Reverse osmosis apparatus

Claim 1

A reverse osmosis apparatus comprising: an outer cylindrical shell; an inner cylindrical shell disposed concentrically within said outer cylindrical shell and defining an annulus between the outer wall of the inner cylindrical shell and the outer wall of the outer cylindrical shell; an osmotic membrane forming at least a portion of the outer wall of said inner cylindrical shell; end walls on said inner cylindrical shell; end walls on said outer cylindrical shells spaced from the end walls on said inner cylindrical shell and defining fluid flow passageways extending to said annulus for feeding a process solution to said annulus and for removing a process solution from said annulus as said shells are rotated about a common rotational axis; means for rotating the inner and outer shells concurrently about a common rotational axis extending through said inner shell; means for continuously conveying a process solution between the pair of end walls of said inner and outer shells along a substantially radial path to and away from the annulus between said inner and outer shells; and means for continuously removing product fluid from a location on the opposite side of said membrane from said annulus at a location such that a liquid pressure differential exists across the membrane producing reverse osmosis, said means for continuously removing product fluid comprising a product fluid conduit extending through an eNd wall of said outer shell and through one end wall of said inner shell to communicate with the interior of said inner shell at a location which is spaced radially inwardly from said membrane by a distance which is less than the radial distance over which said process solution is continuously conveyed to, and away from, the annulus between said inner and outer shells.