Patents by Inventor William E. Kovacs

William E. Kovacs has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8691095
    Abstract: A high efficiency water purification system is provided incorporating recovery of a portion concentrate wastewater associated with the reverse osmosis unit. This reduces the overall volume of concentrate wastewater requiring discharge/disposal by reusing the purified concentrate of a concentrate recovery units as RO feed water. Initial feedwater is pressurized and passed through an RO membrane, and separated into a permeate flow and a concentrate flow. A portion of the higher pressure concentrate is then directed to an additional set of thin film composite membranes (concentrate recovery membranes). The concentrate recovery membranes are arranged in an array such that the concentrate pressure is adequate to provide the force required to drive the concentrate through the recovery system membranes. The permeate produced by the concentrate recovery system is directed back to the feed of the primary RO unit; thereby, reducing the volume of raw feed water required for system operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: Water Intellectual Properties, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph Hooley, William E. Kovacs
  • Publication number: 20120145634
    Abstract: A high efficiency water purification system is provided incorporating a process to recover a portion of the concentrate wastewater associated with the reverse osmosis unit to reduce the overall volume of concentrate wastewater requiring discharge/disposal by reusing the purified concentrate of a concentrate recovery units as RO feed water. The initial municipal feedwater is pressurized and passed through an RO membrane, and separated into a permeate flow and a concentrate flow. After passing through the membrane, a portion of the higher pressure concentrate is then directed to an additional set of thin film composite membranes (concentrate recovery membranes). The concentrate is drawn from the primary RO unit upstream of a concentrate flow control valve where the pressure is typically 100-600 psig. The concentrate recovery membranes are arranged in an array such that the concentrate pressure is adequate to provide the force required to drive the concentrate through the recovery system membranes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2010
    Publication date: June 14, 2012
    Inventors: Joseph Hooley, William E. Kovacs
  • Publication number: 20120145636
    Abstract: A high efficiency water purification system is provided incorporating recovery of a portion concentrate wastewater associated with the reverse osmosis unit. This reduces the overall volume of concentrate wastewater requiring discharge/disposal by reusing the purified concentrate of a concentrate recovery units as RO feed water. Initial feedwater is pressurized and passed through an RO membrane, and separated into a permeate flow and a concentrate flow. A portion of the higher pressure concentrate is then directed to an additional set of thin film composite membranes (concentrate recovery membranes). The concentrate recovery membranes are arranged in an array such that the concentrate pressure is adequate to provide the force required to drive the concentrate through the recovery system membranes. The permeate produced by the concentrate recovery system is directed back to the feed of the primary RO unit; thereby, reducing the volume of raw feed water required for system operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2011
    Publication date: June 14, 2012
    Inventors: Joseph Hooley, William E. Kovacs