BIO128/ENV1100: Environmental Studies
Topic 6: Water

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Desalination:

It is possible to remove salt, or anything else, from seawater using distillation or reverse osmosis filtration. Both of these are expensive, with high capital costs, maintenance costs, and energy requirements. The process also produces at least one gallon of wastewater for every gallon of freshwater produced. We are using more than half of the available freshwater now. Thus when the population doubles, we will need to reduce per capita use or find other sources. In some areas, the western US, the middle east, and parts of Africa, demand already exceeds supply. We can make freshwater, but rain is still much cheaper.

Topic 6 | BIO128/ENV1100 home

Anthony G Benoit  abenoit@trcc.commnet.edu
(860) 885-2386

Revised