MVR Evaporator Patents: Top Companies & Filing Trends 2026
- Concentrated at the top. The top 5 assignees combined account for 46.3% of all 214 records in scope, and the top 10 reach 65.9% — a field where a handful of filers have built dense position.
- Filing has cooled from its 2018 peak. Filings ran from 20 in 2017 to a peak of 30 in 2018, and 2021-to-2024 activity fell 56% (16 to 7) — the clearest complete-year signal available, with 2025-2026 still filling in behind publication lag.
- Separation and water-treatment classes dominate the claim map. B01D separation processes cover 64.0% of records and C02F water/wastewater treatment 34.1%, while metals-adjacent classes like C25C and C22B sit near 7%, marking room for cross-sector claims.
Filing growth compares 2021 (16 records) with 2024 (7) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 214 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the mechanical vapor recompression evaporator patent set covers
Mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) evaporators recover latent heat from evaporated vapor by mechanically recompressing it, cutting the specific energy needed to concentrate liquid streams. The 214 records in scope combine search terms for MVR and wastewater evaporator hardware with operational terms — compressor selection, scaling control, heat transfer coefficient, antifoam dosing, tube fouling and specific energy — so the set is weighted toward claims that address how an MVR system is actually operated and maintained, not just its general architecture.
Filing activity runs from 2015 through the 2026-07-31 cut-off, with the bulk of publications sitting in the 2017-2021 window. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend chart understate true filing activity and should be read with that discount in mind.
Filing trends and technology classification
Two views of the same 214-record set: the year-by-year filing curve, and the IPC subclasses those records carry.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings opened at 20 in 2017, rose to a peak of 30 in 2018, and by the last complete year on record (2024) had fallen to 7 — a 56% drop from the 2021 level of 16. 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete due to publication lag and should not be read as a continued decline.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
B01D (separation processes) appears on 64.0% of the 214 records and C02F (water and wastewater treatment) on 34.1%, confirming the set's core is evaporator hardware and process water treatment. Smaller shares in C01B, C10G, C25C, C23F, C07C and C22B — each between roughly 6.5% and 9.3% — point to MVR claims reaching into hydrocarbon refining, electrolytic metal production and corrosion control, since a single record can carry more than one class.
Shares are the percentage of the 214 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Mechanical Vapor Recompression Evaporators with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about mechanical vapor recompression evaporators and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited prior art
EP2716341A1 — Indirect heat exchange evaporator device and method for liquid treatment by mechanical vapor recompression
The current invention concerns an indirect heat exchange evaporator device and method for liquid treatment by mechanical vapor recompression comprising a fixed fluid-tight evaporator housing; an inlet for feeding liquid to be evaporated into the housing and an outlet from the housing for liquid concentrated by evaporation; an outlet from the housing for discharging from said housing vapor boiled off from the liquid by evaporation; a plurality of heating elements within the housing mounted on a common horizontal axis, each of said heating elements having an outer surface for contact with said liquid to be evaporated within the housing and having an internal passage for heating medium.Abstract truncated as provided in the underlying record; filed by VITO NV (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek).
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20040253159A1 | Method for recovery of CO2 from gas streams | 214 |
| 2 | US7056482B2 | Method for recovery of CO2 from gas streams | 185 |
| 3 | US20100163471A1 | Water desalination plant and system for the production of pure water and salt | 126 |
| 4 | US20120160753A1 | Water desalination plant and system for the production of pure water and salt | 98 |
| 5 | US6375803B1 | Mechanical vapor recompression separation process | 86 |
| 6 | US20070000769A1 | Ethanol distillation with distillers soluble solids recovery apparatus | 85 |
| 7 | US7867365B2 | Ethanol distillation with distillers soluble solids recovery apparatus | 49 |
| 8 | US20100200388A1 | Distillation apparatus | 43 |
| 9 | US20090056945A1 | Process for Removing Silica in Heavy Oil Recovery | 40 |
| 10 | WO2004088230A2 | Ethanol distillation with distillers soluble solids recovery apparatus | 38 |
Citation counts reflect influence within this searched corpus and skew toward older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Reading the concentration, trend and citation data together points to where claim space is occupied and where it is not.
A handful of filers built dense position early
With the leader at 32 records and fifth place at 13, the field's early movers occupy a large share of claim space around core evaporator architecture and vapor-handling. New entrants competing head-on with basic housing and compressor-loop claims face crowded prior art.
Activity has pulled back from its 2018 peak
The 2018 peak of 30 filings has not been matched since, and the 2021-to-2024 window shows a 56% decline (16 to 7). That is the most reliable recent signal available; 2025-2026 counts are still incomplete because of publication lag and should not be read as confirming a continued slide.
Separation-process claims anchor the field, water treatment close behind
B01D and C02F together cover most of the set, but the presence of C25C, C22B, C10G and C07C at single-digit shares shows MVR claims already reaching into electrolytic metal production, ore/metal extraction, hydrocarbon refining and organic-compound processing — sectors where evaporator-specific operational claims (fouling, antifoam dosing) remain comparatively thin.
The most-cited prior art predates the current filing wave
The most heavily cited records concern CO2 recovery from gas streams and desalination plant design, filed well before the 2017-2021 filing surge in this set. That gap signals the current wave is building on foundational separation and desalination patents rather than replacing them.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to mechanical vapor recompression evaporators, with the prior art for and against each one.
Assignee concentration and where recent activity has gone quiet
The ranking covers 56 companies counted by record, not a top-50 or top-100 cut — it is the full list the dataset returns.
A single filer sits well ahead of the field
The leading assignee holds 32 records against a fifth-place figure of 13 and a tenth-place figure of 6 — a steep drop-off that marks this as a leader-plus-long-tail structure rather than an evenly split field.
Two-thirds of the field sits with ten organisations
Combined, the top 10 assignees hold 141 of 214 records. For a new filer, that means most of the obvious claim territory around core MVR hardware is already staked by a small group, pushing fresh filings toward adjacent or operational claims.
Several established filers show no latest-year output
Multiple assignees with meaningful historical filing counts show zero records in the latest year — consistent with the broader 2021-2024 pullback rather than a company-specific retreat, and likely inflated by publication lag on the newest filings.
Co-filing is limited and mostly intra-group
Only 9 co-assignee pairs appear across the set, and the strongest links are between a company and its own named inventor or between regional units of the same corporate group — there is little sign of cross-company joint filing in this field.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Battelle Memorial Institute | 0 | — |
| Cansolv Technologies Inc. | 0 | — |
| Steeper Energy | 0 | — |
| CJ BROWN HOLDINGS LLC | 0 | — |
| Aquafair AB | 0 | — |
| Sasakura Engineering Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| CARDARELLI FRANCOIS | 0 | — |
| Estech LLC | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with dense core claims and thinner coverage in operational sub-areas. The next step is testing a specific claim direction against the full record set.
Check a draft claim against occupied space
Before drafting around compressor selection, scaling control or antifoam dosing, run the specific claim language against the assignees holding the top positions to see how close existing claims sit.
Explore in Eureka →Track the assignees that went quiet
Several leaders show zero latest-year filings. Confirming whether that reflects a genuine pullback or publication lag matters before assuming the field is opening up.
Explore in Eureka →Common questions about MVR evaporator patents
The assignee ranking for this dataset covers 56 companies, and it is led by a single filer with 32 records, well ahead of fifth place at 13 and tenth place at 6. The top 5 assignees combined hold 46.3% of all 214 records in scope, and the top 10 combined hold 65.9%. That structure means a small group of filers has staked most of the core claim territory, while a long tail files one or a few records each.
Filings peaked at 30 in 2018 after rising from 20 in 2017, and the clearest complete-year comparison available, 2021 to 2024, shows a 56% decline from 16 to 7. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025-2026 figures in any chart are still incomplete and should not be read as proof the decline continues. Based on the complete years, filing activity has cooled meaningfully from its 2018 high.
Separation processes (IPC class B01D) appear on 64.0% of the 214 records and water/wastewater treatment (C02F) on 34.1%, making these the two dominant classification areas. Smaller but notable overlaps exist with non-metallic inorganic compounds (C01B), hydrocarbon refining (C10G), electrolytic metal production (C25C), corrosion control (C23F), organic compound processing (C07C) and metal extraction (C22B), each in the roughly 6.5%-9.3% range. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the record total.
EP2716341A1, filed by VITO NV, describes an indirect heat exchange evaporator device for liquid treatment by mechanical vapor recompression: a fixed, fluid-tight housing with a liquid inlet, a concentrated-liquid outlet, a vapor outlet, and a plurality of heating elements mounted on a common horizontal axis, each with an outer surface for liquid contact and an internal passage for heating medium. The specific combination of a sealed horizontal-axis heating-element array inside a single housing is the structural detail that matters most for anyone designing a competing indirect-heat MVR unit. Reviewing the full claim set against a specific design is the only reliable way to confirm freedom to operate.
The technology composition data shows dense coverage in core separation and water-treatment claims (B01D, C02F) but comparatively thin coverage in operational sub-areas tied to the search terms themselves — antifoam dosing, tube fouling detection, and compressor selection for variable-load operation. The metals-adjacent classes (C25C, C22B) sit at single-digit shares of the 214 records, suggesting MVR-specific operational claims have not yet been heavily filed against electrolytic metal recovery or ore extraction streams. Co-assignee data also shows only 9 pairs total, meaning cross-company joint development claims are largely unexplored.
Research Mechanical Vapor Recompression Evaporators in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole mechanical vapor recompression evaporators corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.