AU2011200734A1 - Desalinization unit - Google Patents

Abstract

DESALINIZATION UNIT Abstract A desalinization unit is designed to produce drinking water using sea water 5 through a process of inverse osmosis, and for its preferential installation mainly on boats/ships. The unit includes three separate modules, associated functionally between each other, one corresponding to a sea water intake pump (1), another corresponding to a silex sand filter (4), and a third as a main module for controlling the operation in the drinking water production process. A multiple cartridge filter (12) is provided in the third 10 module, through which the water from the silex sand filter (4) passes, before reaching a set of inverse osmosis modules (14) that lead to two outlets, one of brine, and another of drinking water which is collected in a storage tank (16), also including a tank (21) for chemical products or chlorine and dosifying and transfer pumps (22,23) to drive the chlorinated drinking water to the corresponding boat/ship filling network for which the is unit is used. - ' 22

Description

S&F Ref: 985420 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name and Address Quatripole Ingenieria, S.L., of Puerto de la Morcuera-13, of Applicant : 28919, Leganes, Madrid, Spain Actual Inventor(s): Luis Fernando Sanchez Mendez Address for Service: Spruson & Ferguson St Martins Tower Level 35 31 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 (CCN 3710000177) Invention Title: Desalinization unit The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 5845c(3365869_1) 1 DESALINIZATION UNIT DESCRIPTION INVENTION PURPOSE The invention described herein consists of a desalinization unit, the obvious 5 purpose of which is to create drinking water on the basis of sea water, through a direct process of inverse osmosis; the preferential use foreseen for the unit is the installment thereof mainly on board boats/ships. The purpose of the invention is to create a desalinization unit or unit which produces drinking water on the basis of sea water, occupying the minimum possible 10 amount of space in terms of volume and with a simple structure that is easy to install, as well as being reliable and effective in terms of its functionality. INVENTION PRECEDENTS Producing drinking water on the basis of sea water using inverse osmosis requires complex installations that occupy a large amount of space and require IS constant maintenance, which is complicated when one wishes to produce drinking water using sea water on boats/ships, for instance, the amount of space in which is not the most ideal for putting in place this type of installations. Moreover, on many occasions, direct processes by inverse osmosis require, in order to produce drinking water using sea water, prior heating of the water fed into the 2o system, be it directly or through heat exchangers, which entails a great deal of complexity in the system, as well as making it more expensive, etc. INVENTION DESCRIPTION The desalinization unit or unit to produce drinking water on the basis of sea water which constitutes the invention was designed to solve the problems described 25 above on the basis of a solution which is simple but no less effective due to that simplicity. More specifically, the unit which constitutes the invention includes three basic main modules; the first of them is an in-feed pump installed separately on a platform to which the sea water gains access. The second module is made up of a silex sand filter which is also mounted onto a separate platform and equipped with the proper electrical valves, which is reached by the water that comes from the in-feed pump inside of the first module. The third module, which is considered to be the main module, is a compact module that houses all of the means used to operate the system inside, including 3y valves, pumps, a drinking water tank, a tank for chemical products (chlorine, etc.); this module is accessed by the water which comes from the silex sand filter that forms part of the preceding module. In the module corresponding to the silex sand filter, the water originating from the in-feed pump is filtered, on the one hand resulting in brine, which is dumped back 2 into the sea, and on the other hand filtered water, which is then passed through a filter of many cartridges, from which, through a high-pressure pump, the water is sent on to a set of membrane modules or osmosis modules, in which the type of membrane used will preferably be one of aromatic polyamide, which is appropriate for working with 5 medium and low flow levels, as in the case at hand. Produced out of these modules are two different water outflow currents, one of them in the form of perfectly potable drinking water, which is logically sent to a fresh water or potable water tank, while the other is brine and is dumped into the sea. Moreover, included in the aforementioned main module is the previously ld mentioned tank of chemical products or chlorine, from which, through a dosifying pump, the product is sent, through a transfer pump, into the purified water tank. An electrical system or panel, through a programmable automaton, achieves the automatic control and monitoring of the entire system, without making it impossible to handle the unit manually in the event of failure in the computerized system. 17 DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS As a complement to the description which is provided below and in order to achieve a better understanding of the invention's characteristics, in accordance with a preferential example of the practical realization thereof, attached as an integral part of said description is a set of drawings in which the following has been represented as an 20 illustration, but in a manner which is in no way limiting: Figure 1.- Shows a representation from a general perspective of the different modules that make up the desalinization unit and constitute the invention as a whole. Figure 2.- Shows a representation from the perspective of the opposite and back face of the main module represented in the preceding figure and forming part of If the desalinization unit constituting the invention. Figures 3.- Shows the hydraulic scheme corresponding to the desalinization unit which constitutes the invention. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION As can be seen in the aforementioned drawings, the desalinization unit which 30 constitutes the invention is composed, first of all, of a low-pressure pump (1) which acts as the pump that feeds in the sea water and includes an in-feed of salt water (2), as well as an outlet (3), from which the water is driven by said in-feed pump (1) to a silex sand filter (4) mounted onto a platform (5) separate from the attachment base (6) of the in-feed pump itself (1). In other words, this silex sand filter (4) includes an in-feed (7), an electric valve (8), an outlet (9) for filtered water, and an outlet (10) of backwashed water. The unit also has a third main module on a platform (11) in a separate position, on which all of the components have been placed for the full treatment of the water originating from the silex sand filter (4). Included in said main module is, first of all, a filter with multiple cartridges (12) and then a high-pressure pump (13) which drives the water towards a set of inverse osmosis modules (14), which are located at the back portion of the module, from which 3 two different water output currents are produced; one of them is driven through the duct (15) to the corresponding tank (16) for storage of drinking water. The other outlet, through the duct (17), corresponds to of brine. Moreover, and as can be seen in Figure 3, foreseen in the silex sand filter (4) 5 has been a brine outlet (18), as well as a non-apt water outlet (19) for the water originating from the osmosis modules (14), and an inlet (20) for filling the boat/ship or site itself where the unit has been installed. One can also see in Figure 3 that there is a tank for chemical products or chlorine (21), a dosifying pump (22) for that product, and a transfer pump (23) leading 10 towards the drinking water storage tank itself. The unit described above has a system of operation under reduced conditions in which regulation is performed in accordance with pressure instead of flow, in such a way that this mode of operation makes it possible to work on the unit in the event that the membranes in the inverse osmosis modules (14) do not make it possible to achieve 15 the unit's nominal flow level, but they can continue to provide a flow of an acceptable quality. Upon surpassing the pressures pre-established by the operator, the unit will cease regulating through a valve (21) to achieve a specific flow level, shifting to regulating the achievement of a specific pressure level, and during the time in which 2 this occurs, a message will be displayed indicating this on the screen. This mode of operation is reset every time the unit stops, and if it is operating in the reduced mode and produces less than 50% of the nominal flow level, the unit will indicate that a change of membranes is urgently necessary, a message which is eliminated by resetting the entire unit. is The continual operation of the unit in this manner for an indefinite time, and when the tank (16) for storage of fresh water or drinking water is full to the maximum level, causes the dosifying (22) and transfer (23) pumps to be put into operation so as to drive the water to the boat's/ship's properly chlorinated tanks, with the process ending when the water is depleted to the minimum level. )0 In the event that the osmosis modules (14) have an output water production lower than the quality level initially pre-established, an electrical valve (25) has been foreseen which diverts the water to the outside so as not to contaminate the water in the tank (16). Last of all, it should be mentioned that the unit carries out self-washing of the I inverse osmosis modules (14) with the water stored in the tank (16), an operation which it performs automatically, for example every 12 hours of ongoing operation, so as to partially recover the loss of function in the membranes, while at the same time it performs a backwash of the silex sand filter (4) using sea water, in order to remove the clogging produced on the upper surface of the sand.

Claims (2)

1. 3. Desalinization unit, in accordance with the above claims, characterized 20 by the fact that it includes a programmable automation with the corresponding electrical panel for the automatic control and operation of the unit.
2. 4. Desalinization unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 25 Dated 21 February 2011 Quatripole Ingenieria, S.L. Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON & FERGUSON