Description:A REVERSE OSMOSIS BASED WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM WITH ZERO WATER WASTAGE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present disclosure, in general, relates to a system for water purification and water conservation and more particularly, to a reverse osmosis based water purification system with zero water wastage.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Water is one of the essential need of human beings to survive. Due to increased levels of toxicity caused by chemicals found within the water supply, water filtration has become widespread within many homes. Reverse Osmosis is the widely used water purification process wherein a partially permeable membrane is used to remove ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from permeate water. The biggest drawback of domestically used RO based water purification systems is its low recovery of permeate water. Generally, around 25% water is recovered permeate water and 75% of reject water is drained out.
[003] This is the biggest reason RO based water purification systems are not used in regions where water is a scarce commodity. As the population is growing globally at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century, the regions where water is a scarce commodity are increasing at a rapid rate. This is increasing the water stress in modern day cities. According to an estimate by UNICEF, one in four of the world’s children under 18 – some million in all – will be living in areas of extremely high water stress.
[004] Currently, researches are conducted by many organisations to increase the recovered permeate water in RO based water purification system, so that less water gets wasted. United States Patent US 9,422,173 B1 discloses systems and methods for water filtration. In this patent, an under the sink water purifier is suggested which waste less water than conventional RO system. The US patent claims to reduce wastage of water to 30%.
[005] International Patent Application PCT/JP2013/070670 discloses a reclaimed water apparatus whereby concentrated drainage water which has been discharged through a hose inserted into a hole made in the drainpipe of a sink in a reverse osmosis membrane water purification system is recirculated multiple times to produce RO purified water, and thereafter is mixed with raw water and spouted from the distal end of a spigot, permitting use thereof as general service water. This system does not treat the reject water and efficiency of the system to recover water is not defined.
[006] Therefore, there is a need to develop a reverse osmosis based water purification system with zero wastage of water wherein even the reject water is UV treated and can be used for different household purposes along with some recreational purposes after value addition.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[007] It is therefore an object of the present invention, to solve the aforementioned and other drawbacks existing in the existing RO based water purification system.
[008] Another primary object of the present invention is to provide a Reverse Osmosis based water purification system with zero water wastage.
[009] Yet another primary object of the present invention is to provide a Reverse Osmosis based water purification system with zero water wastage having a UV column to microbiologically disinfect both purified water stream and reject water stream parallely.
[0010] Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a reverse osmosis based water purification system with zero water wastage having a value addition cartridge to add value to reject water.
[0011] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a reverse osmosis based water purification system with zero water wastage having a recirculation mechanism to recirculate the reject treated water.
[0012] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a reverse osmosis based water purification system with zero water wastage which is energy efficient.
[0013] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a reverse osmosis based water purification system with zero water wastage which provides microbiologically disinfected reject water which is fit for consumption in other designated household purpose via faucet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] One or more drawbacks of conventional RO based water purification system, and additional advantages are provided through the RO based water purification system with zero water wastage as claimed in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the technicalities of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered to be a part of the claimed disclosure.
[0015] The first embodiment of present subject matter relates to a RO based water purification system with zero water wastage. The system comprises an inlet, a pre-filter, a solenoid valve, a pressure booster pump, an activated carbon cartridge, a purification membrane chamber, a mineral cartridge, a UV column, a high pressure switch, a permeate water tank and a reject treated water tank. The pre-filter is used to remove the suspended particles from water coming from the inlet. The solenoid valve is provided to control the flow of water and is operatively connected to the pressure booster pump. The pressure booster pump boosts the pressure of the water coming from the pre-filter. The activated carbon cartridge has an inlet operatively connected to the pressure booster pump for receiving a supply of high pressure feed water from the pressure booster pump. The activated carbon cartridge removes residual chlorine or dissolved organic impurities from the water. The purification membrane chamber has an inlet operatively connected to the activated carbon cartridge to receive supply water from the activated carbon cartridge. The purification membrane chamber has a first outlet to discharge purified water and a second outlet to discharge high pressure reject water from the purification membrane chamber. The first outlet of the purification membrane chamber is operatively connected to a mineral cartridge. The UV Column chamber has a first inlet operatively connected to the mineral cartridge to receive the purified water and a second inlet connected to the second outlet of the purification membrane chamber to receive the reject water from the second outlet of the first purification membrane chamber. The permeate water tank is connected to a first outlet of the UV Column chamber to collect the purified water and the reject treated water tank connected to a second outlet of the UV Column chamber to collect the reject treated water. The high pressure switch is provided to direct the flow of reject treated towards the reject treated water tank, when the pressure of the reject treated water tank is below the predetermined limit.
[0016] In an aspect, the high pressure switch determines the pressure inside the reject treated water tank and sends a signal to PCBA to shut down for a predetermined time when the pressure inside the reject treated water tank reaches a predetermined limit.
[0017] In an aspect, an alert or an alarm signal will be displayed on the display on the water purification system when the system is shut down.
[0018] In an aspect, a flow restrictor tube is placed between the second outlet of the purification membrane chamber and the second inlet of the UV Column Chamber to provide required operating pressure for the functioning of purification membrane chamber.
[0019] In an aspect, a non-return valve (NRV1) is placed between the first outlet of the UV Column Chamber and the permeate water tank.
[0020] In an aspect, the pre-filter is a sediment filter which removes suspended impurities from the water.
[0021] In an aspect, the UV Column chamber comprises of 2 parallel quartz glass tubes exposed to a single UV irradiation placed in between the 2 parallel quartz glass tubes for disinfecting parallel streams flowing through parallel quartz glass tubes.
[0022] In an aspect, the wall thickness of quartz glass tubes is 1 mm to 2 mm.
[0023] In an aspect, a faucet is connected to the reject treated water tank to dispense the reject treated water.
[0024] In an aspect, a value addition cartridge is placed between the faucet and reject treated water tank for maintaining the pH balance of water and for removing chlorine, fluoride & other trace elements.
[0025] The present subject matter further discloses a reverse osmosis based water purification method. The method comprises: removing suspended particles from the water, in a pre-filter; passing the water, after removing suspended particles, through a solenoid valve; boosting pressure of the water coming from pre-filter; removing residual chlorine or dissolved organic impurities from the pressurized pre-filtered water by passing through an activated carbon cartridge; passing the water, from the activated carbon cartridge, through a purification membrane chamber which discharges purified water from a first outlet and discharges high pressure reject water from a second outlet; passing the purified water through a mineral cartridge; and passing the purified water and high pressure reject water through a UV Column Chamber to store the purified water in a permeate water tank and a reject treated water tank to store the reject treated water for household and recreational purposes, wherein a high pressure switch is provided to direct the flow of reject treated water towards the reject treated water tank when the pressure of the reject treated water tank is below a predetermined limit.
[0026] In second embodiment, a reverse osmosis based water purification system is disclosed. The water purification system comprises an inlet, a pre-filter, a solenoid valve, a pressure booster pump, an activated carbon cartridge, a purification membrane chamber, a mineral cartridge, a UV column, a permeate water tank, a reject water tank and a recirculation mechanism. The pre-filter is provided to remove the suspended particle from the water from the inlet. A solenoid valve is provided for controlling the flow of water and operatively connected to a pressure booster pump. The pressure booster pump boosts the pressure of the water coming from the pre-filter. The activated carbon cartridge has an inlet operatively connected to the pressure booster pump to receive a supply of high pressure feed water from the pressure booster pump, for removing residual chlorine or dissolved organic impurities from the water. The purification membrane chamber has an inlet operatively connected to the activated carbon cartridge to receive supply water from the activated carbon cartridge. Further, the purification membrane chamber has a first outlet for discharging purified water and a second outlet for discharging high pressure reject water from the purification membrane chamber. The first outlet of the purification membrane chamber is operatively connected to a mineral cartridge. The UV Column chamber has a first inlet operatively connected to the mineral cartridge to receive the purified water and a second inlet connected to the second outlet of the purification membrane chamber to receive the reject water from the second outlet of the first purification membrane chamber. The permeate water tank is connected to a first outlet of the UV Column chamber to collect the purified water and the reject treated water tank is connected to a second outlet of the UV Column chamber to collect the reject treated water. The recirculation mechanism is provided to recirculate the reject treated water from the reject treated water tank in the water purification system when TDS of the reject treated water is below predetermined value.
[0027] In an aspect, the recirculation mechanism comprises a high pressure switch, a TDS sensor, a non-return valve 3, a solenoid valve and a low pressure switch. The high pressure switch is provided to measure the pressure difference in the reject treated water tank. The TDS sensor determines TDS of the reject treated water stored in the tank. The non-return valve is provided between the TDS sensor and the low pressure switch to attain the unidirectional flow of water. The solenoid valve is periodically switch ON for a predetermined time, by default to allow the TDS sensor to measure the TDS of the stored reject treated water and directs the reject treated water as feed water to water purification system when the TDS of the reject treated water is below the predetermined value. The low pressure switch is provided to monitor the pressure in the recirculation line. The low pressure switch cut off the flow when pressure is low and signal to PCBA to actuate the main streamline Solenoid Valve and de actuate the Recirculation Solenoid Valve.
[0028] In an aspect, the high pressure switch determines the pressure inside the reject treated water tank and sends a signal to PCBA to shut down for a predetermined time when the pressure inside the reject treated water tank reaches a predetermined limit. Further, the high pressure switch directs the water from the reject treated water tank into recirculation line when the pressure of the reject treated water tank reaches a predetermined limit.
[0029] In an aspect, the high pressure switch directs the flow of reject treated water, towards the reject treated water tank, when the pressure of the reject treated water tank is below the predetermined limit.
[0030] In an aspect, the system shuts off when TDS of reject treated water is not under predetermined limit and the reject treated water tank is full. Further, the system will shut off the recirculation and an alert or an alarm signal will be displayed on the display on the water purification system.
[0031] In an aspect, a non-return valve 2 (NRV 2) is provided between the UV column and the high pressure switch to restrict the backflow of reject treated water from the reject treated water tank.
[0032] In an aspect, a flow restrictor tube is placed between the second outlet of the purification membrane chamber and the second inlet of the UV Column Chamber to provide required operating pressure for the functioning of purification membrane chamber.
[0033] In an aspect, a non-return valve (NRV1) is placed between the first outlet of the UV Column Chamber and the permeate water tank.
[0034] In an aspect, the pre-filter is a sediment filter which removes suspended impurities from the water.
[0035] In an aspect, the UV Column chamber comprises of 2 parallel quartz glass tubes exposed to a single UV irradiations placed in between the 2 parallel quartz glass tubes for disinfecting parallel streams flowing through parallel quartz glass tubes.
[0036] In an aspect, the wall thickness of quartz glass tubes is 1 mm to 2 mm.
[0037] In an aspect, a faucet is connected to the reject treated water tank.
[0038] In an aspect, a value addition cartridge is placed between the faucet and reject treated water tank for maintaining the pH balance of water and for removing chlorine, fluoride & other trace elements, making this water beneficial for plant growth.
[0039] The present subject matter further describes a reverse osmosis based water purification method. The method comprises removing suspended particles from the water, in a pre-filter; passing the water, after removing suspended particles, through a solenoid valve; boosting pressure of the water coming from pre-filter; removing residual chlorine or dissolved organic impurities from the pressurized pre-filtered water by passing through an activated carbon cartridge; passing the water, from the activated carbon cartridge, through a purification membrane chamber which discharges purified water from a first outlet and discharges high pressure reject water from a second outlet; passing the purified water through a mineral cartridge; passing the purified water and high pressure reject water through a UV Column Chamber to store the purified water in a permeate water tank and a reject treated water tank to store the reject treated water; and recirculating the reject treated water stored in the reject treated water tank in the water purification system, when TDS of the reject water is below predetermined value.
[0040] In an aspect, the recirculation of reject treated water in the water purification system comprises the steps of: monitoring the pressure in the reject treated water tank through the high pressure switch; and sends a signal to PCBA to shut down for a predetermined time when the pressure inside the reject treated water tank reached a predetermined limit; and directs the water from the reject treated water tank into recirculation line when the pressure of the reject treated water tank reaches a predetermined limit;Determining the TDS of reject treated water coming from the reject treated water tank by periodically switching on the solenoid valve for predetermined time by default and directing the reject treated water as feed water to water purification system when the TDS of reject treated water is below predetermined value; monitoring the pressure in the reject treated water tank through the low pressure switch to deactuate the recirculation solenoid valve and actuate the main streamline solenoid valve when pressure in the reject treated water tank is low; switching off the water purification system when the TDS of reject treated water is above a predetermined value or the reject treated water tank is full to its capacity ; and the system will shut off the recirculation and an alert or an alarm signal will be displayed on the display on the water purification system.
[0041] In order to further understand the characteristics and technical contents of the present invention, a description relating thereto has been made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit scope of the present subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0042] Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent from the description when read in conjunction with accompanying drawings of exemplary embodiments of invention and wherein:
[0043] Figure 1 illustrates a reverse osmosis based water purifier system according to first embodiment of present subject matter;
[0044] Figure 2a, 2b and 2c illustrates isometric, front cross-sectional view and top cross-sectional view of the UV column chamber according to an embodiment of present subject matter;
[0045] Figure 3 illustrates a reverse osmosis based water purification method corresponding to first embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0046] Figure 4 illustrates a reverse osmosis based water purifier system according to second embodiment of present subject matter;
[0047] Figure 5 illustrates a reverse osmosis based water purification method corresponding to second embodiment of the present subject matter; and
[0048] Figure 6 illustrates a recirculation method in the reverse osmosis based water purification system corresponding to the second embodiment of the present subject matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0049] The present invention discloses a reverse osmosis based water purification system 100, 400 with zero water wastage. The target of zero water wastage is achieved by providing two provisions i.e. treating the reject water from the purification chamber in UV column chamber 107 to microbiologically disinfect the reject water so that it can be used for various household purposes and providing a recirculation mechanism to recirculate the reject treated water into the purification system for higher recovery. In an aspect, a value addition cartridge 116 is provided in the present water purification system 100, 400 for maintaining the pH balance of the reject treated water and for removing chlorine, fluoride and other traces of elements.
[0050] Referring to Figure 1 illustrating a reverse osmosis based water purification system 100 according to first embodiment of present subject matter. The reverse osmosis based water purification system 100 comprises an inlet, a pre-filter 101, a solenoid valve 102, a pressure booster pump 103, an activated carbon cartridge 104, a purification membrane chamber 105, a mineral cartridge 106, a UV column 107, a high pressure switch 108, a permeate water tank 109 and a reject treated water tank 110. The water from the source is introduced in the system through the inlet. The water from the inlet is then introduced into the pre-filter 101 which is a sediment filter. In pre-filter 101, suspended particles are removed from the water from the source. The flow of the water from the pre-filter 101 is controlled by the solenoid valve 102. The solenoid valve 102 is operatively connected to the pressure booster pump 103. The pressure booster pump 103 boosts the pressure of the water from the pre-filter 101. This boost in pressure is essential to facilitate reverse osmosis in the purification membrane chamber 105. The pressure booster pump 103 is operatively connected to the inlet of the activated carbon cartridge 104. The activated carbon cartridge 104 receives water with high pressure coming from the pressure booster pump 103 and removes the residual chlorine and other dissolved organic impurities. Outlet of the activated carbon cartridge 104 is operatively connected to inlet of the purification membrane chamber 105. Water from the activated carbon cartridge 104 is introduced in the purification membrane chamber 105. The purification membrane chamber 105 contains RO membrane. The RO membrane purifies the water inside the purification membrane chamber 105. The purification membrane chamber 105 has a first outlet 111 to discharge purified water and a second outlet 112 to discharge high pressure reject water.
[0051] The first outlet 111 of the purification membrane chamber 105 is operatively connected to the mineral cartridge 106. The mineral cartridge 106 introduce wide spectrum of natural minerals back into the water to improves the taste of purified water.
[0052] The mineral cartridge 106 is operatively connected to first inlet of the UV column chamber 107 and the second outlet 112 of the purification membrane chamber 105 is operatively connected to the second inlet of the UV column chamber 107. Both purified water and reject water is passed through the UV column chamber 107. The first outlet 113 of the UV column chamber 107 containing microbiologically disinfected purified water is connected to the permeate water tank 109 and the second outlet 114 of the UV column chamber 107 containing microbiologically disinfected reject treated water is connected to the reject treated water tank 110. A non-return valve (NRV2) is placed between the second outlet 114 of the UV Column Chamber 107 and the reject treated water tank 110 to maintain a unidirectional flow towards the reject treated water tank 110. A faucet 115 is connected to the reject treated water tank 110 to dispense the reject treated water. A value addition cartridge 116 is placed between the faucet 115 and reject treated water tank 110 for maintaining the pH balance of water and for removing chlorine, fluoride & other trace elements.
[0053] A flow restrictor tube 117 is placed between the second outlet 112 of the purification membrane chamber 105 and the second inlet of the UV Column Chamber 107 to provide required operating pressure for the functioning of purification membrane chamber 105. The flow restrictor 117 facilitates reverse osmosis in the purification membrane chamber 105. Further, a non-return valve (NRV1) 118 is placed between the first outlet 113 of the UV Column Chamber 107 and the permeate water tank 109 to maintain a unidirectional flow towards the permeate chamber.
[0054] Referring to Figure 2a, 2b and 2c illustrating isometric view, front cross-sectional view and top cross-sectional view of the UV column chamber 107 according to an embodiment of present subject matter. Unlike existing RO based water purifier wherein only purified water is passed through UV column chamber, the present RO based water purification system 100 passes both purified water and reject water from the purification membrane through UV column chamber 107. That is why, the present system 100 gives reject treated water instead of reject water which is microbiologically hygienic. The UV column chamber 107 comprises two parallel quartz glass tubes 201 exposed to a single UV irradiation 202 placed in between the two parallel quartz glass tubes 201. The two parallel quartz glass tube 201 bridges the gap between first inlet and first outlet 113 and second inlet and second outlet 114. Both, purified water coming from the mineral cartridge 106 and reject water from the purification membrane chamber 105 is passed through UV column chamber 107 where they are microbiologically disinfected. The advantage of this arrangement is that no additional UV lamp 202 and driver is required to disinfect the additional stream of reject water. The UV column chamber 107 is a side by side amalgamation of two hollow cylinders 203. The UV irradiation 202 emits peak wavelength of 253.7 nm. The UV column chamber 107 is microbiologically optimized and validated with the most resistant strain Sarcina lutea 2470 by giving 5 log reduction value at a flow rate of 500 ml in both the streams. Dose (mJ/cm2) is optimized by keeping intensity constant and exposure time variable. All loss factors like ambient temperature, thickness of water column are also taken into consideration while determining the disinfection efficacy of both the streams.
[0055] The quartz glass tubes 202 have wall thickness in the range of 1mm-2mm, resulting in a UV transmittance of > 85%. 10% reduction will occur in case of reflected rays after passing through quartz column. The ultra violet radiations from the lamp 203 is being able to undergo configurational reflections at different angles over cylindrical Reflector housing surface 204 (Aluminum / stainless steel / UV compatible plastics). Alternatively, higher wattage lamps of greater length can also be used keeping the diameter constant by increasing the intensity and exposure time.
[0056] This UV Column chamber 107 doesn’t require any extra electricity keeping the electronics of the system intact.
[0057] Referring to Figure 3 illustrating a reverse osmosis based water purification method 300 according to first embodiment of the present subject matter. At step 301, suspended particle in the water from the source is removed in the pre-filter 101. The pre-filter 101 is a sediment type filter. At step 302, the water after removal of suspended particles is passed through the solenoid valve 102. At step 303, the pressure of the water passing through the solenoid valve 102 is increased using the pressure booster pump 103. At step 304, the pressurized pre-filtered water coming out of the pressure booster pump 103 is passed through an activated carbon cartridge 104. The activated carbon cartridge 104 removes the residual chlorine and other dissolved organic impurities from the pressurized pre-filtered water coming from the pressure booster pump 103. At step 305, the water from the activated carbon cartridge 104 is passed through the purification membrane chamber 105. The purification membrane chamber 105 purifies the water using reverse osmosis method and discharges the purified water from the first outlet 111 and discharges the high pressure reject water from the second outlet 112. At step 306, the purified water from the first outlet 111 of the purification membrane chamber 105 is passed through the mineral cartridge 106 where essential minerals are reintroduced in the purified water to improve the taste of water. At step 307, the purified water from the mineral cartridge 106 and the reject water from the purification membrane chamber 105 is passed through the UV column chamber 107 to microbiologically disinfect the purified water and reject water. The purified water from the UV column chamber 107 is stored in the permeate water tank 109 and the reject treated water from the UV column chamber 107 is stored in the reject treated water tank 110.
[0058] Referring to Figure 4 illustrating a reverse osmosis based water purification system 400 according to second embodiment of present subject matter. In the second embodiment a recirculation mechanism is provided in addition to the system described in first embodiment. To connect the recirculation mechanism with the reverse osmosis based water purification system a T connector 401 is used. The solenoid valve 102 is operatively connected to one end of the T connector 401 and other end of the T connector 401 is connected to pressure booster pump 103. The lower end of the T connector 401 is connected to the recirculation mechanism. The recirculation mechanism recirculate the reject treated water from the reject treated water tank 110 of the water purification system 400 when the TDS of the reject treated water is below a predetermined value. Further, the value addition cartridge 116 is provided in the present water purification system 100, 400 for maintaining the pH balance of the reject treated water and for removing chlorine, fluoride and other traces of elements.
[0059] The recirculation mechanism comprises a high pressure switch 108, a TDS sensor 403, a non-return valve (NRV3) 404, a lower pressure switch 402 and a solenoid valve 405. The high pressure switch 108 is provided to measure the pressure difference in the reject treated water tank 110. It estimates the volume of water present in the reject treated water tank. The TDS sensor 403 determine the TDS of reject treated water stored in the reject treated water tank 110. The non-return valve 404 is provided between the TDS sensor 403 and the low pressure switch 402 to maintain a unidirectional flow of the water in the recirculation system. The solenoid valve 405 is periodically switch ON for a predetermined time by default. This allows the TDS sensor 403 to measure the TDS of the reject water stored in the reject treated water tank 110. The reject treated water from the reject treated water tank 110 is re-introduced in the reverse osmosis based water purification system when the measured TDS of the reject treated water is below the predetermined value. The low pressure switch 402 monitors the pressure in the recirculation line. When the pressure in the recirculation line is low owning to low volume of water in the reject treated water tank 110, the low pressure switch 402 cut off the flow and signal printed circuit board assembly to actuate the main streamline solenoid valve 102 and de-actuate the recirculation solenoid valve 405.
[0060] The high pressure switch 108 determines the pressure inside the reject treated water tank 110 and and sends a signal to PCBA to shut down for a predetermined time when the pressure inside the reject treated water tank 110 reached a predetermined limit. Further, the high pressure switch 108 directs the water from the reject treated water tank 110 into recirculation line when the pressure of the reject treated water tank reaches a predetermined limit. When the pressure determined by the high pressure switch 108 is below the predetermined limit, the reject treated water is directed towards the reject treated water tank 110. Further, a non-return valve 119 is provided between the high pressure switch 108 and the UV column chamber 107 to restrict the backflow of reject treated water from the reject treated water tank 110. The UV column chamber in second embodiment is identical to the UV column chamber of the first embodiment.
[0061] The water purification system 400 is shut off and an alert or an alarm signal is displayed on a display of the water purification system 400 when the TDS of water stream is not under the predetermined limit and reject treated water tank 110 is full to its capacity. The system 400 will resume the normal purification cycle again, once the stored reject treated water is consumed for household or recreational purposes.
[0062] Referring to Figure 5 illustrating a reverse osmosis based water purification method 500 corresponding to second embodiment of the present subject matter. At step 501, suspended particle in the water from the source is removed in the pre-filter 101. The pre-filter 101 is a sediment type filter. At step 502, the water after removal of suspended particles is passed through the solenoid valve 102. At step 503, the pressure of the water passing through the solenoid valve 102 is increased using the pressure booster pump 103. At step 504, the pressurized pre-filtered water coming out of the pressure booster pump 103 is passed through an activated carbon cartridge 104. The activated carbon cartridge 104 removes the residual chlorine and other dissolved organic impurities from the pressurized pre-filtered water coming from the pressure booster pump 103. At step 505, the water from the activated carbon cartridge 104 is passed through the purification membrane chamber 105. The purification membrane chamber 105 purifies the water using reverse osmosis and discharges the purified water from the first outlet 111 and discharges the high pressure reject water from the second outlet 112. At step 506, the purified water from the first outlet 111 of the purification membrane chamber 105 is passed through the mineral cartridge 106 where essential minerals are reintroduced in the purified water to improve the taste of water. At step 507, the purified water from the mineral cartridge 106 and the reject water from the purification membrane chamber 105 is passed through the UV column chamber 107 to microbiologically disinfect the purified water and reject water. The purified water from the UV column chamber 107 is stored in the permeate water tank 109 and the reject treated water from the UV column chamber 107 is stored in the reject treated water tank 110. A faucet 115 is connected to the rejected treated water tank 110 to dispense the reject treated water. At step 508, the water stored in the reject treated water tank 110 is recirculated in the reverse osmosis based water purification system 400 when the TDS of the reject treated water is below a predetermined value. This enhance the recovery of the system 400.
[0063] Referring to Figure 6 illustrating a recirculation method 600 in the reverse osmosis based water purification system 400 corresponding to the second embodiment of the present subject matter. At step 601, the high pressure switch 108 monitors the pressure of the reject treated water tank 110. At step 602, the TDS sensor 403 determines the TDS of the reject water by periodically switching ON the solenoid valve 405 by default. The reject treated water is directed to the recirculation line to feed the water in the water purification system when the TDS of the reject treated water is below the predetermined value. At step 603, the low pressure switch 402 monitors the pressure of the reject treated water tank 110. The low pressure switch de-actuate the recirculation solenoid valve 405 and signals the printed circuit board to actuate the main streamline solenoid valve 102 when pressure in the reject water tank 110 is low. At step 604, the water purifier system 400 is switched OFF when the TDS of the reject treated water is above a predetermined value or the reject treated water tank 110 is full to its capacity. The recirculation systems also turned OFF and an alert or an alarm signal is displayed on the display of the water purification system 400.
[0064] The advantages of this reverse osmosis based water purification system 100, 400 are manifold. The system 100, 400 wastes zero water unlike existing RO purifier which wastes as much as 75% of the water. The reject water from the purification membrane chamber 105 is UV treated which makes even the rejected water microbiologically hygienic and can be used for many household chores. Further, by adding a value addition cartridge 116 the reject treated water can also be used for many recreational works like gardening etc. The system 400 has a recirculation mechanism which enhances the overall recovery of the water. The system 100, 400 is also energy efficient and economical as the reject water is also UV treated via the same lamp unlike the existing RO purifier.
[0065] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
[0066] It will be further appreciated that functions or structures of a plurality of components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the functions or structures of one-step or component may be split among plural steps or components. The present invention contemplates all of these combinations. Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the invention, and other dimensions or geometries are possible. In addition, while a feature of the present invention may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the above that the fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof also constitute methods in accordance with the present invention. The present invention also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the practice of the methods herein. The use of “comprising” or “including” also contemplates embodiments that “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the recited feature.

Claims:We Claim:
1. A Reverse Osmosis based water purification system (100), the water purification system (100) comprising:
An inlet for source of the water to be purified;
a pre-filter (101) for removing the suspended particles from water;
a solenoid valve (102) provided for controlling the flow of water and being operatively connected to a pressure booster pump (103) wherein the pressure booster pump boosts the pressure of the water coming from the pre-filter (101);
an activated carbon cartridge (104) having an inlet operatively connected to the pressure booster pump (103) for receiving a supply of high pressure feed water from the pressure booster pump (103), for removing residual chlorine or dissolved organic impurities from the water;
a purification membrane chamber (105) having an inlet operatively connected to the activated carbon cartridge (104) for receiving a supply water from the activated carbon cartridge (104), the purification membrane chamber (105) having a first outlet (111) for discharging purified water, the purification membrane chamber (105) having a second outlet (112) for discharging high pressure reject water from the purification membrane chamber (105);
the first outlet (111) of the purification membrane chamber (105) operatively connected to a mineral cartridge (106);
a UV Column chamber (107) having a first inlet operatively connected to the mineral cartridge (106) for receiving the purified water and a second inlet connected to the second outlet (112) of the purification membrane chamber (105) for receiving the reject water from the second outlet (112) of the first purification membrane chamber (105); and
a permeate water tank (109) connected to a first outlet (113) of the UV Column chamber (107) for collecting the purified water and a reject treated water tank (110) connected to a second outlet (114) of the UV Column chamber (107) for collecting the reject treated water, wherein a high pressure switch (108) is provided to direct the flow of reject treated water towards the reject treated water tank (110) when the pressure of the reject treated water tank (110) is below a predetermined limit.
2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the high pressure switch (108) determines the pressure inside the reject treated water tank (110) and sends a signal to Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) to shut down the system (100) for a predetermined time when the pressure inside the reject treated water tank (110) reaches a predetermined limit.
3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein an alert or an alarm signal will be displayed on the display on the water purification system (100) when the system (100) is shut down.
4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a flow restrictor tube (117) is placed between the second outlet (112) of the purification membrane chamber (105) and the second inlet of the UV Column Chamber (107) to provide required operating pressure for the functioning of purification membrane chamber (105).
5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a non-return valve (NRV1) (118) is placed between the first outlet (113) of the UV Column Chamber (107) and the permeate water tank (109).
6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pre-filter (101) is a sediment filter which removes suspended impurities from the water.
7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the UV Column chamber (107) comprises of 2 parallel quartz glass tubes (201) exposed to a single UV irradiation (202) placed in between the 2 parallel quartz glass tubes (201) for disinfecting parallel streams flowing through parallel quartz glass tubes (201).
8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the wall thickness of quartz glass tubes (201) is 1 mm to 2 mm.
9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1 to 8, wherein a faucet (115) is connected to the reject treated water tank (110) to dispense the reject treated water.
10. The system (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein a value addition cartridge (116) is placed between the faucet (115) and reject treated water tank (110) for maintaining the pH balance of water and for removing chlorine, fluoride & other trace elements.
11. A Reverse Osmosis based water purification method (300), the method comprises:
Removing (301) suspended particles from the water, in a pre-filter (101);
Passing (302) the water, after removing suspended particles, through a solenoid valve (102);
Boosting (303) pressure of the water coming from pre-filter (101);
Removing (304) residual chlorine or dissolved organic impurities from the pressurized pre-filtered water by passing through an activated carbon cartridge (104);
Passing (305) the water, from the activated carbon cartridge (104), through a purification membrane chamber (105) which discharges purified water from a first outlet (111) and discharges high pressure reject water from a second outlet (112);
Passing (306) the purified water through a mineral cartridge (106); and
Passing (307) the purified water and high pressure reject water through a UV Column Chamber (107) to store the purified water in a permeate water tank (109) and a reject treated water tank (110) to store the reject treated water, wherein a high pressure switch (108) is provided to direct the flow of reject treated water towards the reject treated water tank (110) when the pressure of the reject treated water tank (110) is below a predetermined limit.
12. A Reverse Osmosis based water purification system (400), the water purification system (400) comprising:
An inlet for source of the water to be purified;
a pre-filter (101) for removing the suspended particles from water;
a solenoid valve (102) for controlling the flow of water and operatively connected to a pressure booster pump (103), wherein the pressure booster pump (103) boosts the pressure of the water coming from the pre-filter (101);
an activated carbon cartridge (104) having an inlet operatively connected to the pressure booster pump (103) for receiving a supply of high pressure feed water from the pressure booster pump (103), for removing residual chlorine or dissolved organic impurities from the water;
a purification membrane chamber (105) having an inlet operatively connected to the activated carbon cartridge (104) for receiving a supply water from the activated carbon cartridge (104), the purification membrane chamber (105) having a first outlet (111) for discharging purified water, the purification membrane chamber (105) having a second outlet (112) for discharging high pressure reject water from the purification membrane chamber (105);
the first outlet (111) of the purification membrane chamber (105) operatively connected to a mineral cartridge (106);
a UV Column chamber (107) having a first inlet operatively connected to the mineral cartridge (106) for receiving the purified water and a second inlet connected to the second outlet (112) of the purification membrane chamber (105) for receiving the reject water from the second outlet (112) of the purification membrane chamber (105);
a permeate water tank (109) connected to a first outlet (113) of the UV Column chamber (107) for collecting the purified water and a reject treated water tank (110) connected to a second outlet (114) of the UV Column chamber (107) for collecting the reject treated water; and
a recirculation mechanism to recirculate the reject treated water from the reject treated water tank (110) in the water purification system when TDS of the reject treated water is below predetermined value to increase the recovery of the system.
13. The water purification system (400) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the recirculation mechanism comprises:
a high pressure switch (108) to measure the pressure difference in the reject treated water tank (110);
a TDS sensor (403) to determine TDS of reject treated water stored in the tank (110);
a Non Return Valve 3 (NRV 3) (404) provided between TDS sensor (403) and a low pressure switch (402) to attain the unidirectional flow of water;
a solenoid valve (405) to periodically switch on for a predetermined time, by default, to allow TDS sensor (403) to measure the TDS of the stored reject treated water and directs reject treated water as a feed water to water purification system when TDS of the reject treated water is below the predetermined value;
a low pressure switch (402) to monitor the pressure in the recirculation line wherein the low pressure switch (402) cut off the flow when pressure is low and signal to PCBA to actuate the main streamline Solenoid Valve (102) and de actuate the Recirculation Solenoid Valve (405).
14. The water purification system (400) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the high pressure switch (108) determines the pressure inside the reject treated water tank (110) and sends a signal to PCBA to shut down for a predetermined time when the pressure inside the reject treated water tank (110) reached a predetermined limit; and
directs the water from the reject treated water tank (110) into recirculation line when the pressure of the reject treated water tank (110) reaches the predetermined limit.
15. The water purification system (400) as claimed in claim 14, wherein the water purification system (400) will shut off and an alert or an alarm signal is displayed on a display on the water purification system (400), when the TDS of reject treated water is not under the predefined limit to recirculate, and reject treated water tank (110) is full.
16. The water purification system (400) as claimed in claims 13 to 15, wherein the high pressure switch (108) directs the flow of reject treated water, towards the reject treated water tank (110), when the pressure of the reject treated water tank (110) is below the predetermined limit.
17. The water purification system (400) as claimed in claims 13 to 16, wherein a non-return valve 2 (NRV 2) (119) is provided between the UV column chamber (107) and the high pressure switch (108) to restrict the backflow of reject treated water from the reject treated water tank (110).
18. The system (400) as claimed in claims 13 to 17, wherein a flow restrictor tube (117) is placed between the second outlet (112) of the purification membrane chamber (105) and the second inlet of the UV Column Chamber (107) to provide required operating pressure for the functioning of purification membrane chamber(105).
19. The system (400) as claimed in claims 13 to 18, wherein a non-return valve (NRV1) (118) is placed between the first outlet (113) of the UV Column Chamber (107) and the permeate water tank (110).
20. The system (400) as claimed in claims 13 to 19, wherein the pre-filter (101) is a sediment filter which removes suspended impurities from the water.
21. The system (400) as claimed in claims 13 to 20, wherein the UV Column chamber (107) comprises of 2 parallel quartz glass tubes (201) exposed to a single UV irradiations (202) placed in between the 2 parallel quartz glass tubes (201) for disinfecting parallel streams flowing through parallel quartz glass tubes (201).
22. The system (400) as claimed in claim 21, wherein the wall thickness of quartz glass tubes is 1 mm to 2 mm.
23. The system (400) as claimed in claims 13 - 22, wherein a faucet (115) is connected to the reject treated water tank (110).
24. The system (400) as claimed in claim 23, wherein a value addition cartridge (116) is placed between the faucet (115) and reject treated water tank (110) for maintaining the pH balance of water and for removing chlorine, fluoride & other trace elements, making this water beneficial for plant growth.
25. A Reverse Osmosis based water purification method (500), the method (500) comprises:
Removing (501) suspended particles from the water, in a pre-filter (101);
Passing (502) the water, after removing suspended particles, through a solenoid valve (102);
Boosting (503) pressure of the water coming from pre-filter (101);
Removing (504) residual chlorine or dissolved organic impurities from the pressurized pre-filtered water by passing through an activated carbon cartridge (104);
Passing (505) the water, from the activated carbon cartridge (104), through a purification membrane chamber (105) which discharges purified water from a first outlet (111) and discharges high pressure reject water from a second outlet (112);
Passing (506) the purified water through a mineral cartridge (106);
Passing (507) the purified water and high pressure reject water through a UV Column Chamber (107) to store the purified water in a permeate water tank (109) and a reject treated water tank (110) to store the reject treated water; and
Recirculating (508) the reject treated water stored in the reject treated water tank (110) in the water purification system, when TDS of the reject water is below predetermined value.
26. The water purification method (500) as claimed in claim 25, wherein the recirculation of reject treated water in the water purification system comprises the steps (600) of:
Monitoring (601) the pressure in the reject treated water tank through the high pressure switch (108); and sends a signal to PCBA to shut down for a predetermined time when the pressure inside the reject treated water tank reached a predetermined limit; and directs the water from the reject treated water tank into recirculation line when the pressure of the reject treated water tank reaches a predetermined limit;
Determining (602) the TDS of reject treated water coming from the reject treated water tank (110) by periodically switching on the solenoid valve (405) by default for predetermined time and directing the reject treated water as feed water to water purification system when the TDS of reject treated water is below predetermined value;
Monitoring (603) the pressure in the reject treated water tank (110) through the low pressure switch (402) to deactuate the recirculation solenoid valve (405) and actuate the main streamline solenoid valve (102) when pressure in the reject treated water tank (110) is low; and
Switching (604) off the water purification system (400) when the TDS of reject treated water is above a predetermined value or the reject treated water tank is full to its capacity and the system (400) will shut off the recirculation and an alert or an alarm signal will be displayed on the display on the water purification system (400).