Announcing Our 2024 Finalists

Aquaback is developing a highly efficient, low cost, low maintenance, compact, modular vapor compression distiller to be the water processing module in a wide variety of water processing systems to clean incoming water or reclaim waste water. The systems will enable recycling of most water for any use including potable water at a lower overall cost than any other technology or combinations of technologies, addressing water supply and disposal problems world wide. Distillation provides the highest purity water in a single operation but until now distillers have been too expensive to make or operate to be practical. Aquaback has optimized every aspect of distillation using the known vapor compression method to recycle over 99% of the heat of vaporization using a mass manufactured, self-cleaning, low maintenance, low cost design.

The basic module design is sized for a single household but is scalable by combining individual modules in arrays for larger capacity systems applicable to industrial and commercial wastewater reuse or purification systems. The combination of low direct energy consumption and the absence of consumable filters and chemicals minimize environmental impact.

State of the art technology is used throughout from the electronic control system and sensors to the materials and fabrication methods. The operating temperature is the boiling point of water so the system is designed fundamentally to conserve heat. It is enclosed in a vacuum insulation shell that loses less than 20 watts of power at standby and enables an external temperature that is only a few degrees above ambient. The compressor is a high speed turbo machine, with a single moving part, running on water bearings for long life, efficiency and maintenance free operation. Noise and heat loss is not detected from a few feet away. The module is 9 inches in diameter, 26 inches high and weighs 60 pounds. It consumes less than 400 watts while producing 20 gallons per hour of distillate from a wide variety of influents including sewage.

Large markets will include distributed household wastewater treatment systems that can offer full recycling and zero discharge if desired, industrial wastewater treatment and point of entry water systems. A unique, patent protected ammonia removal system exceeds the requirements of all known environmental regulations when sewage is recycled. Industrial wastewater will be cleaned at point of contamination and point of entry systems for large buildings, towns, residential developments and shopping centers will utilize arrays with built in central control and information delivery. Industrial use for incoming water treatment, waste water and recycling will use single or a few units at the point of use or arrays for a whole plant.