| abstract |
An improved vacuum distillation system is disclosed for purifying contaminated liquids, such as seawater, brackish water and chemical effluents. In the preferred embodiment, the system includes a vertical separation chamber in which contaminated liquid (e.g., impure water) is boiled and evaporated at a low temperature due to a low pressure created by a vacuum pump; a stack of fan-shaped baffles in the top of the separation chamber that provide a tortuous path for the "distillate vapor", wherein the baffles have downturned lips that trap particulates to prevent them from escaping the separation chamber; a product chamber to which the vapor flows to be condensed; a refrigeration unit having its "cold" coil located inside the product chamber to condense the vapor into pure liquid, wherein the same unit has its "hot" coil located inside the separation chamber to help boil the contaminated liquid; and a funnel underlying the "cold" coil to catch the condensate dripping from it, wherein the funnel guides the product water into a collection area below it and acts as a shield to prevent re-evaporation of the collected water. |