Patent ID: 9682871
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: C02F

Claim:
1. A contamination abatement subsystem for improving a desalinating watermaker system having a system flow path extending from a raw water intake port through pumping and filtering devices, including a reverse osmosis membrane filter, to a potable water storage tank, said subsystem being operative to introduce decontaminating flush water into the operative flow path of the watermaker system during a system shut down mode, comprising: a check valve disposed in said system flow path proximate said raw water intake port; conduit means forming a flush water flow path extending between an outlet of the potable water storage tank and a connection to said system flow path immediately downstream of the check valve; a valve means operatively disposed in said conduit means for selectively opening and closing the flush water flow path; a filter/ion-generator component operatively disposed along said flush water flow path between said valve means and said connection to said system flow path, said filter/ion-generator component including an elongated tubular carbon block filter element having an open passageway extending along the longitudinal axis thereof, an ion-generator element including a set of elongated ionizing electrodes for generating copper and/or silver ions disposed within said open passageway and longitudinally extending in parallel with and along the axis of the tubular filter element, and flow directing means for causing flush water entering said filter/ion-generator component to first be caused to flow radially through said filter element to remove undesirable chemicals therefrom, thereby becoming filtered flush water, and then be caused to flow along the lengths of said ionizing electrodes to introduce generated ions into the filtered flush water, said flow directing means including an elongated generally tubular filter bowl for housing said filter element and said ionizing electrodes, and a coupling fixture having an inlet port and an outlet port for coupling engagement with said conduit means; and a controller for sensing flush water through said conduit when said valve means is in an open state, and in response thereto, applying electrical power to the ion-generator element, whereby when the watermaker system is in the shut-down mode, and said valve means is in the open state, said controller senses flush water flow through said conduit means and applies power to said ion-generator element causing it to introduce copper and/or silver ions into the filtered flush water as said filtered flush water flows through said filter bowl and then through said conduit means and said connection into the operative flow path of the watermaker system to kill contaminants therein.