US 12,343,677 B2
Water recovery from heated gas mixtures
David M. Rue, Chicago, IL (US); John C. Wagner, LaGrange, IL (US); and Sandeep Alavandi, Schaumburg, IL (US)
Assigned to UTILIZATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, NFP, Des Plaines, IL (US)
Filed by UTILIZATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, NFP, Des Plaines, IL (US)
Filed on Aug. 18, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/890,649.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/294,234, filed on Dec. 28, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/235,300, filed on Aug. 20, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0055251 A1, Feb. 23, 2023
Int. Cl. F28B 1/02 (2006.01); B01D 53/26 (2006.01); F28B 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC B01D 53/265 (2013.01) [F28B 1/02 (2013.01); F28B 7/00 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of recovering water from a heated gas mixture, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a first heat pipe heat exchanger unit and a second heat pipe heat exchanger unit, each including a plurality of rows of individually sealed heat pipes, each of the individually sealed heat pipes having an outer surface and interior chamber filled with a fluid, and the outer surface having a first section separated from a second section by a divider wall between chambers of the first or second heat pipe heat exchanger unit;
passing a heated process gas across first sections of the individually sealed heat pipes in the first heat pipe heat exchanger unit to form a cooled process gas;
passing a first cooling gas across second sections of the individually sealed heat pipes of the first heat pipe heat exchanger unit, wherein heat from the heated process gas is transferred to the first cooling gas via the first heat pipe heat exchanger unit, and wherein the heated process gas and the first cooling gas are separated by the divider wall in the first heat pipe heat exchanger unit;
collecting condensed water from each of the first sections of the individually sealed heat pipes in the first heat pipe heat exchanger unit;
passing the cooled process gas across first sections of the individually sealed heat pipes of the second heat pipe heat exchanger unit to form a cooled stream;
collecting additional condensed water from each of the first sections of the individually sealed heat pipes in the second heat pipe heat exchanger unit;
passing a second cooling gas across second sections of the individually sealed heat pipes of the second heat pipe heat exchanger unit, wherein additional heat from the cooled process gas is transferred to the second cooling gas via the second heat pipe heat exchanger unit, and wherein the cooled process gas and the second cooling gas are separated by the divider wall in the second heat pipe heat exchanger unit, wherein each of the first and second cooling gas is ambient air;
delivering the first and second cooling gases at different and/or varying flow rates as a function of a temperature of the ambient air to optimize differential temperatures and to minimize power requirements per unit volume of recovered water;
passing the cooled stream to a carbon dioxide recovery or conversion process, wherein the cooled stream includes less water vapor then the heated process gas to promote process efficiency; and
delivering at least the first cooler gas, after passing through the first heat pipe heat exchanger unit, to a combustion system as preheated air to reduce fuel consumption in a combustion process.