US-12623924-B2 - Desalination and/or purification device, desalination and/or purification carbon membrane, and method of desalinating and/or purifying a liquid

US12623924B2US 12623924 B2US12623924 B2US 12623924B2US-12623924-B2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a desalination and/or purification device, a desalination and/or purification carbon membrane, and a method of desalinating and/or purifying a liquid by using such a desalination and/or purification device. In various illustrative embodiments, a desalination and/or purification device is provided, the desalination and/or purification device comprising a carbon membrane body comprising a carbon surface, and a structure of microchannels and/or nanochannels at least partially permeating the carbon membrane body and ending at openings at the carbon surface, a liquid transportation structure extending at least partially through the carbon membrane body without being exposed at the carbon surface, and a condenser arranged above the carbon membrane body. The liquid transportation structure is arranged and configured to supply the structure of microchannels and/or nanochannels of the carbon membrane body with a liquid to be desalinated and/or purified and the structure of microchannels and/or nanochannels of the carbon membrane body may be an at least two-level disordered network of channels.

Inventors

Aluizio M. Cruz
Andrea Fratalocchi
Marcella BONIFAZI
Valerio Mazzone
Christof Aegerter

Assignees

PERA COMPLEXITY, B.V.
KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Universität Zürich

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20211217
Priority Date: 20201217

Claims (20)

1 . A desalination and/or purification device, comprising: a carbon membrane body including: a carbon surface, a structure of microchannels and/or nanochannels at least partially permeating the carbon membrane body and ending at openings at the carbon surface, and a liquid transportation structure extending at least partially through the carbon membrane body without being exposed at the carbon surface, the liquid transportation structure including a hydrophilic wick element received in a blind bore that opens at an internal surface of the carbon membrane body and terminates upstream of the carbon surface, the liquid transportation structure being arranged and configured to supply the structure of microchannels and/or nanochannels of the carbon membrane body with a liquid to be desalinated and/or purified; and a condenser arranged above the carbon membrane body, wherein the structure of microchannels and/or nanochannels of the carbon membrane body is an at least two-level disordered network of channels.
2 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 1 , wherein the carbon membrane body is at least partially formed of carbon and/or wherein the desalination and/or purification device is configured to float on the liquid to be desalinated and/or purified.
3 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 1 , wherein the carbon membrane body is formed of compressed charcoal powder or made of compressed coal powder or of a compressed carbonized material.
4 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 1 , wherein the liquid transportation structure further comprises at least one additional capillary element configured to draw liquid from a reservoir or a source of liquid providing the liquid to be purified to the carbon membrane body by capillary forces.
5 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 4 , wherein the at least one additional capillary element comprises a wick element.
6 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 4 , wherein the at least one additional capillary element is partially encapsulated at one end by the carbon membrane body, the at least one additional capillary element being in communication with the structure of microchannels and/or nanochannels.
7 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 4 , wherein the liquid transport structure comprises a plurality of capillary elements which extend in at least one plane which is substantially parallel to the carbon surface of the carbon membrane body within the carbon membrane body.
8 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 1 , further comprising a Peltier element thermally coupled at one node with the carbon membrane body.
9 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 1 , further comprising a thermal insulator arranged between the carbon membrane body and the liquid to be desalinated and/or purified.
10 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 9 , wherein the thermal insulator has at least one opening formed therein, the liquid transportation structure being guided through the at least one opening from in the thermal insulator from the carbon membrane body to the liquid to be desalinated and/or purified.
11 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 1 , wherein the carbon membrane body is an at least two-level disordered network of channels, wherein the carbon membrane body has at least one hole formed therein at least partially extending through the carbon membrane body, at least one hole not being formed in the carbon surface.
12 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 1 , further comprising a thermal insulation layer interposed between the carbon membrane body and the liquid to be desalinated and/or purified.
13 . The desalination and/or purification device of claim 1 , wherein the at least two-level disordered network of channels includes a first level having a first mean radius and a second level having a second mean radius greater than the first mean radius, and wherein each level of nanochannels is randomly oriented without a common longitudinal axis.
14 . A method of desalinating and/or purifying a liquid by using the desalination and/or purification device of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises: providing the liquid to be purified; bringing the liquid transportation structure into communication with the liquid to be purified; exposing the carbon surface of the carbon membrane body to radiation energy; and collecting condensate generated by the condenser in a condensate collector.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the carbon membrane body is formed of compressed charcoal powder or made of compressed coal powder or of a compressed carbonized material.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the desalination and/or purification device further includes a thermal insulation layer interposed between the carbon membrane body and the liquid to be desalinated and/or purified.
17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the at least two-level disordered network of channels includes a first level having a first mean radius and a second level having a second mean radius greater than the first mean radius, and wherein each level of nanochannels is randomly oriented without a common longitudinal axis.
18 . A desalination and/or purification carbon membrane, comprising: a carbon membrane body including: a structure of microchannels and/or nanochannels; a carbon surface; a liquid transportation structure extending at least partially through the carbon membrane body without being exposed at the carbon surface, the liquid transportation structure including a hydrophilic wick element received in a blind bore that opens at a bottom surface of the carbon membrane body and terminates upstream of the carbon surface, the liquid transportation structure being arranged and configured to supply the structure of microchannels and/or nanochannels of the carbon membrane body with a liquid to be desalinated and/or purified, wherein the structure of microchannels and/or nanochannels of the carbon membrane body is an at least two-level disordered network of channels, wherein the carbon membrane body has at least one hole formed therein at least partially extending through the carbon membrane body, the at least one hole not being formed in the carbon surface and the at least one hole extending through the carbon membrane body along a direction other than normal to the carbon surface.
19 . The desalination and/or purification carbon membrane of claim 18 , further comprising a thermal insulation layer interposed between the carbon membrane body and the liquid to be desalinated and/or purified.
20 . The desalination and/or purification carbon membrane of claim 18 , wherein the at least two-level disordered network of channels includes a first level having a first mean radius and a second level having a second mean radius greater than the first mean radius, and wherein each level of nanochannels is randomly oriented without a common longitudinal axis.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is the U.S. National Phase under 35. U.S.C. § 371 of International Application PCT/EP2021/086420, filed Dec. 17, 2021, which claims priority to European Patent Application No. 20214979.5, filed Dec. 17, 2020. The disclosures of the above-described applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a desalination and/or purification device, a desalination and/or purification carbon membrane, and a method of desalinating and/or purifying a liquid by using the desalination and/or purification device. BACKGROUND In general, purification of a liquid is understood as the reduction and/or removal of undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended and/or dissolved solids, and/or gases from a liquid with an intention of producing a purified liquid where undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended and/or dissolved solids, and/or gases are reduced and/or removed from the liquid when compared to its purified form. For example, water is usually subjected to purification so as to provide water suitable for human consumption, such as drinking water and/or water used for washing the human body. In other examples, purification of a liquid, such as water, may be carried out for medical, pharmacological, chemical, and/or industrial applications. There are many different processes on the basis of which a liquid may be purified, such as physical process in form of filtration, sedimentation, evaporation, and/or distillation, biological processes in form of slow sand filters or filters or biologically active carbon, chemical processes in form of flocculation and chlorination, and/or the use of electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light for disinfecting the liquid. As a result of purification, the concentration of particulate matter including suspended and/or dissolved particles, parasites, bacteria, algae, viruses, and fungi in a liquid may be reduced, as well as the concentration of a range of dissolved and particulate matter may be reduced. An ongoing issue in the present world is scarcity of water in some regions, although around two-thirds of the surface of the earth is covered with water, because only 2.5% of this water is freshwater and just 0.3% is fit for human consumption. The remaining water, which we find in oceans and seas, is not potable due to its salinity level. In many parts of the world, freshwater is in short supply despite the planet having plenty of water. As the saltwater present in oceans and seas makes up to 97.5% of the water of the planet, efforts have been made since the 17th century to convert saltwater into drinking water. For example, Sir Francis Bacon attempted to desalinate seawater bypassing the flow through a sand filter, thereby implementing a physical purification process with the concrete application to desalinating seawater. Although his experiment did not succeed, it marked the beginning of a new interest in the field, which persists until today. In the year 2003 for example, 25 million cubic meters of seawater were desalinated every day. Although 70% of the world's population lives on the sea coast, only 0.25% of the entire freshwater supply is generated by desalination which therefore represents an important but not exclusive example of purification of a liquid. Currently, a great part of desalination facilities are powered by fossil power. Aside from being problematic concerning the environment, these kinds of desalination facilities are expensive and not available at small scales or in regions with an insufficiently developed infrastructure. Desalination and renewable energies, particularly wind energy, thermal and electrical solar energy work together very well. Often, desalination is requested at places that have a sufficient amount of solar energy available. Particularly, such facilities are suitable in decentralized operations in areas with weak infrastructure because areas with well-developed infrastructure usually provide sufficient conventional energy for desalination, where the amount of water demanded per person is at the same time greater than 10 liters a day. By contrast, in areas that have weakly developed infrastructure, power supply based on renewable energies is more reliable than the supply of power generated by conventional energy sources and persons living in small communities of developing countries usually need less than 10 liters of potable water a day. It is, therefore, necessary to develop cost-efficient devices not only for desalination of liquid but also for purification of liquid, which relies on renewable energy sources and which can produce a high rate of desalinated or generally purified liquid per day. BRIEF SUMMARY The above objective is solved by a desalination and/or purification device in accordance with independent claim 1. Further advantageous embodiments are defined in dependent claims 2 to 10. In