Patent ID: 8658036

Claim:
A filtration and demineralization system for filtering and demineralizing condensate from a thermal power plant or nuclear power plant, comprising: a cylindrical vessel coaxially arranged about a vertical axis, the vessel having an upper end that is closed and a lower end having an inlet port and an outlet port spaced radially outwardly from the inlet port; a cylindrical wall located within the vessel, the cylindrical wall having an open upper end that is spaced apart from the closed upper end of the vessel and a lower end that is sealed to the lower end of the vessel, wherein the cylindrical wall coaxially surrounds the inlet port of the vessel and is spaced radially inwardly from the outlet port of the vessel; a partition plate closing the upper open end of the cylindrical wall, wherein a space bound by the cylindrical wall, partition plate, and lower end of the vessel define a filtration chamber, and wherein the partition plate includes a plurality of filtrate outlet ports; a plurality of filter elements disposed within the filtration chamber, wherein a said filter element is connected to a respective said partition plate outlet port; an upper annular perforated distribution plate extending radially inwardly from an inner surface of the vessel to an outer surface of the cylindrical wall proximate the upper end of the cylindrical wall; a lower annular perforated support plate extending radially inwardly from an inner surface of the vessel to an outer surface of the cylindrical wall positioned below the upper annular perforated distribution plate and adjacent the outlet port of the vessel; wherein an annular space bound by the inner surface of the vessel wall, the outer surface of the cylindrical wall, the upper annular perforated distribution plate, and the lower annular perforated support plate define a demineralization chamber; ion exchange material disposed within the demineralization chamber for demineralizing said condensate; wherein a communication space bound by the closed upper end of the vessel, the partition plate, and the upper annular perforated distribution plate provides a flow path from the filtration chamber to the demineralization chamber; and whereby condensate flows upwardly into the filtration chamber through the vessel inlet port, flows through the filter elements in the filtration chamber to be filtered, flows upwardly through the filtration outlet ports in the partition plate and into the communication space, flows radially outwardly through the communication space and downwardly into the demineralization chamber through the upper annular perforated distribution plate, flows downwardly through the ion exchange material in the demineralization chamber to be demineralized, flows downwardly out of the demineralization chamber through the lower annular support plate, and flows downwardly out of the vessel through the vessel outlet port.