IP Library Patent Application 17260506
Patent Application
App. No. 17/260,506

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REUSING WASTEWATER BY USING REVERSE OSMOSIS

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Patent No.
US None
App. No.
17/260,506
Abstract

A method for reusing wastewater by using reverse osmosis, according to the present invention, provides a method for preparing pure water through a primary reverse osmosis step, a secondary reverse osmosis step, a foam generation step, and a reverse osmosis membrane washing step. The present invention prepares pure water through several reverse osmosis steps, thereby enabling prepared pure water to be immediately used as industrial water, and washes a reverse osmosis membrane with foam, thereby improving washing efficiency and saving on maintenance costs of a wastewater reuse apparatus.

Claims (21)

1 . A method for reusing wastewater, comprising:

a primary reverse osmosis operation of feeding wastewater to a primary reverse osmosis pressure vessel and discharging primary concentrated water and primary permeate water;

a secondary reverse osmosis operation of feeding the primary permeate water to a secondary reverse osmosis pressure vessel and discharging secondary concentrated water and pure water;

a bubble generation operation of generating bubbles by mixing air and a washing liquid with each other; and

a reverse osmosis membrane washing operation of washing a reverse osmosis membrane by feeding the washing liquid including the bubbles to the primary reverse osmosis pressure vessel.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

a primary pre-treatment operation of discharging primary pre-treated water from which floating substances and organic substances in the wastewater are removed; and

a secondary pre-treatment operation of removing fine particles included in the primary pre-treated water and feeding the primary pre-treated water to the primary reverse osmosis pressure vessel.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the primary reverse osmosis operation includes a primary first stage reverse osmosis operation and a primary second stage reverse osmosis operation.

4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising an energy recovery operation of rotating a turbine of an energy recovery device using pressure of concentrated water discharged in the primary second stage reverse osmosis operation.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the secondary reverse osmosis operation includes a secondary first stage reverse osmosis operation and a secondary second stage reverse osmosis operation.

6 . An apparatus for reusing wastewater, comprising:

a primary reverse osmosis pressure vessel separating wastewater and discharging primary concentrated water and primary permeate water;

a secondary reverse osmosis pressure vessel separating the primary permeate water and discharging secondary concentrated water and pure water; and

a line mixer generating bubbles by mixing air and a washing liquid with each other.

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising:

a primary pre-treatment device discharging primary pre-treated water from which floating substances and organic substances in the wastewater are removed; and

a secondary pre-treatment device removing fine particles included in the primary pre-treated water.

8 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the primary reverse osmosis pressure vessel includes a primary first stage reverse osmosis pressure vessel and a primary second stage reverse osmosis pressure vessel.

9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising an energy recovery device whose turbine is rotated using pressure of concentrated water discharged from the primary second stage reverse osmosis pressure vessel.

10 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the secondary reverse osmosis pressure vessel includes a secondary first stage reverse osmosis pressure vessel and a secondary second stage reverse osmosis pressure vessel.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 4, 2023
From: POSCO HOLDINGS INC.; RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
To: POSCO CO., LTD; RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Reel/Frame 063212/0009 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Sep 28, 2022
From: POSCO
To: POSCO HOLDINGS INC.
Reel/Frame 061561/0756 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 15, 2021
From: KANG, SHIN-GYUNG; SUNG, YOUL-BOONG
To: POSCO; RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Reel/Frame 054930/0748 →