As prices come down in the future the use of reverse osmosis plants to desalinate large amounts of saline water should become more common. Reverse osmosis is an effective means to desalinate saline water, but it is more expensive than other methods. In most simplistic terms, water, containing dissolved salt molecules, is forced through a semipermiable membrane (essentially a filter), in which the larger salt molecules do not get through the membrane holes but the smaller water molecules do. Another method: Reverse osmosisĪnother way saline water is desalinized is by the "reverse osmosis" procedure. Solar desalination evaporation is used by nature to produce rain, which is the main source of freshwater on earth. They may have only limited underground water resources, some that are becoming more brackish as extraction of water from the aquifers continues. Many arid areas simply do not have freshwater resources in the form of surface water such as rivers and lakes. The scarcity of freshwater resources and the need for additional water supplies is already critical in many arid regions of the world and will be increasingly important in the future. Highly saline water - From 10,000 ppm to 35,000 ppmīy the way, ocean water contains about 35,000 ppm of salt.Ī view across a reverse osmosis desalination plant in Barcelona, Spain.Ĭredit: James Grellier The worldwide need for freshwater.Moderately saline water - From 3,000 ppm to 10,000 ppm.Slightly saline water - From 1,000 ppm to 3,000 ppm.Here are our parameters for saline water: If water has a concentration of 10,000 ppm of dissolved salts, then one percent of the weight of the water comes from dissolved salts. In this case, the concentration is the amount (by weight) of salt in water, as expressed in "parts per million" (ppm). What do we mean by "saline water?" Water that is saline contains significant amounts (referred to as "concentrations") of dissolved salts. Other methods are available but these current technological processes must be done on a large scale to be useful to large populations, and the current processes are expensive, energy-intensive, and involve large-scale facilities. That may seem as easy as just boiling some seawater in a pan, capturing the steam and condensing it back into water (distillation). The "simple" hurdle that must be overcome to turn seawater into freshwater is to remove the dissolved salt in seawater. In some areas, salt water (from the ocean, for instance) is being turned into freshwater for drinking. And, as the population continues to grow, shortages of freshwater will occur more often, if only in certain locations. But, freshwater can be in short supply in many parts of the Nation and world. Most of the United States has, or can gain access to, ample supplies of freshwater for drinking purposes. The process is called desalination, and it is being used more and more around the world to provide people with needed freshwater. But, saline water can be made into freshwater, which is the purpose of this portable, inflatable solar still (it even wraps up into a tiny package). No, don't take us literally! Humans cannot drink saline water. Visit Media to see details.Ī floating solar still is used to desalinate small amounts of seawater, using evaporation and condensation. Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions.
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