Patent ID: 7727400

Claim:
A system comprising: a concentration element capable of concentrating a feed by extracting solvents across a semi-permeable hydrophilic barrier into a re-circulating hypertonic solution that is composed of the same solutes as exist in said feed but at a slightly higher concentration and which allows solutes to leak backward from the hypertonic solution across the semi-permeable barrier into the feed at a controlled rate; a semi-permeable barrier that is contained in said concentration element and is selected to control the backward flux of solutes in order to improve the forward flux of solvent: a water makeup element capable of receiving a slipstream from said feed and adding said slipstream to said hypertonic solution to make up the solutes needed in said re-circulating hypertonic solution that are lost back across said semi-permeable membrane of said concentration module: a desalination system that removes water from said hypertonic solution and re-concentrates said hypertonic solution; and a system for transporting said re-circulating hypertonic solution coupled with said concentration module, said desalination system, and said water makeup element and wherein said make up element removes suspended solids and scale forming ions from said slipstream.