Desalination

Desalination is the artificial process by which salt water (generally sea water) is converted to fresh water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. It is possible to desalinate saltwater, especially sea water, to produce water for human consumption or irrigation, producing brine as a by-product. Interest in desalination mostly focuses on cost-effective provision of fresh water for human use. Along with recycled wastewater, it is one of the few water resources independent of rainfall. As stress on the need for freshwater intensifies globally, desalination has become a key part of strategies for global water security. According to a 2019 review in Science of the Total Environment, around 95 million cubic meters per day of desalinated water is produced worldwide, and the demand for desalinated water is expected to grow significantly to help close the global water supply gap. Due to its energy consumption, desalinating sea water is generally more costly than fresh water from surface water or groundwater, water recycling and water conservation. However, these alternatives are not always available and depletion of reserves is a critical problem worldwide. Desalination processes use either thermal methods (in the case of distillation) or membrane-based methods (e.g.