WO2025251104A1 - Nouveau dessalement robuste et durable d'eau de mer - Google Patents

Nouveau dessalement robuste et durable d'eau de mer

Info

Publication number
WO2025251104A1
WO2025251104A1 PCT/AU2025/050544 AU2025050544W WO2025251104A1 WO 2025251104 A1 WO2025251104 A1 WO 2025251104A1 AU 2025050544 W AU2025050544 W AU 2025050544W WO 2025251104 A1 WO2025251104 A1 WO 2025251104A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
sparging
seawater
bubbles
helium gas
water
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
PCT/AU2025/050544
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Richard Pashley
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
HydRIC Desalination Pty Ltd
Original Assignee
HydRIC Desalination Pty Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from AU2024901688A external-priority patent/AU2024901688A0/en
Application filed by HydRIC Desalination Pty Ltd filed Critical HydRIC Desalination Pty Ltd
Publication of WO2025251104A1 publication Critical patent/WO2025251104A1/fr
Pending legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01D—SEPARATION
    • B01D1/00—Evaporating
    • B01D1/14—Evaporating with heated gases or vapours or liquids in contact with the liquid
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01D—SEPARATION
    • B01D5/00—Condensation of vapours; Recovering volatile solvents by condensation
    • B01D5/0057—Condensation of vapours; Recovering volatile solvents by condensation in combination with other processes
    • B01D5/006—Condensation of vapours; Recovering volatile solvents by condensation in combination with other processes with evaporation or distillation
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F1/00—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
    • C02F1/02—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating
    • C02F1/04—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating by distillation or evaporation
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F1/00—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
    • C02F1/20—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by degassing, i.e. liberation of dissolved gases
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F2101/00—Nature of the contaminant
    • C02F2101/30—Organic compounds
    • C02F2101/305—Endocrine disruptive agents
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F2101/00—Nature of the contaminant
    • C02F2101/30—Organic compounds
    • C02F2101/34—Organic compounds containing oxygen
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F2101/00—Nature of the contaminant
    • C02F2101/30—Organic compounds
    • C02F2101/36—Organic compounds containing halogen
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F2103/00—Nature of the water, waste water, sewage or sludge to be treated
    • C02F2103/08—Seawater, e.g. for desalination
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A—TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A20/00—Water conservation; Efficient water supply; Efficient water use
    • Y02A20/124—Water desalination

Definitions

  • SWRO seawater reverse osmosis
  • MSF multi-stage flash
  • the MSF process also requires expensive equipment and sophisticated control systems because of the use of large volumes of superheated seawater and large-scale vacuum sy stems to cause flash boiling of the heated seawater.
  • the system also has to deal with scaling of the heating surfaces and requires access to cheap thermal energy and so MSF plants are normally constructed close to electric power stations which produce large amounts of waste heat.
  • WO 2009/103112 describes a method for desalinating water by passing gas bubbles through an aqueous saline solution, extracting water vapour from the aqueous saline solution into the gas bubbles, recovering the water vapour from the gas bubbles and condensing the recovered water vapour thereby desalinating the water.
  • the process disclosed therein has several disadvantages. The present invention aims to overcome those disadvantages and discloses a significantly improved process.
  • the significantly improved process disclosed in the present invention uses helium gas instead of air used in the prior art for desalination of seawater.
  • the present invention has identified that heated helium gas can assist liquid water to transfer into the vapour phase, well below 7 the boiling point, hence increasing the potential for using helium as a carrier gas for enhanced water vapour collection.
  • the use of helium gas instead of air provides significant advantages over the prior art disclosed in WO 2009/103112 and the process disclosed in the present invention is comparable or better than the production rate achievable using multistage flash distillation processes.
  • the present invention uses a hollow fibre sparging system for generating bubbles throughout the column eliminating the need for using sinter.
  • the prior art process is limited to a low column solution restricting the effective operating chamber height to less than 30 cm. This means, the process scale up is much more difficult requiring multi-level, cross-flow systems, requiring large surface area sinters for process scale up.
  • the use of hollow fibres to sparge helium gas in accordance with the present invention makes it suitable for use on tall columns.
  • the method was based on using hot inlet gases to continuously transfer heat to the column solution .
  • thi s has a practical limit due to the high enthalpy of vaporization of water of about 45 C.
  • direct heating of the column solution is used to raise the operating temperature to 80 C, which in combination with the enhanced vapour collection of helium gas, should produce much higher water vapour densities close to those achieved by boiling.
  • the vapour pressure of water depends almost entirely on the temperature of the solution, as shown in Figure 1. Hence, collecting water vapour from a solution heated to, say, 80 C is similar to that collected via boiling, at the same temperature but under a reduced pressure. Subboiling systems are much easier to control and do not create scaling deposits.
  • the helium gas used in the present invention can be recycled after condensation of the collected water vapour.
  • helium gas in accordance with the present invention makes it ideal for this role because it has a significantly lower heat capacity than air, which assists in reducing heating costs and makes it easier for condensation cooling. It also produces smaller bubbles naturally in seawater and it has been found to have a higher water vapour collection capacity. Helium also has a significantly lower water solubility than air. Additionally, helium gas has a much better effect on breaking up water-water bonds surrounding bubbles which assi st in evaporation of water. It is estimated that helium gas is at least three times more effective in breaking up water-water bonds surrounding bubbles. Use of helium as a carrier gas has the added advantage of producing finer seawater bubbles. In addition, because helium has a low solubility in water, a low vacuum pressure is sufficient to the condense product water to produce de-gassed ‘pure’ water.
  • a sub-boiling, helium or helium/air gas sparging system is used to efficiently and continuously remove water vapour from seawater heated to about 80 C, via a combination of hot inlet sparging gases and direct heat exchange.
  • the inlet sparging gases are heated to, say, between 80 to 150 C and this heat is assisted by direct heating of the solution, through heat exchange pipes filled with either hot water or heated air.
  • the heated sparging helium gases are released throughout the sparging column using an array of freely moving porous hollow-fibres, attached to the base of the sparging column, where they are fixed into a resin, with the gases entering the hollow tubes continuously at the base of the column.
  • This sparging column will efficiently collect water vapour at densities close to that achieved by normal boiling but in a much more controlled, sub-boiling process. This is achieved, in part, because the salt in seawater inhibits the coalescence of bubbles and so maintains relatively small bubble sizes (roughly in the range 1 - 3 mm in diameter), compared with water.
  • the water vapour laden exit gas is then cooled in a condenser to remove the liquid water, desalinated product, and the helium or helium/air gas mixture is re-heated and supplied to the base of the sparging unit, in a continuous recycling process.
  • the seawater can be concentrated as high as 5-6 M, if required, before discharging the concentrate.
  • SWRO discharges the concentrate at only I M.
  • the porous hollow fibres can be replaced with an array of fine, non-porous hollow fibres, of different lengths designed to release bubbles throughout the sparging unit, at the end of each fibre.
  • these sparging units could also be used to sterilize contaminated water by passing hot gases, such as air, CO2 or mixtures, through the fibres, without significantly raising the temperature of the sparging solution, as well as remove other contaminants, such as ethanol and PF AS compounds.
  • hot gases such as air, CO2 or mixtures
  • the carrier gas helium can be recycled following water vapour condensation via cooling and use seawater feed/heat exchange to cool output gas to recycle thermal energy.
  • the ability to maintain higher bubble column operating temperatures in accordance with the present invention enables substantial increase in water collection, while maintaining a subboiling process.
  • Use of helium gas makes it possible to achieve greater than 80 % water vapour content at higher column solution temperature.
  • helium/air mixture containing 50 - 100 % helium and recycle the gas mixture after condensing the water vapour.
  • this process can be used for sterilising contaminated water, through use of hollow fibres and added amino acid to prevent bubble coalescence.
  • the sparging units of the present invention can be used to remove ethanol from water mixtures and removing PFAS compounds from contaminated water.
  • the fibres could be made from glass, polysulfone, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) or cellulose acetate (CA).
  • the internal tube could have a diameter of between 0.2 mm to 2 mm, with wall thicknesses up to 0.4 mm, and the pores could be in the range of 40 - 100 microns. Since it has been established that seawater inhibits the coalescence of gas bubbles and so helps maintain bubbles in the optimum size range (of 1 - 3 mm diameter), it has been found that, pores of this size produce bubbles in this size range.
  • hollow fibres in accordance with the present invention is another significant improvement over the prior art. It should be noted that, a single hollow fibre of internal radius of 1 mm can transfer about 2500 times more gas volume (released in the form of bubbles) than can one 20 Jim pore in a sinter. A 3 mm diameter gas bubble leaving a 40 micron diameter pore in a flat sinter occupies a cross sectional area of 0.07 square centimetres. A porous hollow fibre of I m length has more than 1000 porous channels in its wall through which bubbles are released but occupies the same cross-sectional area as a single active pore in a flat sinter. Hence, only one porous hollow fibre is required to cover a horizontal area of about 70 square centimetres or one fibre in a circle of radius about 5 cm.
  • the fibres can be fixed at one end into a resin at the base of the sparging column, as illustrated in the schematic diagram in Figure 2, and would be free to move in the column, whilst being made buoyant by the helium or helium/air inside the fibres, which is flowing continuously through their hollow cores.
  • Each of the fibres would be sealed at their top to force the carrier gas to exit via the porous walls of the hollow fibres. It may be necessary to vary' the pore size along the hollow fibres to ensure that there is a uniform release of the carrier gases along the length of the fibres. This may well be needed, especially, for high columns of say 5 m or more in height.
  • the hollow fibres are spaced in such a way as to give a high density of gas bubbles throughout the column, for a given inlet gas pressure.
  • the inlet gas pressure can be increased as the column height is increased to maintain bubble production rate.
  • Both configurations can be used to efficiently collect water vapour continuously from the heated (to about 80 C) seawater, which would flow continuously into the sparge column, as shown in Figure 2.
  • the outlet gases containing a high density of water vapour wouki then be cooled in a condenser and the desalinated liquid water product collected. It may be useful to use the seawater feed to assist in this cooling/condensation process.
  • the helium or helium/air mixture (containing between 50 and 100 % helium) would then be heated to, say, between 80 to 150 C, and then passed into the open tubes at the base of the sparging unit.
  • the method and the apparatus disclosed in the present invention is different to the prior art method in another aspect.
  • the prior art method was limited only to hot gas inlet heating, which due to the high enthalpy of water vaporization limits the effective operating temperature to about 40-45 C, resulting in a much lower water vapour density (see Figure 1).
  • the present invention uses external heating coils, as shown in Figure 2, which assist in maintaining the temperature in the sparging column at about 80 C. This feature in combination with the enhanced vapour collection of helium gas, produces much higher water vapour densities close to those achieved by boiling.
  • a continuous flow process can be used in which the contaminated water flows into the top of the sparge unit and the sterilized water is taken from near the bottom of the unit. This process could also be used to sterilise sewage wastewater.
  • the described sparging processes could also be used to remove ethanol from water, via absorption into the bubbles produced throughout the sparging unit.
  • Heated inlet air in the temperature range of, say, greater than 50 C and less than 150 C, in combination with suitable levels of added L-tyrosine, could be used to remove ethanol vapour via collection into the continuous flow of fine bubbles.
  • These sparging units could also be used to adsorb PFAS contaminants onto the surface of the bubbles, to be removed at the top of a sparging unit in a foam.
  • the efficiency of this process could also be improved by the addition of L-tyrosine, to reduce bubble size, and suitable environmentally acceptable co-surfactants, such as Na+ octanoy 1 cysteine, to enhance PFAS collection.

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Hydrology & Water Resources (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Separation Using Semi-Permeable Membranes (AREA)
  • Heat Treatment Of Water, Waste Water Or Sewage (AREA)

Abstract

Comme le monde comment à être à court d'eau potable de qualité, le dessalement de l'eau de mer est devenu de plus en plus important. Les processus commerciaux les plus courants de dessalement de l'eau de mer, d'osmose inverse (SWRO) et de distillation flash à étages multiples (MSF), sont tous deux techniquement difficiles et coûteux, tant en termes d'équipement que de demande d'énergie. Afin de résoudre ce problème, un nouveau procédé de barbotage, et relativement simple, de sous-ébullition est proposé, qui utilise un flux continu de gaz hélium pour éliminer la vapeur d'eau de l'eau de mer, de telle sorte que l'eau dessalée peut être condensée et collectée et le gaz de barbotage, l'hélium, est recyclé. Des conditions de séparation optimales sont obtenues par chauffage direct continu de l'eau de mer, pendant le barbotage, pour maintenir une température de fonctionnement d'environ 80°C. Ce procédé de barbotage pourrait également être utilisé pour stériliser les eaux usées contaminées.
PCT/AU2025/050544 2024-06-05 2025-05-27 Nouveau dessalement robuste et durable d'eau de mer Pending WO2025251104A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2024901688A AU2024901688A0 (en) 2024-06-05 Novel, robust and sustainable desalination of seawater
AU2024901688 2024-06-05

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2025251104A1 true WO2025251104A1 (fr) 2025-12-11

Family

ID=97959851

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/AU2025/050544 Pending WO2025251104A1 (fr) 2024-06-05 2025-05-27 Nouveau dessalement robuste et durable d'eau de mer

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2025251104A1 (fr)

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20160339354A1 (en) * 2015-05-21 2016-11-24 Gradiant Corporation Transiently-operated desalination systems and associated methods
US20170008776A1 (en) * 2014-01-24 2017-01-12 Starklab Facility and method for treating water pumped in a natural environment by evaporation/condensation
US20190329152A1 (en) * 2015-05-21 2019-10-31 Gradiant Corporation Humidification-dehumidification desalination systems and methods
US20210260531A1 (en) * 2020-02-24 2021-08-26 King Fahd University Of Petroleum And Minerals Bubble feed membrane distillation system
US20230183095A1 (en) * 2019-02-18 2023-06-15 Newsouth Innovations Pty Limited Method of acylating amino acids and uses of n-acyl amino acid products

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20170008776A1 (en) * 2014-01-24 2017-01-12 Starklab Facility and method for treating water pumped in a natural environment by evaporation/condensation
US20160339354A1 (en) * 2015-05-21 2016-11-24 Gradiant Corporation Transiently-operated desalination systems and associated methods
US20190329152A1 (en) * 2015-05-21 2019-10-31 Gradiant Corporation Humidification-dehumidification desalination systems and methods
US20230183095A1 (en) * 2019-02-18 2023-06-15 Newsouth Innovations Pty Limited Method of acylating amino acids and uses of n-acyl amino acid products
US20210260531A1 (en) * 2020-02-24 2021-08-26 King Fahd University Of Petroleum And Minerals Bubble feed membrane distillation system

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