US 12,344,538 B2
High salinity water purification processes and systems utilizing pervaporization
Ravindra Revanur, Fremont, CA (US); and Stephen M. Mosher, Chandler, AZ (US)
Filed by Ravindra Revanur, Fremont, CA (US); and Stephen M. Mosher, Chandler, AZ (US)
Filed on Feb. 27, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/114,927.
Application 18/114,927 is a continuation in part of application No. 16/938,055, filed on Jul. 24, 2020, granted, now 11,591,245.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/878,219, filed on Jul. 24, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0271855 A1, Aug. 31, 2023
Int. Cl. C02F 1/44 (2023.01); C02F 103/08 (2006.01)
CPC C02F 1/448 (2013.01) [C02F 2103/08 (2013.01); C02F 2305/00 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A high salinity water purification process for processing high salinity influent fluid containing liquid impurities to obtain purified water, comprising:
passing a stream of the influent fluid in an input along a first side of a forward osmosis (FO) membrane and delivering an output stream from an output port, the influent fluid having moderate levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) in the range of 30,000 to 150,000 ppm;
passing a stream of a concentrated salt brine draw from an input along a second side of the forward osmosis membrane, the concentrated brine having high levels of TDS in the range of 250,000 to 500,000 ppm;
the concentrated brine drawing pure water through the FO membrane from the influent fluid, concentrating the level of TDS in the output stream and diluting the concentrated brine draw to produce a diluted brine draw;
introducing a pervaporation (PV) solvent into the diluted brine draw to form a diluted brine draw containing the PV solvent;
passing the diluted brine draw containing the PV solvent into a solids membrane separation system to remove any solids from the diluted brine draw containing PV solvent, and to provide a solids-free diluted brine draw with PV solvent output free of solids;
passing the solids-free diluted brine draw with PV solvent to an input PV chamber of a PV membrane system comprising the input PV chamber and a PV membrane separating the input chamber from another PV chamber;
applying a vacuum to the another PV chamber, drawing the PV solvent and liquid impurities through the PV membrane into the another PV chamber as a PV vapor, leaving the solids-free diluted brine draw in the input PV chamber;
pumping the diluted brine draw with no PV solvent into a high salinity reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration system to obtain purified water on the output of the RO or nanofiltration membrane and an RO stream of concentrated brine draw which did not pass through the membrane.