Patent ID: 9440162
Filing Date: 2016-09-13
CPC Classification: B01D,C02F

Claim Text:
1. A method for treating waste water comprising the steps of: (a) receiving waste water at a first pressure between 0.8-1.2 atm and a first temperature between 48-72° F., the waste water comprising dissolved solids and volatile organic compounds; (b) pressurizing the received waste water to a second pressure between 8-12 atm; (c) heating the pressurized waste water to a second temperature between 240-360° F., wherein said heating step produces a distilled water and a pressurized/heated waste water without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces; wherein step (c) comprises the steps of: (c2) further heating the pressurized/preheated waste water to the second temperature to produce the pressurized/heated waste water without boiling of the waste water across heat transfer surfaces; (d) evaporating the pressurized/heated waste water in an evaporator to remove dissolved solids by evaporation caused by depressurization of the waste water to produce a first steam and a brine water, wherein the brine water has a total dissolved solids content greater than a total dissolved solids content of the received waste water; and (e) crystallizing the brine water to produce a solid mass of waste product and a second steam, wherein the crystallizing step uses a plasma torch to crystallize the brine water.