Patent ID: 11857928
Assignee: EVCON GMBH
Field: Chemical engineering (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC B  C | IPC B  C

Claim 16:
17. A multistage membrane distillation apparatus, comprising:
a plurality of multistage membrane distillation modules, the modules being configured to be flowed through in parallel by a liquid to be concentrated, wherein:
each of the modules comprises a plurality of serial condensation/evaporation stages configured to be flowed through in series by the liquid to be concentrated,
each of the condensation/evaporation stages comprises a plurality of parallel condensation/evaporation elements configured to be flowed through in parallel by the liquid to be concentrated, and
each of the condensation/evaporation elements comprises at least one condensation unit and at least one evaporation unit,

the apparatus further comprising at least one of:
a centralized heating stage configured to generate steam and to provide the steam to each of the modules in parallel, and
a centralized condensation stage configured to receive steam from each of the modules in parallel and to condense the steam,

wherein:
the apparatus is configured as a modular flow system comprising a plurality of frame elements, and
functional units including one or more of a respective condensation unit or a respective evaporation unit, are each provided in the form of a frame element of the plurality of frame elements,
wherein each of the frame elements is provided with web structures via which each of the frame elements is connected to at least one other of the frame elements for forming a condensation/evaporation stage and each of the frame elements comprise an inner region which is surrounded by an outer frame and which is provided with a grid-like spacer on whose two sides form a respective functional surface selected from one of a film and a membrane, is applied for forming: a respective steam space, a respective heating liquid space or a respective cooling liquid space.