Water distillation apparatus, method and system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11325845-B2
Application number	US-201916370038-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2019
Priority date	Oct 15, 2018
Publication date	May 10, 2022
Grant date	May 10, 2022

Abstract

A water vapor distillation system. The system includes a water vapor distillation device configured to receive a volume of source water from a fluid source and produce distillate, the device comprising: a concentrate flow path comprising a concentrate output; a distillate flow path comprising a distillate output; at least one source proportioning valve; a first heat exchanger comprising at least a portion of the distillate flow path; a second heat exchanger including at least a portion of the concentrate flow path, wherein the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger in fluid flow communication with the fluid source; a distillate sensor assembly in communication with the distillate flow path and located downstream the first heat exchanger, the distillate sensor assembly configured to generate a distillate temperature measurement; and a controller configured to control the source proportioning valves, the controller configured to: receive the distillate temperature measurement; determine the difference between a first target temperature and the distillate temperature measurement; and split the source water from the fluid source between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger based on the difference between the first target temperature and the distillate temperature measurement.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A water vapor distillation system for providing distillate at a controlled temperature, the water vapor distillation system comprising:
a water vapor distillation device configured to receive source water from a fluid source and produce distillate, the device comprising:
a compressor receiving source water vapor and producing compressed vapor;
a purifier comprising:
an evaporator that receives source water, the evaporator transforms source water to source water vapor and concentrate;
a steam chest fluidly connected to the evaporator and to the compressor;
a condenser fluidly connected to the compressor, the condenser transforming compressed vapor into distillate;

a concentrate reservoir and a concentrate level sensor;

a source flow path that extends from the fluid source and branches into at least a first branching source path and a second branching source path;
a concentrate flow path fluidly connected to the steam chest and comprising a concentrate output;
a distillate flow path fluidly connected to the condenser and comprising a distillate output;
at least one source proportioning valve on one of the first and second branching source paths;
a first heat exchanger comprising at least a portion of the distillate flow path and a portion of the first branching source path;
a second heat exchanger including at least a portion of the concentrate flow path and a portion of the second branching source path;
a distillate sensor assembly in communication with the distillate flow path downstream the first heat exchanger, the distillate sensor assembly generating a distillate temperature measurement; and

a controller configured to control the source proportioning valves, the controller configured to:
determine a total source proportioning valve duty cycle based on a concentrate accumulation rate calculated from a level measurement output of the concentrate level sensor and a target concentrate accumulation rate;
control the volume of source water received by the water vapor distillation device based on the total source proportioning valve duty cycle;
receive the distillate temperature measurement;
determine the difference between a first target temperature and the distillate temperature measurement; and
use the at least one source proportioning valve to split the source water between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger in a first operating mode based on the difference between the first target temperature and the distillate temperature measurement.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the water vapor distillation device further comprising:
an evaporator reservoir in fluid communication with the evaporator; and
an evaporator level sensor disposed in the evaporator reservoir, wherein the evaporator level sensor in communication with the controller, and wherein the evaporator level sensor sends data signals to the controller that provide a level of a water column in the evaporator reservoir;
wherein in the second mode, the controller configured to determine the total source proportioning valve duty cycle based, at least in part, on the evaporator level data signal indicative of the level of a water column in the evaporator reservoir.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first target temperature is at least 20° C., but no greater than 25° C.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a source fluid temperature sensor in communication with the controller, wherein the source fluid temperature sensor provides the controller data related to the source fluid temperature measurement, wherein the controller is configured to determine the first target temperature based, at least in part, on the source fluid temperature measurement received from the source fluid temperature sensor.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a concentrate sensor assembly in communication with the concentrate flow path downstream of the portion of the concentrate flow path included in the second heat exchanger and configured to generate a concentrate temperature measurement.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to open at least one source proportioning valve gating source water to the second heat exchanger based at least in part upon a difference between a third target temperature and the concentrate temperature measurement.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the third target temperature is a historic average of the concentrate temperature.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to open at least one source proportioning valve gating source water to the second heat exchanger based at least in part upon a minimum limit.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the minimum limit is the greater of a predefined duty cycle or a predefined percentage of the combined duty cycle for all of the source proportioning valves.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is disposed in an electronics box in heat transfer relationship to the flow path from the source water leading to the second heat exchange.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to determine an electronics box cooling duty cycle command and open at least one source proportioning valve gating source water to the second heat exchanger based, at least in part, on an electronics box cooling duty cycle command.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the distillate sensor assembly comprises redundant temperature sensors.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the distillate sensor assembly comprises redundant temperature sensors and redundant conductivity sensors.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second heat exchanger are helical and formed by winding the heat exchangers around the exterior of the distillation device.

15. A water vapor distillation system for providing distillate at a controlled temperature, the water vapor distillation system comprising:
a water vapor distillation device configured to receive source water from a fluid source and produce distillate, the device comprising:
a compressor receiving source water vapor and producing compressed vapor;
a purifier comprising:
an evaporator that receives source water, the evaporator transforms source water to source water vapor and concentrate;
a steam chest fluidly connected to the evaporator and to the compressor;
a condenser fluidly connected to the compressor, the condenser transforming compressed vapor into distillate;

a source flow path that extends from the fluid source and branches into at least a first branching source path and a second branching source path;
a concentrate flow path fluidly connected to the steam chest and comprising a concentrate output;
a distillate flow path fluidly connected to the condenser and comprising a distillate output;
at least one source proportioning valve on one of the first and second branching source paths;
a first heat exchanger comprising at least a portion of the distillate flow path and a portion of the first branching source path;
a second heat exchanger including at least a portion of the concentrate flow path and a portion of the second branching source path;
a distillate sensor assembly in communication with the distillate flow path downstream the first heat exchanger, the distillate sensor assembly generating a distillate temperature measurement; and

a controller configured to control the source proportioning valves, the controller configured to:
determine a total source proportioning valve duty cycle;
control the volume of source water received by the water vapor distillation de

Assignees

• Deka Products Lp

Inventors

• Larocque Ryan K
• Kerwin John M
• Baker Michael A
• Ravindran Aaditya
• Bhat Prashant
• Mccauley Sean T
• Colburn Benjamin E
• Prescott Shannon
• Gray Brian

Classifications

• B01D1/0082

  Regulation; Control · CPC title

• B01D1/007 Primary

  the liquid feed being split up in at least two streams before entering the evaporator · CPC title

• C02F1/043 Primary

  Details · CPC title

• B01D1/0076

  Maintaining the liquid in the evaporator at a constant level · CPC title

• B01D5/006

  with evaporation or distillation · CPC title