Design of Fluid Manifolds in Electrodialysis Devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021001276-A1
Application number	US-201816624999-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 20, 2018
Priority date	Jun 21, 2017
Publication date	Jan 7, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electrochemical separation device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a cell stack including alternating depleting compartments and concentrating compartments disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, an inlet manifold configured to introduce a fluid to one of the depleting compartments or the concentrating compartments an outlet manifold, and one or more of a fluid flow director disposed within the inlet manifold and having a surface configured to alter a flow path of the fluid introduced into the inlet manifold and direct the fluid into the one of the depleting compartments or the concentrating compartments, and a second fluid flow director disposed within the outlet manifold and having a surface configured to alter a flow path of the fluid introduced into the outlet manifold via one of the depleting compartments or the concentrating compartments.

First claim

1 . An electrochemical separation device comprising:
a first electrode;
a second electrode;
a cell stack including alternating depleting compartments and concentrating compartments disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode;
an inlet manifold configured to introduce a fluid to one of the depleting compartments or the concentrating compartments;
an outlet manifold; and
one or more of:
a fluid flow director disposed within the inlet manifold and having a surface configured to alter a flow path of the fluid introduced into the inlet manifold and direct the fluid into the one of the depleting compartments or the concentrating compartments, and a second fluid flow director disposed within the outlet manifold and having a surface configured to alter a flow path of the fluid introduced into the outlet manifold via one of the depleting compartments or the concentrating compartments.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein a fluid flow path through the depleting compartments is perpendicular to a fluid flow path through the concentrating compartments.

3 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the fluid flow director is disposed within the inlet manifold and is arranged to at least partially block a bypass current through the inlet manifold.

4 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the fluid flow director defines a fluid flow path through the inlet manifold between different portions of the cell stack that has a cross-sectional area less than a cross-sectional area of the inlet manifold.

5 . The device of claim 4 , wherein the cell stack has an average current efficiency of at least 85%.

6 . The device of claim 4 , wherein the cell stack includes a plurality of sub-blocks and the fluid flow director includes a plurality of ramps arranged to direct the fluid into different respective ones of the plurality of sub-blocks.

7 . The device of claim 6 , wherein a gap of less than 1 mm is defined between edges of each of the ramps and the cell stack.

8 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the fluid flow director further includes a plurality of conduits fluidically isolated from one another.

9 . The device of claim 8 , wherein each of the plurality of conduits terminate at a respective one of the plurality of ramps.

10 . The device of claim 9 , wherein a sum of cross-sectional areas of the plurality of conduits is less than a cross-sectional area of the inlet manifold.

11 . The device of claim 10 , further comprising the second fluid flow director disposed within the outlet manifold, the second fluid flow director configured to at least partially block the bypass current through the outlet manifold.

12 . The device of claim 11 , further comprising:
a second cell stack defining alternating second depleting compartments and second concentrating compartments disposed between the cell stack and the second electrode; a second inlet manifold aligned with the outlet manifold and configured to introduce fluid from the outlet manifold to one of the second depleting compartments or the second concentrating compartments; a third fluid flow director disposed within the second inlet manifold and having a surface configured to alter a flow path of the fluid introduced into the second inlet manifold and direct the fluid into the one of the second depleting compartments or the second concentrating compartments; a second outlet manifold disposed on an opposite side of the second cell stack from the second inlet manifold; and a partition fluidically separating the inlet manifold from the second outlet manifold.

13 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the cell stack includes a plurality of sub-blocks and the fluid flow director includes a plurality of baffles arranged to isolate flow of the fluid into each of the plurality of sub-blocks from flow of the fluid into others of the plurality of sub-blocks.

14 . The device of claim 13 , wherein the fluid flow director further includes concentric fluid conduits.

15 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the fluid flow director includes a curved protrusion extending inwardly toward the cell stack from a wall of the inlet manifold.

16 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the fluid flow director reduces a cross-sectional area of the inlet manifold by a first amount at an end of the inlet manifold and by a second amount, greater than the first amount, at a mid-point along a length of the inlet manifold.

17 . The device of claim 16 , wherein the fluid flow director is configured to reduce fluid flow velocity through compartments in a central region of the cell stack.

18 . The device of claim 17 , further comprising the second fluid flow director disposed within the outlet manifold.

19 . The device of claim 18 , wherein the second fluid flow director has a cross-sectional area that decreases along a flow path through the outlet manifold.

20 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the second fluid flow director is configured to reduce a pressure drop of fluid through the device.

21 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a fluid inlet having a different cross-section from that of the inlet manifold and a fluidic adaptor disposed between the fluid inlet and the inlet manifold.

22 . The device of claim 21 , wherein the fluidic adaptor includes a conduit having a first section with an inward taper in which a width of the conduit decreases in a first axis and a second section with an outward taper in which a width of the conduit increases in a second axis, the first section and the second section being non-overlapping.

23 . The device of claim 22 , wherein the inward taper of the first section of the conduit is an elliptical taper.

24 - 34 . (canceled)

Assignees

• Evoqua Water Technnologies LLC
• Evoqua Water Tech Llc

Inventors

• Griffis Joshua
• Liang Li-Shiang
• Lane William
• Dukes Simon P
• Lim Kris Wy Loon

Classifications

• C02F1/4695

  electrodeionisation · CPC title

• B01D61/50

  Stacks of the plate-and-frame type · CPC title

• B01D61/423

  comprising multiple electrodialysis steps · CPC title

• B01D17/02 Primary

  Separation of non-miscible liquids · CPC title

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title