Distillation: apparatus – Apparatus – Systems
Patent
1993-08-16
1996-04-30
Warden, Robert J.
Distillation: apparatus
Apparatus
Systems
202176, 2022671, 203 26, 203 86, 203DIG4, 159 131, 159 133, 159 241, 159 286, B01D 314, B01D 122, C01B 2900
Patent
active
055121411
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a distillation apparatus for the evaporation of a liquid and for its subsequent condensation, the apparatus comprising a plurality of flat, bag-like elements of a thin film material, such as plastic film, placed one against the other, the elements serving as heat exchangers between a vaporizing liquid which flows along the exterior surfaces of the elements and a condensing vapor which has been directed to the inside of the elements, and a compressor for increasing the pressure and temperature of the generated vapor before it is directed to the inside of the elements.
A distillation apparatus according to the above definition is described in, for example, FI Lay-Open Print 79948 and in the corresponding International Application Publication WO 90/01977. The primary use of distillation apparatuses of this type has been the production of fresh water from sea water. The tube or plate heat exchangers used in the prior art for the distillation of sea water were susceptible to contamination, and the corrosive nature of sea water caused problems of corrosion in them, necessitating the use of expensive, noncorrodible materials such as titanium and cupro-nickel. By the use of bag-like distillation elements made of plastic film these disadvantages have been eliminated, since plastic film is inexpensive, non-corrodible and, owing to its resilience, less susceptible to contamination. Any contaminant possibly adhering to the membranes can be shaken off by varying the pressure prevailing inside the elements. It has been possible to compensate for the poor thermal conductivity of plastic per se by using in the distillation apparatus a very thin film and a large number of thin elements having a large heat exchange surface.
The distillation apparatus according to said FI Lay-Open Print 79948 comprises, above the plastic membrane elements, a common distribution basin for the water to be evaporated, from which the liquid flows via pipes into the passages between the elements. The vapor generated on the exterior surfaces of the elements is directed to a blower, which blows it, at a higher pressure and temperature, to the inside of the elements through apertures in their sides. The system described has the disadvantage that, by means of it, the vapor to be condensed cannot be spread very evenly inside the elements, and subsequently part of the potential condensing efficiency of the apparatus remains unexploited. Also, in the apparatus disclosed, the spreading out of the liquid to be evaporated over the exterior surfaces of the elements does not occur in the best possible manner. Thus, heat exchange between the liquid vaporizing on the exterior surfaces of the elements and the vapor condensing inside the elements remains incomplete.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a distillation apparatus in which heat exchange is enhanced especially by causing the vapor to be condensed to spread more evenly than in prior art inside the elements. The invention is characterized in that the inside of each bag-like element is divided into parallel vapor ducts extending vertically from one end of the element to the other, and that the feeding of vapor into the said ducts is arranged to take place from apertures located at the upper edge of the element and leading to the inside of the element.
By the system according to the invention, vapor can be directed to the inside of the elements and be caused to flow in them from the top downwards as an even flow distributed over the entire width of the elements. The condensing efficiency of the elements can thus be exploited maximally.
The vapor ducts to be formed in the bag-like elements may, according to the invention, be produced by seaming the opposite membranes of each element to one another along vertical seaming lines. By leaving in the seaming lines breaks at which the parallel ducts communicate with each other, an evening-out of the flow is further promoted by enabling the vapor and the liquid
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patent: 5211812 (1993-05-01), Vielberth et al.
Office Action dated Feb. 14, 1994 of application Ser. No. 08/075,471, filed Aug. 11, 1993.
Australian Office Action dated Feb. 22, 1994 of corresponding Australian application of the present U.S. application Ser. No. 08/075,499, filed Aug. 16, 1993.
PCT International Search Report for PCT International application corresponding to co-pending application Ser. No. 08/075,471, filed Aug. 11, 1993.
International Preliminary Examination Report for PCT International application corresponding to co-pending application Ser. No. 08/075,471, filed Aug. 11, 1993.
PCT Written Opinion for PCT International application corresponding to co-pending application Ser. No. 08/075,471, filed Aug. 11, 1993.
Koistinen Peter
Rantala Reijo
Keeran Corporation N.V.
Kim Christopher Y.
Warden Robert J.
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