Water purification system and method
First Claim
1. A water purification system for purifying feed water from a feed water source to provide high-purity water, comprising:
- a reverse osmosis unit having a feed water inlet capable of receiving a flow of feed water, a permeate outlet providing a permeate stream, and a concentrate outlet providing a concentrate stream, said reverse osmosis unit operative for removing at least dissolved ions from the feed water to provide a permeate stream depleted of dissolved ions and a concentrate stream enriched in dissolved ions; and
a capacitive deionization module having an inlet coupled in fluid communication with said concentrate outlet of said reverse osmosis unit and an outlet coupled in fluid communication with said feed water inlet of said reverse osmosis unit, said deionization module operative for removing dissolved ions from the concentrate stream.
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Abstract
A water purification system and method for producing high-purity, laboratory-quality product water from feed water containing a concentration of dissolved ions and other contaminants. The water purification system includes a reverse osmosis unit and a capacitive deionization module positioned in a recirculation path coupling a concentrate outlet of the reverse osmosis unit in fluid communication with a feed water inlet of the reverse osmosis unit. The capacitive deionization unit removes dissolved ions from the concentrate stream, which is admixed with feed water provided to the feed water inlet of the reverse osmosis unit. A permeate outlet of the reverse osmosis unit outputs a stream of the high-purity product water to be, for example, stored in a storage tank.
61 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A water purification system for purifying feed water from a feed water source to provide high-purity water, comprising:
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a reverse osmosis unit having a feed water inlet capable of receiving a flow of feed water, a permeate outlet providing a permeate stream, and a concentrate outlet providing a concentrate stream, said reverse osmosis unit operative for removing at least dissolved ions from the feed water to provide a permeate stream depleted of dissolved ions and a concentrate stream enriched in dissolved ions; and
a capacitive deionization module having an inlet coupled in fluid communication with said concentrate outlet of said reverse osmosis unit and an outlet coupled in fluid communication with said feed water inlet of said reverse osmosis unit, said deionization module operative for removing dissolved ions from the concentrate stream. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A water purification system for purifying feed water from a feed water source to provide high-purity water, comprising:
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a reverse osmosis unit having a first inlet capable of receiving a flow of feed water, a permeate outlet providing a permeate stream, and a concentrate outlet providing a concentrate stream, said reverse osmosis unit operative for removing at least dissolved ions from the feed water to provide a permeate stream depleted of dissolved ions and a concentrate stream enriched in dissolved ions;
a first capacitive deionization module having an inlet coupled in fluid communication with said concentrate outlet of said reverse osmosis unit and an outlet selectively coupled in fluid communication with said inlet of said reverse osmosis unit, said first deionization module operative for removing dissolved ions from the concentrate stream; and
a second capacitive deionization module having an inlet coupled in fluid communication with said concentrate outlet of said reverse osmosis unit and an outlet selectively coupled in fluid communication with said inlet of said reverse osmosis unit, said second deionization module operative for removing dissolved ions from the concentrate stream, said outlet of said first capacitive deionization module and said outlet of said second capacitive deionization module coupled in fluid communication with said inlet of said reverse osmosis unit. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of purifying a stream of feed water, comprising:
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directing the stream of feed water to an inlet of a reverse osmosis unit to produce an output stream of permeate water depleted of dissolved ions and an output stream of concentrate water enriched in dissolved ions;
removing dissolved ions from the output stream of concentrate water with a capacitive deionization module; and
directing the output stream of concentrate water, after the dissolved ions are removed by the capacitive deionization unit, to the inlet of the reverse osmosis unit. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification