Portable multi-functional modular water filtration unit

A portable multi-functional modular water filtration unit having configurable modules that can be adapted to render environmental water potable or to isolate contaminants from groundwater or water from other sources such as backwash from reverse osmosis water purification units (ROWPU) or shower and laundry water ("gray water") such that the water may be recycled or discharged in full compliance with applicable laws. Plural treatment tanks as well as inlet and outlet filters are coupleable via pressure gauge bearing quick connect fittings in series and parallel arrangements, to allow changes of filter elements (for replacement or substitution of a different active material) and to accommodate flow in filtration arrays. The water purification system specifically addresses the changing water purifying needs that arise during troop deployment, training and maneuvers, disaster relief and environmental cleanup.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to the field of water purification, and in particular 
concerns a modular mobile water purification system for use by military 
forces in the field. The water purification system includes a portable 
multi-functional filtration unit having configurable modules that can be 
adapted to render environmental water potable or to isolate contaminants 
from groundwater or water from other sources such as backwash from reverse 
osmosis water purification units (ROWPU). The invention permits safe 
environmental discharge of a large proportion of treated water and 
substantially decreases the need to truck contaminated water for 
treatment. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A large amount of the natural water on the Earth is sea water or brackish 
water that is not suitable for human consumption due to the presence of 
salts and sediments. So-called fresh water may likewise be unsuitable for 
human consumption, for example containing deleterious compounds, bacteria 
or other microorganisms. Furthermore, groundwater can become polluted by 
the actions of man. In such instances it is known to treat the water by 
filtration and chemical treatment steps. 
Filtration involves passing water through a filter medium that stops 
pollutants and passes pure water. The filter medium must be cleaned or 
replaced when its capacity is met. A highly effective mobile filtration 
apparatus used by the military is the reverse osmosis water purification 
unit or "ROWPU." 
Reverse osmosis is a method that effects the separation of solutes from a 
solution by causing the solvent to float through a membrane at pressures 
higher than the normal osmotic pressure. This is possible because of the 
phenomenon of osmosis. Osmosis is a phenomenon manifested by the diffusion 
of a solvent (such as water) through a semi-permeable membrane from an 
area of greater osmotic pressure (i.e., greater concentration of dissolved 
substance) to an area of lower osmotic pressure (i.e., lesser 
concentration of dissolved substance). In reverse osmosis, the solvent 
diffuses through a membrane filter leaving dissolved substances, such as 
salts and other contaminants, behind. 
Reverse osmosis purification equipment is readily sized for a particular 
application simply by providing the requisite area of membrane and a 
suitable pump. Therefore, reverse osmosis purification units are ideally 
suited for use at remote sites, and are conveniently transported on trucks 
or trailers. 
These units are available in various capacities and typically are carried 
on trucks having such pumps and conduits as necessary to filter water from 
available sources. In this apparatus, water is forced through a membrane 
that passes pure water and concentrates pollutants in the water on the 
upstream side of the membrane. In addition, it is periodically necessary 
to flush or backwash the ROWPU filtration membranes to release collected 
contaminants from the membrane. As the concentration of the contaminants 
in the raw water increases to a given limit, the throughput through the 
ROWPU decreases for a given pump head pressure. Also, the membrane may 
become caked with contaminants on the high pressure side. 
As a byproduct of filtration and/or backwashing, the water on the upstream 
side of the membrane, known as "brine," carries a higher concentration of 
contaminants than the source water. Depending on the time used and the 
extent of contaminants in the source water, the concentration of 
contaminants in the brine or backwash can be sufficient to render the 
water unfit for discharge into natural watercourses, which could become 
polluted. As a result, part of the water carrying capacity of a mobile 
military unit is devoted to transporting brine and backwash to municipal 
or similar fixed installations for water treatment. 
Conventionally, during military operations, the backwash is captured in 
hard walled water tankers. Once one tanker is filled, the composition of 
its contents are determined via well known analytical methods. The 
contents of the tanker are then chemically treated. The tanker's contents 
are analyzed a second time. This process continues until the contents in 
the tanker are brought into compliance with EPA limits for sewer system 
disposal. Once in compliance, the contents are taken to a sanitation 
disposal site and discharged. The process of collecting and transporting 
brine and backwash, and treating and safely discharging it, requires the 
commitment of time and equipment. For example, it is conceivable that 
several tankers may need to be staged and available for collection and 
transport functions, each having at least one associated person on duty, 
in order to support the continuous operation of a ROWPU. What is needed is 
a multi-functional modular water filtration unit that can be adapted to 
treat different brine compositions, and which can be used in the field to 
render brine and backwash sufficiently pure to be discharged in the same 
area where the source water was collected, or at least to meet the minimum 
environmental protection standards for discharge into municipal sewage 
systems. By treating the brine and backwash in the field, the present 
invention eliminates the costs of batch hauling and discharge fees 
associated with conventional means of treatment, reduces the risks of 
spillage and substantially decreases the man hour and equipment 
requirements associated with conventional treatment means. 
The multi-functional modular water filtration unit as described herein may 
be easily interfaced to optimize throughput capacity versus extent of 
filtration, using parallel and serial configurations of filtration 
elements interconnected by reconfigurable fittings. in a similar manner, 
the filtration media can be conveniently and effectively modified to 
facilitate operation in a variety of circumstances and for different 
specific pollutants. In a preferred arrangement, a modular brine/backwash 
filtration unit coupled to a ROWPU can be configured using the filtration 
elements to treat backwash from an ROWPU sourced by a natural watercourse 
or municipal supply; to treat sanitary waste water from showers, laundry 
facilities and the like; to treat water potentially containing nuclear or 
biological contaminants; to remove chemical contaminants such as fuels; 
and to pre-treat municipal source water supplies, for example to eliminate 
chlorine that tends to damage reverse osmosis membranes. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
For these purposes, a portable multi-functional modular water filtration 
unit is provided with a rigid frame; a particulate removal element 
attached to the rigid frame; a bank of water purifying tanks removably 
secured to the rigid frame; a final filtration element attached to the 
rigid frame; a unit inlet means adapted to connect the filtration unit to 
a source of raw water; a unit outlet means adapted to deliver filtered 
water; and, a system of quick-connect interconnection means adapted to 
connect the particulate removal element, the water purifying tanks and the 
final filtration element, wherein the water purifying tanks may be 
selectively connected to one another in at least one of series, parallel, 
and combinations thereof. 
It is an object of the invention to provide a water filtration unit which 
is portable and easily transported to remote locations wherever troops may 
be deployed. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a water filtration unit 
which is modular in design such that multiple units may easily be arrayed 
together to satisfy the capacity requirements for a given application. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a water filtration unit 
which is very flexibly reconfigurable and which easily may be modified to 
filter from the raw water a wide variety of different contaminants 
including nuclear, biological and chemical compositions. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a water filtration unit 
comprising a bank of water purifying tanks wherein the bank may quickly 
and easily be removed from the unit and replaced with a fresh bank. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a water filtration unit 
wherein the unit may quickly and easily be modified to accommodate changes 
in the contaminant composition in the raw water fed to the unit. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a water filtration unit 
comprising a bank of water purifying tanks wherein the water purifying 
tanks may selectively be filled with treatment materials selected from the 
group comprising anion exchange resins; cation exchange resins; mixed 
anion and cation exchange resins; sand; activated carbon; scavenging 
resins; hydrocarbon absorbing bentonite compounds; metals and metal alloys 
in granular and reticulated form; and mixtures of ceramic, polymeric and 
metallic materials in granular, powder and reticulated form. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a water filtration unit 
comprising a bank of water purifying tanks wherein at least half of the 
water purifying tanks are filled with research grade granular activated 
carbon impregnated with absorbents. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a water filtration unit 
comprising a bank of water purifying tanks wherein the water purifying 
tanks are coupled together using a system of quick-connect interconnection 
means comprising a series of U-shaped end fittings to form a flowpath 
through the filtration unit; wherein the flowpath may be selectively 
modified to connect the water purifying tanks in at least one of series, 
parallel and any combination thereof. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a water treatment system, 
comprising a reverse osmosis water purification unit in combination with a 
portable multi-functional modular water filtration unit for treatment of 
backwash from the reverse osmosis water purification unit, wherein the 
filtration unit includes a rigid frame; a particulate removal element 
attached to the rigid frame; a bank of water purifying tanks removably 
secured to the rigid frame; a final filtration element attached to the 
rigid frame; a unit inlet means adapted to connect the filtration unit to 
a source of raw water; a unit outlet means adapted to deliver sewer system 
disposable water from the filtration unit; and, a system of quick-connect 
interconnection means adapted to connect the particulate removal element, 
the water purifying tanks and the final filtration element, wherein the 
water purifying tanks may be selectively connected to one another in at 
least one of series, parallel, and any combination thereof. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a convenient modular means 
by which brine and backwash waste water produced by a mobile reverse 
osmosis water purification unit can be continuously decontaminated for 
discharge on site without substantial storage or transport. 
One aspect of the invention resides in a portable multi-functional modular 
water filtration unit, including a rigid frame; a particulate removal 
element attached to the rigid frame; a bank of water purifying tanks 
removably secured to the rigid frame; a final filtration element attached 
to the rigid frame; a unit inlet means adapted to connect the filtration 
unit to a source of raw water; a unit outlet means adapted to deliver 
filtered water; and, a system of quick-connect interconnection means 
adapted to connect the particulate removal element, the water purifying 
tanks and the final filtration element, wherein the water purifying tanks 
may be selectively connected to one another in at least one of series, 
parallel, and any combination thereof. 
Another aspect of the invention resides in a water treatment system, 
comprising a reverse osmosis water purification unit in combination with a 
portable multi-functional modular water filtration unit for treatment of 
backwash from the reverse osmosis water purification unit, wherein the 
filtration unit comprises a rigid frame; a particulate removal element 
attached to the rigid frame; a bank of water purifying tanks removably 
secured to the rigid frame; a final filtration element attached to the 
rigid frame; a unit inlet means adapted to connect the filtration unit to 
a source of raw water; a unit outlet means adapted to deliver sewer system 
disposable water from the filtration unit; and, a system of quick-connect 
interconnection means adapted to connect the particulate removal element, 
the water purifying tanks and the final filtration element, wherein the 
water purifying tanks may be selectively connected to one another in at 
least one of series, parallel, and any combination thereof. 
These and other advantages of the invention will become more apparent in 
connection with the following description of certain embodiments of the 
invention as disclosed in non-limiting examples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
A portable multi-functional modular water filtration unit according to the 
invention has a rigid frame; a particulate removal element attached to the 
rigid frame; a bank of water purifying tanks removably secured to the 
rigid frame; a final filtration element attached to the rigid frame; a 
unit inlet means adapted to connect the filtration unit to a source of raw 
water; a unit outlet means adapted to deliver filtered water; and, a 
system of quick-connect interconnection means adapted to connect the 
particulate removal element, the water purifying tanks and the final 
filtration element, wherein the water purifying tanks may be selectively 
connected to one another in at least one of series, parallel, and any 
combination thereof. 
The portable multi-functional modular water filtration unit of the 
invention is preferably compact and portable so that it may be transported 
and used virtually anywhere. Most preferably, the water filtration units 
of the invention fits within a volume of approximately 
2.0.times.0.5.times.1.0 m. The compact portability of the water filtration 
units of the invention is required so that the units will be versatile 
enough to satisfy the variety of operating situations that may arise 
during military operations, disaster relief efforts, treatment of water 
collected at remote spill sites and other situations in which mobile water 
treatment is advantageously deployed. Moreover, this is accomplished in a 
manner that reduces or eliminates the need to transport containers of 
waste water and other filtration products to and from the site by 
purifying such waste water to the point that it can be openly discharged 
without environmental damage. 
The portable multi-functional modular water filtration units of the 
invention are designed to be coupleable with one another in series and/or 
parallel configurations to form filtration arrays. At least two units can 
be coupled in parallel to facilitate higher flow rates or in series to 
facilitate additional filtration processes. In particular, the rigid 
frames comprising the water filtration units have fittings that are 
coupleable in a complementary manner for interfacing multiple units into a 
filtration array. 
The portable multi-functional modular water filtration units of the 
invention comprise a bank of water purifying tanks. Each bank may comprise 
two or more individual water purifying tanks. Each water purifying tank 
contains a treatment material for removing or filtering contaminants from 
the water passing through the unit. The specific treatment material used 
is dependent upon the contaminants present in the water to be treated, 
examples being discussed below. The respective purifying tanks in the bank 
may contain a different treatment material or serially coupled tanks can 
contain like material for increasing exposure of the water to such 
material. The treatment materials used may be selected from the group 
comprising anion exchange resins; cation exchange resins; mixed anion and 
cation exchange resins; sand; activated carbon; scavenging resins; 
hydrocarbon absorbing bentonite compounds; metals and metal alloys in 
granular and reticulated form; and mixtures of ceramic, polymeric and 
metallic materials in granular, powder and reticulated form. At least half 
of the water purification tanks in the bank can be filled with research 
grade granular activated carbon impregnated with absorbents such as 
cationic and anionic absorbents. 
The portable multi-functional modular water filtration units of the 
invention are designed so that the bank of water purifying tanks are 
removably secured to the rigid frame. Particularly, the bank may be 
secured to the rigid frame using containment bars which themselves have 
quick connect attachments to the rigid frame. This design enables the 
rapid removal and replacement of the bank. This feature is critical for 
two reasons: (1) it allows a spent bank (a bank wherein the treatment 
materials in the water purifying tanks are in need of replacement or 
recharge) to be replaced with a fresh bank in a very short period of time; 
and (2) it allows a bank designed to remove, for example, chemical 
contaminants to be quickly replaced with a bank that, for example, removes 
radioactive contaminants. Hence, the water filtration unit design of the 
invention allows for a spent bank to be replaced with minimal downtime. 
The water filtration unit design of the invention also allows for rapid 
adjustments which may be necessitated by changes in the quality of the raw 
water feed to the unit. 
The water filtration units of the invention are multi-functional because 
the water purifying tanks in the bank may be filled with a variety of 
treatment materials. Accordingly, the water filtration units of the 
invention may be used for the reduction and removal of, for example: total 
suspended solids (TSS); biological oxygen demand (BOD) materials; chemical 
oxygen demand (COD) compositions; oil and grease removal; extraction of 
benzene, toluene, ethel-benzene, xylene (BTEX); heavy metals; volatile 
organic compounds (VOC); total organic carbon (TOC); nuclear, biological 
and chemical contaminants (NBC); phosphates and detergents; chlorine and 
chlorinated compounds; tri-halomethanes (THM); nitrates; and, herbicides 
and pesticides. Hence, the water filtration units of the invention are 
very versatile and may be used in military deployment and disaster relief 
efforts or in cleanups, for a variety of water treatment applications. 
The water purifying tanks within the bank in the water treatment units of 
the invention are interconnected using U-shaped end fittings and 
manifolds. The water purifying tanks are equally spaced within the bank 
and have access openings on top and on the side close to the bottom. The 
U-shaped end fittings are used to interconnect the tops of the water 
purifying tanks. The manifolds may be used to interconnect the sides of 
the water purifying tanks. Alternatively, the sides of the water purifying 
tanks may be interconnected using U-shaped end fittings. Using these 
interconnection methods a variety of flowpaths through the bank are 
possible. The flow path may be short or tortuous depending upon the type 
and quantity of contaminants in the raw water which must be removed by the 
water filtration unit and upon the desired water flow rate. 
The U-shaped end fittings may preferably include pressure gauges to 
facilitate process troubleshooting in the event of a system upset and to 
signal when the bank is spent and needs to be changed out with a fresh 
bank. According to an inventive aspect, quick connect couplings that 
attach between adjacent tanks along a flow path of the water are each 
provided with a pressure gauge, the different pressures on opposite sides 
of the tanks representing back pressure and flow resistance. By monitoring 
the pressure drops from one gauge to the next, the operator can readily 
monitor the extent to which particular filter elements are clogged and/or 
spent. 
The unit inlet means adapted to connect the filtration unit to a source of 
raw water preferably comprises standard 2" CAMLOCK fittings which may 
readily connect to standard military water treatment and distribution 
equipment. Likewise, the unit outlet means adapted to deliver filtered 
water preferably comprises standard 2" CAMLOCK fittings. 
The particulate removal element is designed to remove particulates from the 
water before the water is introduced into the bank. The particulate 
removal element may comprise conventional backflushable filter elements, 
screens, strainers or bag filters. Preferably, the particulate removal 
element will remove particulates above 5 microns. 
The final filtration element is designed to filter out any particulate 
materials above 25 microns. The final filtration element may comprise a 
housing containing granular activated carbon block or porous extruded 
carbon block, or activated carbon and resins. 
Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary portable multi-functional water 
filtration unit 10 is shown. The water filtration unit 10, comprises a 
rigid frame 20; a particulate removal element 30 attached to the rigid 
frame 20; a bank 40 of water purifying tanks 45 containing treatment 
material 48 removably secured to the rigid frame 20; a final filtration 
element 50 attached to the rigid frame 20; a unit inlet means 60 adapted 
to connect the filtration unit 10 to a source of raw water; a unit outlet 
means 70 adapted to deliver filtered water; and, a system of quick-connect 
interconnection means 80 adapted to connect the particulate removal 
element 30, the water purifying tanks 45 and the final filtration element 
50, wherein the water purifying tanks may be selectively connected to one 
another in at least one of series, parallel, and any combination thereof. 
In FIG. 1, the bank is removably secured to the frame 20 with containment 
bars 90. Which containment bars 90 are attached to the frame 20 using 
quick-release means 100. More particularly, the quick-release means 100 
may preferably comprise, for example, wing nuts and bolts, and 
quick-release ring pins. 
The system quick-connect interconnection means 80 preferably comprises a 
combination of U-shaped connectors 85 and bottom manifolds 86 (shown in 
FIG. 1 as a bottom four-way manifold and in FIG. 2 as a two-way manifold). 
The system quick-connect interconnection means 80 may also simply comprise 
U-shaped connectors, see FIG. 2. Also, shown in FIG. 2 are optional 
pressure gauges 82. 
The arrangement of the quick-connect interconnection means 80 allows for a 
multiplicity of arrangements for the interconnection of the water 
purifying tanks in the bank. For example, FIG. 3 shows a high flow 
arrangement for the interconnection such that the water being treated must 
pass through two water purifying tanks with four pairs of water purifying 
tanks connected in parallel. FIG. 4 shows an alternative flow arrangement 
setting up a tortuous path wherein the water must flow through four water 
purifying tanks with two sets of four water purifying tanks connected in 
parallel. 
The unit inlet means and unit outlet means preferably comprise 2" CAMLOCK 
connectors 100, see FIG. 5. 
The instant invention is now illustrated by way of example, which are 
intended to be purely exemplary and not limiting. 
EXAMPLE 1 
A portable multi-functional modular water filtration unit of the invention 
was used in combination with an ROWPU to treat JP-8 (Jet fuel) 
contaminated water at Roving Sands, a military petroleum operation. FIG. 6 
is a depiction of the water treatment system used, wherein the portable 
multi-functional modular water filtration unit was used to treat the 
backwash from the ROWPU. The portable multi-functional modular water 
filtration unit used comprised a pre-filter bag filter; eight water 
purification tanks containing mixtures of bentonites, clays and activated 
carbon, connected in series/parallel tortuous path; and a final filtration 
element containing research grade activated carbon. The water discharged 
from the portable multi-functional modular water filtration unit was 
subjected to analytical testing using carbon-link scan. The results of 
analytical tests performed on water prior to, and following, treatment 
with the portable multi-functional modular water filtration unit of the 
invention are presented in table 1, below. The backwash water, subsequent 
to treatment by the portable multi-functional modular water filtration 
unit satisfied EPA limits for sewer system disposal. 
TABLE 1 
______________________________________ 
Scanned for Result Units 
______________________________________ 
SAMPLE PRIOR TO TREATMENT 
C.sub.7 -C.sub.8 
ND (not detectable) 
mg/L 
C.sub.9 -C.sub.10 120 mg/L 
C.sub.11 -C.sub.12 ND mg/L 
C.sub.13 -C.sub.14 ND mg/L 
C.sub.15 -C.sub.16 ND mg/L 
C.sub.17 -C.sub.18 ND mg/L 
C.sub.19 -C.sub.20 ND mg/L 
C.sub.21 -C.sub.22 ND mg/L 
C.sub.23 -C.sub.24 ND mg/L 
C.sub.25 -C.sub.26 ND mg/L 
Est. &gt; C.sub.26 ND mg/L 
SAMPLE POST TREATMENT 
C.sub.7 -C.sub.8 
ND mg/L 
C.sub.9 -C.sub.10 ND mg/L 
C.sub.11 -C.sub.12 ND mg/L 
C.sub.13 -C.sub.14 ND mg/L 
C.sub.15 -C.sub.16 ND mg/L 
C.sub.17 -C.sub.18 ND mg/L 
C.sub.19 -C.sub.20 ND mg/L 
C.sub.21 -C.sub.22 ND mg/L 
C.sub.23 -C.sub.24 ND mg/L 
C.sub.25 -C.sub.26 ND mg/L 
Est. &gt; C.sub.26 ND mg/L 
______________________________________ 
The invention having been disclosed in connection with the foregoing 
embodiments, additional embodiments will now be apparent to persons 
skilled in the art. The invention is not intended to be limited to the 
embodiments specifically mentioned, and accordingly reference should be 
made to the appended claims rather than the foregoing discussion, to 
assess the spirit and scope of the invention in which exclusive rights are 
claimed.