초록 ▼

Motor-pumping method and apparatus for recovery of energy from spent brine discharged from a reverse osmosis desalination system are disclosed. Energy of spent brine discharged from the reverse osmosis system is used to pump a portion of the fresh brine input to the system. The novel apparatus inclu

Motor-pumping method and apparatus for recovery of energy from spent brine discharged from a reverse osmosis desalination system are disclosed. Energy of spent brine discharged from the reverse osmosis system is used to pump a portion of the fresh brine input to the system. The novel apparatus includes a pair of closed cylinders having pistons reciprocable therein which are interconnected for simultaneous piston movement. First valve means movable between first and second conditions are provided for atternatively connecting a source of fresh brine to the reduced piston area side of one of said cylinders while connecting the reduced area piston side of the other cylinder to the inlet of the reverse osmosis canister included in the reverse osmosis system. Second valve means movable between first and second conditions are provided for atternatively connecting the spent brine outlet from the reverse osmosis system canister to the large piston area side of the other cylinder while venting spent brine from the large piston area side of the one cylinder. Because of the differential opposite surface areas of the motor-pump pistons, fresh brine is pumped from the cylinders at a pressure higher than the pressure of spent brine operating liquid supplied to the motor-pump means from the reverse osmosis system. The first and second valve means operate under control of the position of the pistons in the cylinders for reciprocal piston operation.

대표청구항 ▼

In a method of delivering fresh brine to a reverse osmosis device by use of main pump means and a plurality of interconnected motor-pump means using spent brine from the reverse osmosis device as motive fluid for said motor-pump means, each motor-pump means including a closed cylinder with a recipro

In a method of delivering fresh brine to a reverse osmosis device by use of main pump means and a plurality of interconnected motor-pump means using spent brine from the reverse osmosis device as motive fluid for said motor-pump means, each motor-pump means including a closed cylinder with a reciprocably movable piston therein separating the cylinder into motor and pump chambers, each piston having opposite faces of different effective area with the larger piston face being included in the motor chamber and the smaller face in the pump chamber for pressure amplification, said pistons being interconnected for simultaneous movement thereof, said method comprising sequentially supplying spent brine from the reverse osmosis device, through non-pressure-increasing means, to the motor chambers for piston movement from start to end positions while simultaneously sequentially pumping fresh brine from the associated pump chambers, through non-pressure-increasing means, to the inlet of the reverse osmosis device for supplying the reverse osmosis device with a first quantity of fresh brine for desalination, sequentially supplying fresh brine to the pump chambers while simultaneously sequentially dumping spent brine from the associated motor chambers during return piston movement from end to start positions, and through said main pump means, supplying the reverse osmosis device with a second quantity of fresh brine for desalination.