Vapor compression distillation assembly

Abstract

A vapor compression distillation assembly for distilling influent liquid, the vapor compression distillation assembly comprising a housing defining an interior and having an inlet for influent liquid, an evaporator and a condenser provided within the housing interior, an outlet for distillate, and at least one compressor fluidly coupled with the housing interior.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An appliance comprising a vapor compression distillation assembly, the vapor compression distillation assembly comprising:
 an evaporator having an interior with a low pressure relative to an ambient pressure for receiving an unheated fluid at a temperature lower than a boiling point of the fluid;   a housing defining at least a portion of the evaporator and having an influent inlet for receiving the unheated fluid and a distillate outlet;   a manifold located within the housing;   a condensing portion having an interior fluidly coupled to the manifold, and an exterior defining a surface area of the evaporator;   a collecting portion located within the housing for receiving distillate from the condensing portion and fluidly coupled to the distillate outlet; and   a compressor fluidly coupling the evaporator to the condensing portion;   wherein the interior is at a pressure low enough to cause spontaneous boiling and flash evaporation of the liquid.   
     
     
         2 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of stacked discs wherein at least one of the plurality of stacked discs is a hollow disc defining the condensing portion and the surface area of the evaporator. 
     
     
         3 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising an impeller coupled to the compressor and in fluid communication with the interior. 
     
     
         4 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the housing further comprises an upper housing defining the influent inlet and a lower housing defining the distillate outlet. 
     
     
         5 . The appliance of  claim 4  wherein the lower housing at least partially defines a sump for collecting concentrate. 
     
     
         6 . The appliance of  claim 5  wherein the lower housing further comprises a concentrate outlet. 
     
     
         7 . The appliance of  claim 4  wherein the upper housing further comprises a non-condensable gas outlet. 
     
     
         8 . The appliance of  claim 7 , further comprising an external compressor fluidly coupled to the non-condensable gas outlet to lower the pressure in the interior to the low pressure below the ambient pressure. 
     
     
         9 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a rotating shaft extending upwardly within the interior and through a shaft opening in the housing. 
     
     
         10 . The appliance of  claim 9  wherein a manifold is circumferentially disposed about the rotating shaft. 
     
     
         11 . An appliance comprising a vapor compression distillation assembly, the vapor compression distillation assembly comprising:
 a housing defining a low-pressure interior and comprising an influent inlet and a distillate outlet, a manifold for collecting water vapor, a compressor fluidly coupled with the low-pressure interior for pumping water vapor from the low-pressure interior to the manifold;   and a condenser comprising an interior condensing portion for forming distillate and fluidly couple to the distillate outlet.   
     
     
         12 . The appliance of  claim 11  wherein the housing further comprises an upper housing defining the influent inlet and a non-condensable gas outlet and a lower housing defining the distillate outlet, a sump for collecting concentrate, and a concentrate outlet. 
     
     
         13 . The appliance of  claim 12 , further comprising an external compressor fluidly coupled to the non-condensable gas outlet to lower the interior pressure to a pressure below ambient pressure. 
     
     
         14 . The appliance of  claim 13 , further comprising a rotating shaft extending upwardly within the interior of the housing wherein the manifold is located circumferentially about the rotating shaft and a rotatable disc assembly is couple to the rotating shaft and manifold and defines the interior condensing portion. 
     
     
         15 . The appliance of  claim 14  wherein the rotatable disc assembly is a plurality of stacked discs wherein at least one of the plurality of stacked discs is a hollow disc having an exterior surface defining an evaporator and an interior defining the interior condensing portion. 
     
     
         16 . The appliance of  claim 15  wherein the plurality of stacked discs are fixedly coupled to each other in a fixed, spaced relationship. 
     
     
         17 . A method of transforming an influent fluid to a distillate within a vapor compression distillation assembly having a housing defining an interior and including an evaporator and condenser within the interior, the method comprising:
 establishing an internal pressure below ambient within the interior;   receiving through an influent inlet the influent fluid;   transforming the influent liquid to a water vapor by flash boiling the influent liquid;   compressing the water vapor within a manifold;   condensing the water vapor into distillate within the condenser; and   removing the distillate via a distillate outlet in the housing.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising rotating the condenser to remove concentrate collected on an exterior of the condenser. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising collecting concentrate in a sump of the housing. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising removing the concentrate via a concentrate outlet in the housing.