WO2002090265A1

WO2002090265A1 - Fluid treatment apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2002090265A1
Application number: PCT/NZ2001/000106
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shih Wen-Sen
Original assignee: Shih Wen-Sen
Priority date: 2001-05-04
Filing date: 2001-06-08
Publication date: 2002-11-14
Also published as: TWI286082B; MY135765A; AR033478A1; NZ511502A

Abstract

A fluid treatment apparatus (1), including at least one heat source (7), and at least two fluid (2, 3) reservoirs, and at least one means (12) of conducting vapour, and at least two fluid inlets (4, 13), and at least two fluid outlets (5, 15), characterised in that fluid enters the first fluid reservoir (2) and is then heated until it evaporates, and the vapour produced enters into a pipe (12) that is routed through the second fluid reservoir (3) which also contains a fluid at a lower temperature than that of the vapour and that is isolated from the vapour as the fluid remains outside of the pipe, wherein the temperature difference between the vapour and the fluid causes the vapour to condense thereby increasing the temperature of the fluid contained in the second fluid reservoir (3).

Description

FLUID TREATMENT APPARATUS

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to the field of fluid treatment apparatus, in particular for the distilling and heating of fluids.

Reference throughout the specification shall now be made to use of the present invention as a distillation unit including a water heating system.

However, this should not be seen to be a limitation on the present invention in any way as the present invention can be used with fluids other than water.

BACKGROUND ART

Fluid distillation systems are well known in the water treatment industry as well as in various facets of the chemical industry.

Academic institutes will also have some form of distillation systems for use in the science department.

Distillation systems used in the chemical industry and in academia are generally specialised systems that can be cumbersome to set up and operate.

Historically there have been two main ways of cooling the vapour produced by the distillation system in order that the vapour can be condensed and either used straight away or placed within a container.

The vapour is generally passed through a coiled pipe or heat exchanger style matrix in order that it can be exposed to a flow of cold water or to air from a fan in order to reduce the temperature of the vapour and therefore force it to condensate.

There are however severe drawbacks with either of these systems in that the water jacket style assemblies are wasteful of water as they are generally connected to a mains source of water and the outlet from the jacket is flushed to the waste system.

This not only wastes a considerable volume of water but can also be expensive as the user of the system will generally have to pay higher charges to the local authority due to the amount of water usage, or will have to pay for the water on a pro rata basis.

This also has a further drawback in that the water will have been treated in order that it is usable and is then flushed back into the waste system, thereby requiring the same water to be re-treated prior to once again becoming available for use.

The cooling fan systems have several drawbacks; the main one being that they are connected to an energy source in order to drive them and therefore the operator of the equipment will incur extra costs associated with running the equipment.

Another significant drawback with the cooling fans is that they are generally noisy and this will limit the environment in which this system can be used, as in a confined environment the noise is considered unacceptable.

A further drawback that needs to be considered is the increased maintenance costs due to the fans needing servicing and/or repair on a regular basis.

It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention' will become apparent from the ensuing description, which is given by way of example only.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a fluid treatment apparatus, including at least one heat source, and

at least two fluid reservoirs, and

at least one means of conducting vapour, and

at least two fluid inlets, and

at least two fluid outlets,

characterised in that

fluid enters the first fluid reservoir and is then heated until it evaporates, and

the vapour produced enters into a pipe that is routed through the second fluid reservoir which also contains a fluid at a lower temperature than that of the vapour and that is isolated from the vapour as the fluid remains outside of the pipe,

wherein the temperature difference between the vapour and the fluid causes the vapour to condense thereby increasing the temperature of the fluid contained in the second fluid reservoir.

It should be appreciated that throughout the present specification the term "reservoir" should be understood to mean any apparatus that is capable of containing a volume of fluid or vapour.

It should also be appreciated that throughout the present specification the term "pipe" should be understood to mean a conduit through which vapour or fluid can pass from an entry point to an exit point and that has walls impervious to the flow of a fluid.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of treating fluid with a fluid treatment apparatus, including

at least one heat source, and at least two fluid reservoirs, and

at least one means for conducting vapour, and

at least two fluid inlets, and

at least two fluid outlets,

characterised by the steps of

a) placing a known amount of fluid into the first fluid reservoir and heating it until a vapour is produced,

b) passing the produced vapour through a pipe that is routed through the second fluid reservoir which contains a volume of fluid at a lower temperature than that of the vapour and with the pipe isolating the vapour from the fluid in the second fluid reservoir,

c) transferring heat energy from the vapour through the pipe to the fluid in the second fluid reservoir so that the temperature of the vapour drops far enough for the vapour to condensate back to a fluid which is then vented from the pipe,

d) once the fluid contained in the second fluid reservoir has absorbed enough heat energy from the vapour within the pipe, so that the fluid has reached a required temperature, the fluid can be drawn off as a hot fluid source or may be used as the energy source within a heating system.

It should be appreciated that throughout the present specification the term "fluid" should be understood to mean water.

However, this should not be seen to be a limitation on the present invention in any way as the present invention can be used with any material or combination of materials that exhibit fluid flow characteristics. It is envisaged that within preferred embodiments of the present invention the fluid treatment apparatus will be used not only as a source of distilled water but will also make use of the reclaimed energy, scavenged during the condensation process, to either provide a hot water source or to provide the hot water energy necessary for a radiation style heating system.

It can clearly be seen from the description within the present specification that the present invention has many significant advantages over the previous systems available.

One of the most significant being the fact that no fan is needed and therefore not only will an extra source of energy not be required but also the apparatus will be far quieter as the noisy fan will no longer be present.

Also in preferred embodiments of the present invention the first fluid reservoir will have one or more sensors to determine when the water level has dropped below a predetermined level.

It may also have one or more sensors to determine when the water exceeds a certain level, in order that the first fluid reservoir does not boil dry or fill to the point where water will enter the pipe.

It is envisaged that the heating source for reservoir one can be provided by an electrical input or a gas element however this should not be seen as limiting as in some embodiments an alternative energy source could be used.

In some preferred embodiments of the present invention a thermally activated switch will be fitted to the second fluid reservoir so that if the water within the second fluid reservoir exceeds a predetermined threshold then the heat source to the first fluid reservoir will be terminated until the temperature of the fluid within the second fluid reservoir returns to below the threshold level. In some embodiments of the present invention the hot water leaving the second fluid reservoir can be fed into a heat transfer matrix (for example a water jacket) around the clean water input to the first fluid reservoir so that the water entering the first fluid reservoir is preheated prior to entering the reservoir.

This can have the added benefit in that less energy is then needed to raise the water in the first fluid reservoir to the point where it produces vapour and this will also reduce the time taken for the water to vapourise.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention the first fluid reservoir has a drain outlet in order that the residue or deposits within the reservoir can be flushed periodically so as to ensure they do not detrimentally affect the performance of the apparatus.

It can therefore be seen that the present invention will have much wide applications than any of the current systems as the present invention is not only far quieter but also minimises the water use and is also self regulating.

The present invention is therefore not only suitable for domestic use but also for light and heavy industries where a supply of distilled water or heated water is required.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatical representation of one preferred embodiment of the present invention, and;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatical representation of a further preferred embodiment of the present invention. BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to the figures there is illustrated a water treatment apparatus generally indicated by arrow 1.

The water treatment apparatus 1 consists of a first fluid reservoir 2 and a second fluid reservoir 3.

The first fluid reservoir 2 has an inlet for clean water 4, a drain 5 for removing sediment and deposits left from the evaporating water 6 and a means 7 for heating the water 6.

The heating means 7 is connected to either a gas inlet 8 or an electricity inlet 9.

The level of the water 6 is controlled so that it stays between the upper level 10 and the lower level 11. This is to ensure that no water 6 enters into the pipe 12 and at the other extreme, to ensure that the first reservoir 2 does not boil dry.

The water vapour (not shown) enters the pipe 12 in reservoir one 2 and is then passed along the pipe 12 into reservoir two 3 where it comes into thermal contact with the cool water 13 contained within the reservoir 3.

Heat is exchanged from the vapour through the pipe wall 12 and into the cool water 13 until the vapour drops below its condensation point and hence distilled water 14 is formed. The cool water 13 absorbs the heat energy from the vapour and is therefore raised in temperature and can then be drawn off from the second reservoir 3 as a source of hot water 15.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof.

Claims

WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A fluid treatment apparatus, including

at least one heat source, and

at least two fluid reservoirs, and

at least one means of conducting vapour, and

at least two fluid inlets, and

at least two fluid outlets,

characterised in that

2. A fluid treatment apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first fluid reservoir has a sensor that determines when the water level has dropped below a pre-determined level.

3. A fluid treatment apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the first fluid reservoir has a sensor to determine when the water exceeds a certain level.

4. A fluid treatment apparatus as claimed in any previous claim wherein a thermally activated switch is fitted to the second fluid reservoir so that if the water within the second fluid reservoir exceeds a predetermined threshold then the heat source to the first fluid reservoir is terminated until the temperature of the fluid within the second fluid reservoir returns to below the threshold level.

5. A fluid treatment apparatus as claimed in any previous claim wherein the hot water leaving the second fluid reservoir is fed into a heat transfer matrix around the clean water input to the first fluid reservoir so that the water entering the first fluid reservoir is preheated prior to entering the reservoir.

6. A method of treating fluid with a fluid treatment apparatus, including

at least one heat source, and

at least two fluid reservoirs, and

at least one means for conducting vapour, and

at least two fluid inlets, and

at least two fluid outlets,

characterised by the steps of

a) placing a known amount of fluid into the first fluid reservoir and heating it until a vapour is produced, b) passing the produced vapour through a pipe that is routed through the second fluid reservoir which contains a volume of fluid at a lower temperature than that of the vapour and with the pipe isolating the vapour from the fluid in the second fluid reservoir,

7. A fluid treatment apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings

8. A method of treating fluid substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings