How oceans can solve our freshwater crisis
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social
It's been a cruel irony for ancient mariners and any thirsty person who has ever gazed upon a sparkling blue ocean:Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.But imagine a coastal city of the future, say in 2035. Along with basic infrastructure such as a port, roads, sewer lines and an electrical grid, it's increasingly likely this city by the sea will contain a newer feature.
A desalination plant.Thanks to improved technology, turning ocean water into freshwater is becoming more economically feasible. And a looming global water crisis may make it crucial to the planet's future.
The United Nations predicts thatby 2025, two-thirds of the world's population will suffer water shortages, especially in the developing world and the parched Middle East. Scientists say climate change is making the problem worse. Even in the United States, demand for water in drought-ravaged California and the desert Southwest is outpacing supply.
This is why ahuge desalination plant is under construction in Carlsbad, California, some 30 miles north of San Diego. When completed in 2016, it will be the largest such facility in the Western Hemisphere and create 50 million gallons of freshwater a day.
"Whenever a drought exacerbates freshwater supplies in California, people tend to look toward the ocean for an answer," said Jennifer Bowles, executive director of the California-based Water Education Foundation. "It is, after all, a seemingly inexhaustible supply."
A g rowing trend
Most desalination technology follows one of two methods: distillation through thermal energy or the use of membranes to filter salt from water.
In the distillation process, saltwater is heated to produce water vapor, which is then condensed and collected as freshwater. The other method employs reverse osmosis to pump seawater through semi-permeable membranes -- paper-like filters with microscopic holes -- that trap the salt while allowing freshwater molecules to pass through. The remaining salty water is then pumped back into the ocean.
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Taxonomy
- Water Recycling
- Drinking Water Managment
- River Engineering