Fresh water and mechanical energy are obtained from melting of icebergs. Warm surface seawater is contacted with a fluid, which is vaporized. The resulting vapor is used to generate mechanical energy and then is condensed by contacting it with cold melt water from the iceberg. The fluid is regenerated with a concomitant elevation in the temperature of the melt water. The warmer melt water is cycled to the body of the iceberg to facilitate its melting and produce additional cold melt water, which is apportioned as fresh water and water cycled to condense the aforesaid vapor. In an alternate embodiment of the invention warm seawater is evaporated at reduced pressure. Mechanical energy is generated from the vapor, which is then condensed by direct and intimate contact with cold melt water from the iceberg. The resultant fresh water is a mixture of condensed vapor and melt water from the iceberg and has a temperature greater than the cold melt water. This fresh water mixture is contacted with the body of the iceberg to further melt it; part of the cold melt water is separated as fresh water and the remainder is cycled for use in condensing the vapor from the warm surface seawater.
A liquid purification system, method and apparatus includes a plurality of operationally interconnected chambers. A supply or inlet chamber is held at about atmospheric temperature while other chambers of the system are held at a partial vacuum. The liquid to be purified is metered through a pressure differential between the supply or first chamber and a second chamber to induce spontaneous vaporization of the liquid. The temperatures of the chambers are reduced sufficiently so that, in the case of water, temperature-pressure conditions in the second chamber are below the triple point so as to condense ice and precipitate impurities into another chamber from the spontaneous vaporization. Condensation of the vapor in still another chamber recovers pure liquid. A temperature differential mechanism operatively connected to the chambers insures that condensation of the vapor will occur.
