Glegg Water Conditioning, Inc.

E-cell Corporation

Other

Asahi Glass Company, Limited

Ashai Glass Company, Limited

David Florian Tessier

Ian Glenn Towe

Mark Philip Huehnergard

Hiroshi Toda

Ichiro Terada

Kazuo Umemura

Tohru Hoshi

Junjiro Iwamoto

Ken Komatsu

John H Barber

Robert Glegg

Joseph Denis Toupin

Steve Siverns

Tom Kosir

An apparatus for producing deionized water, comprising an electrodialyzer having cation exchange membranes and anion exchange membranes alternately arranged to form demineralizing compartments and concentrating compartments and having ion exchangers accommodated in the demineralizing compartments, and designed to conduct an electric current while supplying water to be treated to the demineralizing compartments, wherein a spacer is arranged in each concentrating compartment to maintain the thickness of the concentrating compartment, and the cation exchange membranes or the anion exchange membranes are incorporated in their dry state in the electrodialyzer, whereby water is supplied to the electrodialyzer, while each ion exchange membrane is brought in contact with the spacer by a pressure from the demineralizing compartment side.

Apparatus for producing deionized water

An apparatus for producing deionized water consisting essentially of an electrodialyzer having cation exchange membranes and anion exchange membranes alternately arranged between a cathode and an anode to form demineralizing compartments and concentrating compartments, and ion exchangers accommodated in the demineralizing compartments, wherein a pressure of from 0.1 to 20 kg/cm,is exerted between the ion exchangers accommodated in the demineralizing compartments and the cation exchange membranes and anion exchange membranes defining the demineralizing compartments.

Method and apparatus for producing deionized water

The invention provides a method and apparatus for electrodeionizing water, whereby the water to be purified is passed through diluting compartments in an electrodeionization unit having an anode compartment at one end of the unit and a cathode compartment at the other end of the unit, and a plurality of diluting compartments alternating with concentrating compartments defined by anion and cation exchange membranes. Each of the diluting compartments contains ion exchange material. Importantly, the ion exchange material comprises at least one mixed bed phase of anion exchange material and cation exchange material and at least one single phase, adjacent to the mixed bed phase, of anion exchange material or cation exchange material, or anion exchange and cation exchange material.

Method and apparatus for electrodeionization of water using mixed bed and single phase ion exchange materials in the diluting compartment

A modular sysTem for the demineralization of aqueous liquids comprising a plurality of modular units, each of the modular units being encapsulated and having a cathode proximate a first end of the modular unit and an anode proximate the opposite end of said modular, a plurality of alternating diluting compartments and concentrating compartments positioned between the cathode and the anode, and ion exchange material positioned within the diluting compartments. Each of the diluting compartments has a compartment spacer with an elongated central cavity and a plurality of fine slit openings at each end adjacent the cavity. The ion exchange means comprise a porous and permeable continuous phase of cation or anion exchange resin particles and a porous and permeable dispersed phase of clusters of the other of the cation or anion exchange resin particles. Releasable connecting means are provided to interconnect the modular units in the system to allow for facile substitution of modular units for servicing and to permit modification of flow capacity requirements by increasing or decreasing the total number of modular units in the system.

Modular apparatus for the demineralization of liquids

Electrodeionization apparatus having geometric arrangement of ion

A method and apparatus is provided for inhibiting scaling in an electrodeionization system and, more particularly, for increasing tolerance to hardness in the feed water to an electrodeionization unit by inhibiting precipitation of scale-forming metallic cations contained in the feed water and thereby increasing efficiencies of the electrodeionization system. Water to be purified is passed through an electrodeionization unit in which the flow in the diluting compartment is countercurrent to the flow in the concentrating compartment. This is to impede the migration of scale-forming metallic cations from the diluting compartment, through the cation exchange membrane, into the concentrating compartment and towards the concentrating compartment side of the anion exchange membrane, thereby preventing scale formation on the anion exchange membrane. The electrodeionization unit may be further modified by dividing the concentrating compartments into first and second compartments by a porous diaphragm or ion-conducting membrane. The porous diaphragm or ion-conducting membrane effectively eliminates convective transport of scale-forming metallic cations from the cation exchange membrane side of the concentrating compartment to the anion exchange membrane side of the concentrating compartment, thereby inhibiting scale formation on the anion exchange membrane.

Method and apparatus for preventing scaling in electrodeionization units

A method and apparatus for inhibiting scaling in an electrodeionization system or in a combined reverse osmosis/electrodeionization system for water treatment and, more particularly, for increasing tolerance to hardness in the feed water to an electrodeionization unit to inhibit precipitation of metal cations contained in the feed water and for increasing efficiency of the electrodeionization system. Water to be purified is passed through a electrodeionization unit in which a concentrate stream recycling through concentrating compartments and anode and cathode compartments contains effective amounts of an antiscalant to inhibit precipitation of scale. One or more preliminary reverse osmosis units in series with the electrodeionization unit preferably receives a portion of the antiscalants in the concentrate stream. The antiscalant in the water fed to the reverse osmosis unit can be supplemented and adjusted. Electrolyte can be provided to the concentrate stream of the electrodeionization unit from products of the reverse osmosis.

Method and apparatus for reducing scaling in electrodeionization systems

A method for producing deionized water by self-regenerating type electrodialysis deionization, which comprises (i) using a deionized water-producing apparatus containing an electrodialyzer comprising cation exchange membranes and anion exchange membranes alternately arranged between an anode compartment provided with an anode and a cathode compartment provided with a cathode, demineralizing compartments compartmentalized with anion exchange membranes on the anode side and compartmentalized with cation exchange membranes on the cathode side, and concentrating compartments compartmentalized with cation exchange membranes on the anode side and compartmentalized with anion exchange membranes on the cathode side, the electrodialyzer having ion exchangers accommodated in the demineralizing compartments, and (ii) applying a voltage while supplying water to be treated to the demineralizing compartments to remove impurity ions in the water to be treated, wherein at least a part of the untreated water or already treated water is withdrawn to be added to a concentrating water for recycle, a flow amount of untreated water to be introduced into the demineralizing compartments being from 2 to 5.5 to a flow amount of a concentrating water to be introduced into the concentrating compartments, a linear velocity of untreated water in the demineralizing compartments being from 0.5 to 7.0 cm/sec, and a linear velocity of a concentrating water in the concentrating compartments being from 1.2 to 20 times to the linear velocity in the demineralizing compartments.

Method for producing deionized water

A method of manufacturing an apparatus for the electrodeionization of a fluid includes determining the flow rate of the fluid to be deionized, its initial concentration of ionic impurities, a desired post-processing concentration of ionic impurities and appropriately selecting the number of diluting compartments for use in the apparatus and the electrical current to be applied between the anode and cathode in the apparatus and manufacturing the apparatus accordingly. A method of operating an apparatus for electrodeionization of a fluid includes monitoring the concentration of ionic impurities of the fluid to be deionized, monitoring the concentration of ionic impurities of the fluid which has been processed by the apparatus, determining the flow rate of the fluid to be deionized and altering the electrical current applied between the anode and cathode to maintain a predefined relationship between the drop in the concentration of ionic impurities of the fluid through the apparatus and the electrical current and the flow rate within a selected range of values. A novel electrodeionization apparatus includes an electrodeionization core, means for determining the concentration of the ionic impurities of fluid to be processed within the apparatus, a means for determining the concentration of the ionic impurities conductivity of fluid which has been processed within the apparatus, a measuring device to determine the flow rate of fluid processed by the apparatus, a current sensing device to measure the electrical current applied to the anode and cathode and a control device to process these values and to alter the electrical current applied to the anode and cathode of the apparatus to maintain a predefined ratio between the measured values within a selected range of values.

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Guelph, Canada

David Florian Tessier