Abstract:
A liquid transfer system is disclosed, particularly applicable to the desalination of water, in which a solution, e.g., saline water, is formed into fine droplets having a specified curvature and associated vapor pressure dispersed in a carrier fluid immiscible with the solvent to form a disperse system which is then brought into intimate association with a body of solvent of lower solute concentration and having a smaller curvature and lower associated vapor pressure creating an unstable condition in which solvent transfers as vapor from the droplets of the disperse system to the body of solvent. Examples are given in which the disperse system is an aerosol, i.e., carrier fluid is a gas, or an emulsion, i.e., carrier fluid is a liquid.