Patent ID: 7661662

Claim:
Water evaporation apparatus, which includes: a water-inlet, through which incoming-water containing a dissolved chemical at a relatively dilute concentration is conveyed to an atomizer of the apparatus; a final-water-outlet, through which final-water containing the dissolved chemical at a relatively strong concentration is conveyed out of the apparatus; an air-conduit, which conveys an airstream from an air-inlet to an air-outlet of the apparatus; the atomizer is located in an atomizer-conduit portion of the air-conduit, and is effective to convert the incoming-water into fine droplets, and to inject and distribute the same into the airstream as the airstream passes over the atomizer; an air-heater, which is located upstream of the atomizer, the air-heater being effective to heat the airstream; a droplet-collector, which is located in a collector-conduit portion of the air-conduit, located downstream of the atomizer; the droplet-collector is effective to mechanically remove physically-liquid droplets from the airstream, to collect the physically-liquid droplets, and to convey the resulting liquid to the final-water-outlet; the air-conduit includes an exhaust-conduit portion, located downstream of the droplet-collector; the exhaust-conduit is constructed and arranged for conveying air that has passed through the droplet-collector to the air-outlet; a housing containing an atomization chamber; an impact-plate, mounted in the atomization chamber; a liquid-feed-port, having an open end through which liquid to be atomized emerges, and being so mounted in the housing that the emerging liquid impacts against, and rebounds from, the impact-plate; an air-inlet-port, through which compressed air enters the housing, the port being arranged so that air enters the chamber off-centre or tangentially, whereby the entering air swirls around the chamber with a rotary motion; the housing contains an outlet-port, through which the liquid, having impacted the impact-plate, and the compressed air emerge from the chamber; the arrangement of the impact-plate, the tube, the chamber, the compressed air, and the liquid, are such that the motion of the liquid in the chamber can be characterised as extremely vigorous and violent, whereby the liquid is broken up into tiny droplets.