Can We Turn Seawater Into Drinking Water

The handheld seawater desalination device is capable of producing more than two liters of fresh drinking water from seawater within an hour through a system of osmosis membranes.

Can we turn seawater into drinking water.

It could help address the world s looming water crisis. That water is filtered for bigger contaminants and some essential tiny sea creatures before it is sent through a reverse osmosis system that pressurizes the water through membranes separating. The simple hurdle that must be overcome to turn seawater into freshwater is to remove the dissolved salt in seawater. In fact people have been making seawater drinkable at least as far back as the ancient greeks.

Making sea water into drinking water requires removal of the dissolved salt that according to the u s. Developed by a team of researchers at alexandria university in egypt the procedure uses a desalination technique called pervaporation to remove the salt from sea water and make it drinkable. Desalination plants turn seawater into drinking water but also pump hypersaline water back into the environment. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set a rock on top of the plastic wrap over the cup which will make a dip so fresh water can drip into the cup.

Even with all of the water in earth s oceans we satisfy less than half a percent of human water needs with desalinated water we currently use on the order of 960 cubic miles 4 000 cubic. Geological survey makes up approximately 35 000 parts per million ppm of sea water s chemical composition. A solar powered system can turn salt water into fresh drinking water for 25 000 people per day. To turn saltwater into drinking water start by pouring the saltwater into a bowl and placing a small cup in the center of the water.

Next put the bowl of saltwater in direct sunlight. In some areas salt water from the ocean for instance is being turned into freshwater for drinking.