Desalination refers to the process of removing waste, salts, minerals, and other contaminants in different types of water converting it into safe potable, and usable water for it to be safe for human consumption. Desalination involves either brackish or sea to treat with the objective to produce fresh water. It is also called “desalting” because the process of removing salt from seawater is a chemical process. This salt-removing process is categorized into thermal and membrane processes. In order to do it, it involves various technologies, from ore treatment to pumps and membranes. Inside Thermal processes of desalination, there is multi-effect distillation (MED), multi-stage flash distillation (MSF), and mechanical vapor compression (MVC), while electrodialysis, and reverse osmosis are inside the category of Membrane processes.
Firstly, the category of Thermal processes of desalination. To induce filtered water or waste heat from power production or chemical processes and produce potable water what Multi-effect Distillation is invented. It can contain several and multiple stages or “effects” as it is called. Plants may have vertical or horizontal tubes in which steam can be condensed on one side to transfer heat that occurs to the salt water on the other side. Pressure will be reduced in each effect while the temperature will decline and provide additional heat. Multi-stage Flash Distillation is carried out in a pressure vessel that is usually divided into sections with decreasing temperatures and pressure. In its process, it distills sea water by “flashing” a portion of water into multiple stages of steam where countercurrent heat exchanges. In fact, the boiling temperature of its water will be lowered together with the pressure dropping, this process is carried out in closed tanks for stages to set at lower pressures. Now to the third thermal process of desalination, Mechanical Vapour Compression or Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR). During this process, a compressor is typically used for the purpose of increasing the pressure of a specific vapor stream that carries waste heat along with it. While the process is happening, the heat exchanger will absorb the latent heat which means the only energy that needs to be used during this compression involves the energy that can be useful to compress the waste heat.
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In the category of membrane processes in desalination, Electrodialysis is a technique during which ions are transported in the way of a semipermeable membrane, in the influence of an electric potential. For the separation of difficult mixtures, this technology is very versatile. It is a very helpful way for water treatment and can aid in the removal of mineral salts, sulfate, nitrate, and more from seawater and brackish water. Moreover, it is also useful for wastewater reduction and recovery. Onto the second, Reverse Osmosis. Reverse Osmosis is a technique used in removing a large majority of contaminants mixed in water such as unwanted molecules, ions, and larger particles by pushing water under pressure in a semipermeable membrane. It is said that these technologies produce healthy water with great taste.
Throughout history, people have already used different methods of distillation and filtration to supplement water supplies, not until the mid-20th century. Desalination became an effective way that provides accessible drinking water, it solves the worry of water shortage. People can’t drink saline water but luckily, saline water can be made into freshwater by the process of desalination. Desalination not only removes salt but also removes harmful substances such as harmful metals, chemicals, and bacteria. In fact, people with chronic, incurable diseases and genetic health problems rely upon desalination to avoid the incidence of infection in their family who get easily sick and vulnerable to germ exposures. This just means that desalination is not only a great way for developing portable water but also a way to ensure the health of those who consume it. In terms of habitat protection, desalination will be a good help too, desalinated water meets the water quality standards which means it helps reduce pressure on freshwater sources that may need to be protected by treating ocean water rather than removing it from sources that may also be habitats for the endangered species. Moreover, by minimizing the demand for freshwater sources like groundwater, rivers, and lakes, desalination is a big help in preserving habitats reliant on those same water sources. In addition to that, removing saltwater from the oceans can raise people’s awareness about protecting these bodies of water.
Drought is another significant problem that humans face every year, as the patterns of weather change around the world. More and more people especially in water-scarce countries rely on water desalinating for drinks, even in cooking and washing. Desalination can provide us with a tool that we were able to use to induce fresh and pure water for those who need it the most. Some may be aware that we can use the water movement from desalination to create more energy. It creates movements that can be useful for turbine rotation when desalination plants pump water into their facility to start the processing work. Setting functioning hydropower technologies could help us generate power while at the same time, gaining more freshwater to use and drink. The idea of additional water resources can reduce our global energy in other ways likewise.
Desalination is an important tool that can help us fight water scarcity in many regions and places. The need for freshwater resources and additional water supplies is already critical in many arid regions of the world and will be really important to us in the future. Many arid places simply do not have their own freshwater resources in the form of surface water like rivers and lakes. Some formerly flourishing landscapes almost turned into deserts because of global warming that increased drought in many places, and some long-held freshwater sources are simply unreliably available to many people around the world. We can’t deny that desalination has a lot of benefits for us humans and also for animals and plants. Desalination can provide us with clean and fresh water for us to drink compared to salty seawater which will just make us more dehydrated. Because of desalination, we have seawater as our ultimate source of water.
Back in the ancient days, desalination started with the Greeks centuries ago. Desalination was used to make drinkable water and it improved as time went by. They used this process in seawater. They eliminate the seawater by boiling it that separating the salt from the water. They also used clay filters to trap the salt and separate it from the water. These clay filters are effective when it comes to filtering water and can also be made locally. They are also cheap which makes them idealistic for ancient civilizations like the Greeks. Nowadays, desalination is used by countries that don't have fresh water and are only dependent on desalination to produce drinkable water. One example of this is Saudi Arabia, which has an estimated 16,000 desalination plants and holds 22 percent of the desalination industry. There are many more countries that rely on desalinating water that they use in their everyday lives. The number of countries that use desalination grows because of the unpredictable weather that was caused by climate changes. Some countries experience lesser rainfalls that cause a shortage of water which leads to relying on desalination. These countries are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and etc.
Some extensive countries rely on desalination because of some reasons that cause their water shortage, however, other countries used desalination because of its main benefits and not as a last resort. Over 96 percent of the world's water is salt water and the remaining 4 percent of fresh water is not enough for the whole world's growing population. Desalination can also be used to help agricultural industries, especially the places that have no access to water. Areas around South Africa that have no direct or steady access to water use this for their farms and their domestic animals.
For the past few years, the technology of desalination has been proven effective not just for countries with low water supply but also in first-world countries like the United States of America. Reverse Osmosis (RO) is where saltwater is pushed through a semipermeable membrane that only allows water molecules to pass and blocks salt or other minerals. It is the most common desalination method used for brackish water and seawater treatment plants on our planet. It can also be used for personal uses when utilities can’t be accessed as well as the municipal systems. A lot of industries benefit from the side-products of this technology, sodium products have been proven to be effective as de-icing agents while brine salt water can be used for keeping ice off the vehicles and can be useful for dust levels, hydraulic fracturing activities, and production of siltstone that is now used for construction.
As we continue to experience global warming, experiencing droughts cannot be avoided but with the help of desalination plants, we might be able to lessen the severe damage of it in our lives. Famine has been a problem in a lot of countries like Somalia. Drought doesn’t usually lead to famine but with poor management and lack of response to this natural phenomenon, it is most likely to happen. It leads to malnutrition, diseases, and a higher mortality rate that makes these countries in need of urgent help. Desalination may not solve all these problems at once, but having drinkable water available within their reach can give them another chance to survive.
Politics are affected as well when a state or a city loses its water supply. Because of the severe drought in the western part of the United States of America, water diversion was made to diversify the water from the Colorado River to other freshwaters until it reaches the Gulf of California. The reservoirs that receive water from the Colorado River continued to drop their water levels in the year 2000, which means they need more water from the river which may result in the river losing its supply too. It has been reported that officials believe that those reservoirs will never be full again due to the increasing temperatures and continuous climate change. Fortunately, a desalination plant that only became operational in April 2010 was built to satisfy the needs of people in California in terms of water supply.
In the meantime, Desalination is still a very helpful and proven tool that helps us get through the problem of water shortage. It has been mentioned in the early parts of this paper that 96 percent of the earth's water is salt water and only 4 percent freshwater, which is not enough to sustain the world's growing population with safe, clean, and healthy drinking water. This is why desalination can take advantage of saltwater since this process converts saltwater to freshwater so we can have enough safe drinking water. Especially now saline, which is water that contains a high concentration of salts and brackish water can be easily and conventionally made into fresh and drinkable water. In addition to that, this process of desalination not only involves removing salt but is also capable of removing harmful chemicals that can harm people’s health, which is why desalination is considered to be safe for human consumption and ensures the health of people who consume and drink it. Not only healthy but desalination can also produce desalinated water that meets the water quality standard and is combined with great tastes. This means that desalinated water not only is healthy but also gives satisfaction to the one who consumes it.
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