Patent ID: 6802941
Filing Date: 2004-10-12
Classification: B01D,Y10S

Abstract:
For distilling a liquid, an evaporator-and-condenser unit comprising:a heat exchanger that forms at least one condensation chamber and a plurality of evaporation chambers and includes heat-transfer surfaces by which heat passes from the at least one condensation chamber to the plurality of evaporation chambers; a varying-rate evaporation-chamber irrigation system whose rate of irrigation of each of the evaporation chambers has a respective average irrigation rate and so varies as repeatedly to reach a respective peak irrigation rate that is at least twice the average irrigation rate thereof, wherein the times at which the rates of irrigation of some of the evaporation chambers reach their respective peak irrigation rates are different from those at which others of the plurality of evaporation chambers do; and a vapor guide defining a vapor path along which it directs to the at least one condensation chamber vapor thereby produced in the plurality of evaporation chambers, wherein the irrigation system further includes: A) a main sprayer system, which irrigates each said evaporation chamber for at least the majority of the time; and B) an auxiliary sprayer system, which irrigates each of the evaporation chambers for only a minority of the time, the rate at which each said evaporation chamber is irrigated while the auxiliary sprayer system is irrigating it being at least twice the average irrigation rate thereof.