Distillation: apparatus – Apparatus – Types
Patent
1999-09-10
2000-12-26
Manoharan, Virginia
Distillation: apparatus
Apparatus
Types
159903, 2021853, 202205, 203 11, 203 22, 203DIG8, 203DIG11, 203DIG17, B01D 310, C02F 114
Patent
active
061653268
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plant for desalination or purification of sea or brackish water by means of solar energy, having
a closed circuit comprising a thermal solar collector and a heat exchanger, in which circuit a heat transfer medium circulates,
a tank which can be charged with the sea or brackish water to be treated, and in which the heat exchanger is arranged to heat and evaporate the same,
a cooling surface which lies above the tank for condensation of the rising steam, and
water collectors which are arranged below part regions of the cooling surface for catching the condensed water.
2. The Prior Art
It is known that there is a shortage of drinking water on certain islands in the Mediterranean as well as in other regions. This problem is provisionally solved either by transport of drinking water from the mainland or by various energy-consuming processes (for example desalination of sea water by means of the method of reversing the osmotic pressure). A further classic possibility is the direct heating of the sea water by the sun in a tank, and specifically through a glass disc or a transparent film which serves as a cover at the same time, wherein evaporation and catching of condensed water are carried out with the aid of the same glass cover. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,235,679 and 4,343,683, 4,525,242 and German Patent 4 321 192 are representative of the latest state of this art of desalination.
These classic possibilities either require very considerable energy or as is the case with methods which utilize solar energy--of very low efficiency, since in the known constructions the cover (glass disc) which is heated by the sun also serves as cooling a surface with resultant very high losses of evaporated water. Furthermore, these methods may not meet the necessary requirement, because they are associated with a limited capacity.
The invention therefore, aims at providing a plant for desalination or purification of sea or brackish water, which is not only of a considerably higher efficiency than known solutions, but also requires minimum space.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided a plant of the type mentioned in the introduction, which is characterised by a solar collector arranged at a distance from and above the cooling surface to shade the latter, the cooling surface being made from heat-conducting material, and the gap between cooling surface and solar collector being open to permit lateral flow of ambient air.
The gain in space achieved by the arrangement of solar collector and cooling surface one above the other is utilised in this manner at the same time to shade and hence cool the cooling surface, wherein the free flow through the gap between solar collector and cooling surface considerably increases cooling of the latter. Compared to the known constructions, the plant of the invention achieves a considerably higher efficiency for the same standing area requirement.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention for plants in which the solar collector is inclined with respect to the horizontal, provision is made in that the cooling surface is at a steeper angle than the solar collector, so that the said gap is tapered in the upward direction like a nozzle. Air circulation is thus considerably enhanced through the said gap, as described later in more detail.
Provision is preferably made in that the space between tank and cooling surface is closed on all sides and can be subjected to vacuum pressure by a vacuum pump to improve evaporation.
In a further embodiment, the cooling surface is of a corrugated structure seen in vertical section, and the water collectors are designed as collecting channels running at a distance below the corrugation troughs or as a continuous fine coated mesh.
It is particularly advantageous if the tank has a wedge shape tapering downwards seen in vertical section. As a result of this truncated structure, every time sea water or brackish water flows int
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patent: 4180057 (1979-12-01), Ward
patent: 4209364 (1980-06-01), Rothschild
patent: 4235679 (1980-11-01), Swaidan
patent: 4249317 (1981-02-01), Murdock
patent: 4343683 (1982-08-01), Diggs
patent: 4525242 (1985-06-01), Iida
patent: 5608268 (1997-03-01), Senanayake
patent: 6080927 (2000-06-01), Johnson
Hormann Karl
Manoharan Virginia
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