Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a vapor condensation and liquid recovery system, and more particularly, to a vapor condensation system which employs a turbine and multi-chambered condensation units which are sequentially evacuated, filled and purged.
It is often desirable to separate a liquid from a solid material containing the liquid. Techniques which apply heat to solid materials in order to vaporize and extract the liquids contained therein are called thermal desorbtion processes. In most cases of environmental interest water is the primary liquid contained in the solid matrix, which is usually soil. When soils contain hazardous or toxic substances such as fuel oils, gasolines, hydrocarbons, chlorinated organic compounds, or other volatile or semi-volatile chemicals the vapor streams extracted are normally oxidized in specially designed combustion chambers to completely destroy the hazardous molecules and emit combustion products which are environmentally benign relative to their precursors.
There are cases, however, when emissions of the combustion products are not desirable. This would be due to either legal or regulatory restrictions, nominally, when the combustion products are themselves toxic or hazardous. There are also such cases where such volatile or semi-volatile liquids have commercial value.
The apparatus disclosed herein is designed to condense vapors into liquids, and, thus, permit the condensate to be recycled or destroyed as desired.