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Desalination / Evaporation

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Desalination is used to remove salts from brackish or saline surface water and groundwater in order to render it acceptable for human consumption or other uses. Brackish water is defined as starting at having a Total Dissolved Solids content of 1,000 mg/l, and saline water as having 10,000 mg/l. It is increasingly employed to provide drinking-water because of a growing scarcity of fresh water driven by population growth, overexploitation of water resources and climate change. Desalination facilities exist all over the world, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean region, with use increasing on all continents. Small-scale desalination is used to supply fresh water on ships and to provide additional fresh water in some hot and arid regions.

Desalination by distillation produces water without chemical salts. The method can be expensive because of the capital investment needed and because fuel/charcoal is used to heat the water. However, solar distillation is inexpensive. The volume of water produced is also generally low.

Most present applications of desalination are for estuarine water, coastal water and seawater. Desalination may also be applied to brackish inland waters (both surface water and groundwater) and may be used on board vessels. Small-scale desalination units also exist for household and community use and present specific challenges to effective operation and maintenance.

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