What is Desalination?
Desalination refers to any of several processes that remove excess salt, other minerals and contaminants from water so that it is suitable for human consumption and irrigation.
Most of the modern interest in desalination is focused on developing cost-effective ways of providing fresh water for human use in regions where the availability of fresh water is, or is becoming, limited.
The industry states that “Theoretically, about 0.86 kWh of energy is needed to desalinate 1 m3 (264.2gallons) of 3.5% salt water”. Present day desalination plants use 5 to 26 times more energy, than this theoretical minimum, depending on the type of process used.
Large-scale desalination typically uses extremely large amounts of energy as well as specialized, expensive infrastructure, making it very costly compared to the use of water from rivers or groundwater sources.
Most of the modern interest in desalination is focused on developing cost-effective ways of providing fresh water for human use in regions where the availability of fresh water is, or is becoming, limited.
The industry states that “Theoretically, about 0.86 kWh of energy is needed to desalinate 1 m3 (264.2gallons) of 3.5% salt water”. Present day desalination plants use 5 to 26 times more energy, than this theoretical minimum, depending on the type of process used.
Large-scale desalination typically uses extremely large amounts of energy as well as specialized, expensive infrastructure, making it very costly compared to the use of water from rivers or groundwater sources.