Sylvan Source, Inc.

Sri International

Eugene Thiers

Douglas Michael Thom

Richard J Deep

Angel Sanjurjo

Gopala N Krishnan

Kai-Hung Lau

Esperanza Alvarez

Don L Hildenbrand

Brian Bayley

Gary Lum

This invention relates to the field of water purification and desalination. In particular, embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods of removing essentially all of a broad spectrum of impurities from water in an automated industrial process that requires minimal cleaning or maintenance during the course of several months to several years, with relatively high yields of product water per unit of input water, flexibility with respect to energy sources, compact design with a low industrial foot-print, the ability to recover valuable by-products, and ultra-low energy requirements.

Industrial water purification and desalination

Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for water purification and desalination. The systems have a preheater, a degasser, multiple evaporation chambers with demisters, heat pipes, and a control system, wherein the control system permits continuous operation of the purification and desalination system without requiring user intervention or cleaning. The system is capable of recovering heat from each distillation stage, while removing, from a contaminated water sample, a plurality of contaminant types including: microbiological contaminants, radiological contaminants, metals, salts, volatile organics, and non-volatile organics.

Large-scale water purification and desalination

Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for water purification and desalination. The systems have a preheater, a degasser, multiple evaporation chambers with demisters, heat pipes, and a control system, wherein the control system permits continuous operation of the purification and desalination system without requiring user intervention or cleaning. The systems are capable of recovering hear from each distillation stage, while removing, from a contaminated water sample, a plurality of contaminants including: microbiological contaminants, radiological contaminants, metals, salts, and organics.

Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for water purification. Embodiments can generally be applied to demister cyclones (). Some embodiments allow for more of the pressure change which occurs in demister cyclones to occur in the separating chamber () of the demister cyclone. Some embodiments include a demister cyclone having an internal perforated wall (). Some embodiments include a groove () or a baffle () on the underside of a boiler cover.

Contaminant prevention

Devices and methods for water purification are provided. An improved demister () for removing liquid or other particles from steam is disclosed. The demister can have adjustable outlets. In other embodiments, a demister apparatus is placed, at least partially, inside a boiler apparatus (). Additionally, a filter flow indicator () that provides an optical indication of the efficiency of a water filter is also provided. The filter flow indicator has a viewable side passage that connects the input and output sides of a filter unit. A weighted object, such as a ball (), can move up and down the side passage in response to the pressure differential in the filter system. The user can determine the status of the filter by viewing the location of the weighted object in the side passage. Additionally, a device and method of adding various minerals back to purified water in order to improve the flavor of the water is described. The device and method involve the use of a ground mineral mixture, typically chosen from minerals () that are common in natural springs. Pure water that runs through the mineral filter apparatus can take up some of the minerals, thus creating water that, although free from unhealthy contaminants, tastes like natural spring water.

Water purification system

Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for water purification. The systems have a preheater, a degasser, an evaporation chamber, a demister, and a control system, wherein the control system permits operation of the purification system through repeated cycles without requiring user intervention or cleaning. The system is capable of removing, from a contaminated water sample, a plurality of contaminant types including: microbiological contaminants, radiological contaminants, metals, salts, volatile organics, and non-volatile organics.

The present invention is generally directed towards a method for producing a solid metallic composition by reacting a gaseous metal halide with a reducing agent are described. In one embodiment, the method includes reacting a gaseous metal halide with a reducing agent in a manner effective to form a nonsolid reaction product, wherein the metal halide has the formula MX, in which M is a metal selected from a transition metal of the periodic table, aluminum, silicon, boron, and combinations thereof, X is a halogen, i is greater than 0, and the reducing agent is a gaseous reducing agent selected from hydrogen and a compound that releases hydrogen, and combinations thereof; and solidifying the reaction product, thereby forming a metallic composition comprising M that is substantially free from halides. The invention may be used to produce high-purity metallic compositions, particularly titanium particles and alloys thereof for use in powder metallurgy applications.

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San Mateo, CA, United States of America

Eugene Thiers