OOO 9 - ⁰ 9 -01- 2012 penetrates through the piston openings and vaporize until the sum of the water vapor pressure and the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the water column remaining in the container (2) becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure; the water level increases in the container (3), the float (10) rises and actuates the valve (11) which closes the electrical circuit through the contacts (12) and the openings (13), respectively the pipe (14), the compressor starts and enters compressed air into the vessel (3), under the action of compressed air the water level rises in the vessel (2) and raises the piston (5), the valves are closed (6), the valve is opened (7), the water vapor passes through the pipe (8), it reaches the exchanger of heat (9) in which it condenses under the action of two factors, namely the pressure exerted by the piston (5) and the heat exchange with the water flowing in the opposite direction through the heat exchanger, the demineralized water being collected in the vessel (15). An operating cycle is caused by a lowering and rising of the piston and when the most important phenomena occur, namely vacuum vaporization followed by compression and condensation. The processes are repeated. To perform several operating cycles in one hour, more compressors and more systems will be used to exit the compressed air from the container (3). The water has the latent heat of vaporization, respectively the latent heat of condensation, equal to 2 260 000 J / kg.

The process of desalination of seawater, according to the invention, is carried out in an installation, according to figure 2, consisting of a pump (1) for supplying seawater, a container (2), an engine (3), a mechanism similar to the one from the oil extraction probes which transforms the rotational movement of the engine into an oscillatory movement for a lever (4), a rod (5) actuates the piston (6) in the container (7), piston provided with two small and two valve openings (8), one valve (9), one pipe (10), one heat exchanger (11) where the water vapor condenses and gives off heat, two openings (12), one manifold (13) ) for demineralized water, a heat exchanger (14) for exploiting the low temperature in the container (2), a valve (15) mounted on a pipe (16) through which the concentrated solutions from the installation are removed. The upper end of the lever (4) slides into a cylinder (17) which can rotate about an axis (18), an axis which also connects with the rod (5) and which it maintains at all times upright. The container (2) and the openings (12) play an important role in the operation of the installation allowing the water to pass quickly from the container (2) to the container (7) and vice versa with a low energy consumption. In case of installation of these installations on a floating vessel at sea, the containers (2) will be positioned below sea level, which will determine their loading with sea water, without energy consumption, based on the principle of communicating vessels. For the construction of these installations we recommend plastics that are not corroded by seawater, the water also playing the role of lubricant between the piston and the cylinder. The maximum total volume of the installation is of the order of tens of cubic meters. When only pursuing demineralized water is sought, the pipe (10) connects to the upper part of the heat exchanger coil (14), the connections with the cooling installations supplied by the exchanger are interrupted and the demineralized water reaches the lower part of the coil and is collected in the vessel (13) to which the position is changed. In order to avoid the deposition of salts at the top of the piston (6), it is compulsory for the vaporization space to enter an amount of water greater than that which is vaporized in an operating cycle.

This constructive variant can also be made with a small volume, of the order of tens of liters, and in this case the lever (4) can be operated manually.

The operation of the system is done as follows: start the pump (1) that enters seawater into the container (2) until the middle of it, stop the pump and start the engine (3) which by the mechanism that turns the rotational movement of the engine into a oscillatory movement for the lever (4) sets the rod (5) which raises the piston (6) in the container (7), the valves (8) are closed, the air above the piston is drawn outwards through the valve (9), the pipe (10) ) and (\ -2 Ο 1 2 - Ο Ο Ο 09 - Ο 9 -01-2012

H the heat exchanger (11), under the piston, seawater is absorbed through the openings (12) in the container (2). When the piston goes down, the valves (8) open, the valve (9) closes, a quantity of water enters the piston, which rapidly vaporizes in the vacuum space above the piston. As the piston rises, it compresses the formed water vapor that opens the valve (9) passes through the pipe (10) and condenses into the heat exchanger (11) where it gives off the heat resulting from condensation, the demineralized water being collected in the vessel (13), the heat exchanger (14) get cold water, water that will be used in different cooling plants. An operating cycle is caused by a lowering and rising of the piston and when the most important phenomena occur, namely vacuum vaporization followed by compression and condensation. The processes are repeated. In this constructive variant we have a much greater number of operating cycles in one hour and what we lose in volume, compared to the first variant, we can gain by increasing the number of operating cycles.

A process for desalination of seawater, according to the invention, is carried out in an installation, according to figure 3, consisting of a pump (1) for seawater supply, a container (2) which communicates with a container (3) through an opening (4), two valves (5) which open and close two small holes through which the sea water vaporizes, a central pipe (6), a valve (7), a pipe (8), a heat exchanger (9), a motor (10), a mechanism that transforms the rotational movement of the motor into an oscillatory movement for a lever (11) which by means of a rod (12) actuates the cylinder (13) with piston roll and moving parallel to the container (3) with a fixed position. Desalinated water is collected in a vessel (14), the low temperature in the container (2) is used in cooling installations by means of a heat exchanger (15). To keep the rod (12) upright during operation, it is actuated by means of a cylinder (16) which can rotate about an axis (17). The container (3) has at the top of the pipe (6) two inclined surfaces that do not allow seawater to pass through this pipe. The amount of water that reaches the vaporization space is greater than the amount of water that vaporizes, the water that remains unvaporized washes the salts and returns to the container (2) through the space between the container (3) and the cylinder (13) during the process. water vapor compression, compression that favors the movement of water in the opposite direction; In this way, the deposition of salts in the vaporization space is avoided. To remove the concentrated solution from the system, a tap (18) and a pipe (19) are used. In case of installation of these installations on a floating vessel at sea, the containers (2) and (3) will be positioned below the sea level, which will determine their loading with sea water, without energy consumption, based on the principle of communicating vessels.

This constructive variant can also be made with a small volume, of the order of tens of liters, and in this case the lever (11) can be operated manually.

The operation of the installation, according to figure 3, is carried out as follows: start the pump (1) which enters seawater into the container (2) and into the container (3) by opening (4), the valves (5) are opened and the air comes out through the pipe central (6), opens the valve (7) and through the pipe (8) reaches the heat exchanger (9) and from here to the outside; start the engine (10) which sets the lever (11) and the rod (12) that lifts the cylinder (13), in the free space between the top of the container (3) and the cylinder (13) a temporary vacuum is created in which the seawater that penetrates through the openings controlled by the valves (5) and through the space between the two cylinders is rapidly vaporized; when lowering the cylinder (13), the valves (5) are closed and the water vapor is compressed and pass through the central pipe (6), open the valve (7) and through the pipe (8) to the heat exchanger (9) where it condenses and it gives off heat, the desalinated water is collected in the vessel (14), the low temperature in the container (2) is reused in ¢ ^ - 2 0 1 2 - 0 0 0 0 9 -0 9 -01-2012 installations cooling through the heat exchanger. heat (15). We recommend that the pump (1) operate continuously to maintain a high water level in the container (3) a few centimeters below its top.

For the embodiments, according to the invention, when working with large volumes of water vapor, the heat exchangers where the water vapor condensation is made will contain a small diameter coil beam.

For the embodiments, according to the invention, a perfect sealing between the pistons and the cylinders in which these pistons move is not mandatory because the spaces between the pistons and the cylinders can be adjusted so that through them only the quantities of water to be vaporized and the quantities enter. necessary to avoid salt deposits. In this case, the piston openings and their corresponding valves are discarded.

Theoretically, the heat yielded by water vapor through condensation is greater than the mechanical energy consumed for vacuum and water vapor compression, and the energy used for cooling the water, energy obtained by vaporizing the water in vacuum, is also greater than the energy mechanical, as a total energy balance results in a surplus of energy greater than the mechanical energy consumed.

Basically, for every kwh consumed in the form of mechanical energy, you can get: at least 1 kwh in the form of heat and at least 2 kwh in the form of very cold water, provided we use both heat and cold water. These plants are very similar to a heat pump, they do not produce energy, but they do transfer energy, using a combination of mechanical and thermal phenomena.

For a useful volume (it is the volume in which water vaporization is carried out) of 2 cubic meters, at least 1 kg of demineralized water is obtained per operating cycle.

The installations will be used to obtain, simultaneously, large quantities of desalinated (demineralized) water, hot water in a heat exchanger, very cold water in the second heat exchanger and concentrated solutions of some salts, especially concentrated chloride solution sodium.

By using these facilities the following advantages are obtained:

The installations operate 24 hours a day, 24 hours a day. Their functioning does not depend on the weather;

The installations have a much simplified construction compared to the known ones;

With these facilities, in one day and in one place, hundreds of cubic meters of demineralized water can be obtained;

The plants operate simultaneously as seawater desalination plants, as heating systems, as cooling plants and as plants for obtaining concentrated solutions of some salts, in particular concentrated sodium chloride solution;

- Installations for desalination of seawater can well influence the lives of millions of people by providing safe water and developing agriculture in the coastal areas of the seas and oceans;

The installations in the two and three embodiments can be mounted on floating vessels at sea, the containers will be positioned below sea level, which will determine their loading with sea water, without energy consumption, based on the principle of communicating vessels;

Installations in versions two and three can be mounted on trucks, mobile installations, and will obtain drinking water from the water of rivers and lakes, installations that will be used in the event of natural disasters;

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The installations in the two and three versions can be built with small volumes that also allow manual operation;

One of the most important advantages of the installations is determined by the fact that in the same installation and with the same constructive elements they produce the vacuum state, the vaporization of the sea water, the compression of the water vapor and when even condensation is desired;

For each Kwh consumed in the form of mechanical energy is obtained: at least 1 Kwh in the form of heat and at least 2 Kwh in the form of very cold water.

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Bibliographical references

1. Patent RO 115 441 Bl;

2. Multi-cascade installation for the production of drinking water from seawater, 2011, GWT, GEORGI WASSETECHNIC GmbH, Hohe Heide 8, 97 506 Grafenrheinfeld, e-mail: info@gwtgmbh.de

Claims (5)

1. Process for desalination of seawater, characterized in that, in a short time, it achieves the temporary vacuum state through a mechanical process and the rapid vaporization of the water in the enclosure where the temporary vacuum was obtained, followed by the rapid condensation of formed water vapor, which allows simultaneously to obtain demineralized water, heat in a heat exchanger, very cold water in the second heat exchanger and concentrated solutions of some salts, in particular concentrated chloride solution sodium. 2. Seawater desalination plant for the application of the process according to claim 1, in connection with figure 1, characterized in that, for the purpose of simultaneously obtaining demineralized water, obtaining heat, obtaining cold water and obtaining a concentrated solution of salts consists of a pump (1) for seawater supply, a container (2) with a large volume, a container (3) with a volume comparable to that of the container (2), the initial water level in the container (2) measured from the surface of the container (3) is ten meters and plays a crucial role in achieving the temporary vacuum in the upper part of the container (2), an air compressor (4), a light piston (5) provided with several diameter openings small and that can be closed or opened with valves (6), a valve (7), a pipe (8), a heat exchanger (9) in which the water vapor condenses and gives off heat, a float (10) integral with bone valve (11), two electrical contacts (12) for operating the compressor (4), two openings (13) and a pipe (14) for the outlet of the air from the container (3), a vessel (15) for collecting demineralized water, a changer of heat (16) for exploiting the low temperatures in cooling installations, a valve (17) mounted on a pipe (18) to remove the concentrated solution from the installation. 3. Seawater desalination plant for applying the process according to claim 1, in connection with Figure 2, characterized in that, for the purpose of obtaining simultaneously, demineralized water, heat, cold water and a concentrated salt solution, it is consisting of a pump (1), a container (2), a motor (3), a mechanism that transforms the rotational movement of the motor into an oscillatory movement for a lever (4), a mechanism similar to that of the probes. oil extraction, a rod (5) acting a piston (6) moving in the container (7), two valves (8) which close and open two holes made in the piston, a valve (9), a pipe (10) ), a heat exchanger (11) in which the water vapor condenses and transfers heat, two openings (12), a collecting vessel (13) for desalinated water, a heat exchanger (14) through which the low temperatures are used In cooling installations, a tap (15) mounted on a pipe (16) for removing the concentrated solution of salts from the installation, the lever (4) slides into a cylinder (17) which can rotate about an axis (18) which it connects to the rod (5) and keeps it upright regardless of the lever position (4). 4. Seawater desalination plant for applying the process according to claim 1, in connection with figure 3, characterized in that, for the purpose of obtaining simultaneously, demineralized water, heat, cold water and a concentrated salt solution, it consists of a pump (1) for seawater supply, a container (2) which communicates with a container (3) through an opening (4), two valves (5) which close and open two small holes through passing vaporizing seawater, a central pipe (6), a valve (7), a pipe (8), a heat exchanger (9) where the water vapor condenses and gives off heat, a motor (10), a mechanism that transforms the movement ⁰ 9 -01- 2012 similar to the one from the oil extraction wells, a rod (12) acts on a cylinder (13) which moves it parallel to the container (3) with a fixed position, a collecting vessel (14) for demineralized water a heat exchanger (15) by which the low temperatures in the container (2) are used in cooling installations, the lever (11) sliding into a cylinder (16) which can rotate about an axis (17) which it connects to the rod (12) and which it holds upright regardless of the position of the lever (11), the concentrated solution of salts is removed externally using the valve (18) mounted on the pipe (19). 5. Seawater desalination plant according to claims 1.3 and 4, characterized in that, for the purpose of carrying out a small volume portable installation, the lever (4) and the lever (11), respectively, can be actuated by the muscular force. of a person, thus obtaining an installation for desalination of seawater with manual action.