Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A water treatment process (10) includes, in a crystallisation stage (12), passing a saline water feed (16) through an elongate conduit kept in a cold environment at a temperature below the equilibrium freezing temperature of the saline water, forming a slurry of brine and ice crystals inside the conduit, and, in a separation stage (14), separating the ice crystals from a bulk of the brine, producing a brine stream (22) and an ice stream (26). The elongate conduit is of a material, or has an inner material layer in contact with the saline water and with the slurry of brine and ice crystals, with a thermal conductivity of less than 5 W/m·K and has a length configured to ensure formation of the slurry of brine and ice crystals in the conduit at the flow rate of the saline water feed through the elongate conduit.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim