Apparatus for heating fluids

Abstract

The apparatus described herein uses a disc wafer-type rotor featuring channels disposed around its circumference and around the interior circumference of the rotor housing specifically to induce cavitation. The channels are shaped to control the size, oscillation, composition, duration, and implosion of the cavitation bubbles. The rotor is attached to a shaft which is driven by external power means. Fluid pumped into the device is subjected to the relative motion between the rotor and the device housing, and exits the device at increased temperature. The device is thermodynamically highly efficient, despite the structural and mechanical simplicity of the apparatus. Such devices accordingly provide efficient, simple, inexpensive, and reliable sources of distilled potable water for residential, commercial, and industrial use, as well as the separation and evaporation of other liquids.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to provisional patent application Ser. No. 61 / 488,061 filed May 19, 2011 under 35 U.S.C. §119(e).BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention is an apparatus for heating liquids using a rotor and housing featuring indentations therein that induce cavitation bubbles in the liquid. The heat generated when these bubbles rapidly collapse is transferred to the fluid. Thus, the apparatus permits efficient heat transfer to a fluid without a solid heat exchanger interface.[0003]There are a variety of patented devices (see table below) that use mechanical energy to increase the temperature and / or pressure of fluids. Some of these prior art devices heat the fluid through friction between the fluid and the walls of a rotor and housing. In other prior art designs, mechanical agitation of the liquid generates heat. The '349 patent to Schaefer discloses an apparatus to produce steam pressure by inducing shock ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]Cavitation-induced heating has a number of advantages in heating fluids. In the petroleum industry, cavitation-induced heating allows petroleum products to be heated directly in storage tanks in the field, on pipelines, or on barges to facilitate pumping and unloading in cold weather, and heavy oil products could be heated for processing without heat exchanger scaling. In ethanol production, cavitation-induced heating eliminates the need for a steam boiler and allows up to four steps in the distillation process to be combined, which reduces production time and cost. In dairy production, cavitation-induced heating results in reduced maintenance, since pasteurization would occur without direct contact between the milk and a heat exchanger surface. This is particularly beneficial in the pasteurization of high fat dairy products. Cavitation-induced heating has also shown promising ability in generating relatively high concentrations (up to 40%) of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from tap water. A potential medical application of the apparatus described herein destroys pathogens though cavitation-induced heating of blood or other bodily fluids.

[0012]It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for heating a fluid using a rotor and a stationary housing, which device is structurally simple with reduced manufacturing and maintenance costs. Maintenance costs are reduced because, in one preferred embodiment, seals are located on only one side of the generator. Mechanical seals typically are the most maintenance-intensive components of the system, requiring frequent replacement. Prior designs by Griggs included bearing and seal assemblies on both sides of the shock generator unit; however, the current design only has bearings and seals on one side.

[0013]It is an additional object of the present invention to produce a mechanically elegant and thermodynamically highly efficient means for increasing pressure and / or temperature of fluids such as water (including, where desired, converting fluid from liquid to gas phase).

Problems solved by technology

In dairy production, cavitation-induced heating results in reduced maintenance, since pasteurization would occur without direct contact between the milk and a heat exchanger surface.

The water used to fracture natural gas bearing rock, or “frac water”, is usually contaminated with sulfur and other minerals during the process and requires treatment before its return to the environment.

However, energy is lost generating steam to produce the electricity, and additional energy is lost in transmitting electricity to the desalinization plant.

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