Can ocean water be made drinkable?

Humans cannot drink saline water, but, saline water can be made into freshwater, for which there are many uses. The process is called "desalination", and it is being used more and more around the world to provide people with needed freshwater.

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Can ocean water ever be made drinkable?

Desalination is the process of getting salt out of saltwater so that it's drinkable and usable on land. There are two main techniques: You can boil the water, then catch the steam, leaving behind the salt. Or you can blast the water through filters that catch the salt but let the liquid through.

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Why can't we convert ocean water into drinking water?

The problem is that the desalination of water requires a lot of energy. Salt dissolves very easily in water, forming strong chemical bonds, and those bonds are difficult to break. Energy and the technology to desalinate water are both expensive, and this means that desalinating water can be pretty costly.

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How long does it take to make ocean water drinkable?

Through molecular sieving process, this hollow framework of pores separates salty solute in the seawater and absorbs salts and other impurities in the water in 30 minutes under dark conditions.

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Can you boil down ocean water to drink?

Making seawater potable

Desalination is the process of removing salt from seawater, making it drinkable. This is done either by boiling the water and collecting the vapor (thermal) or by pushing it through special filters (membrane).

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Can We Make Ocean Water Drinkable -- and Should We?

15 related questions found

Can you drink rain water at sea?

Rainwater everywhere is unsafe to drink

For one well-known substance, the “cancer-causing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)”, water guideline values have declined by 37.5 million times in the US. Based on the latest US guidelines for PFOA in drinking water, rainwater everywhere would be judged unsafe to drink.

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Can you drink rain water?

Germs and other contaminants are found in rainwater.

While useful for many things, rainwater is not as pure as you might think, so you cannot assume it is safe to drink.

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Why isn t desalination more widespread?

You may be wondering at this point why desalination isn't more common, since it would seemingly provide an unlimited supply of potable water. The primary reason is a large energy requirement, which often makes the process expensive.

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Why can't you use ocean water to put out fires?

“Seawater puts out fire just as well as fresh water, and although seawater is tougher on pump equipment than fresh water, proper maintenance and flushing of the systems would limit their corrosive properties on our pumps,” Capt.

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Can desalination save the world?

The climate crisis and population growth are putting ever more strain on the world's water supplies. Desalination offers an unlimited resource - but it has a significant environmental impact. New technologies allied to public-private partnerships can help us chart a sustainable way forward.

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Can we desalinate the ocean for more freshwater?

Only 0.7% of Earth's water is readily accessible as freshwater and 96.5% of it is saltwater. Through the process of desalination, scientists can turn saltwater into safe, drinking water. This process is either thermal-based (solar desalination) or membrane-based (reverse osmosis).

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Which countries use desalination of seawater?

Kuwait relies on water desalination as a primary source of fresh water for drinking and domestic purposes. There are currently more than six desalination plants. Kuwait was the first country in the world to use desalination to supply water for large-scale domestic use.

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What are the three main problems with desalination?

Desalination has the potential to increase fossil fuel dependence, increase greenhouse gas emissions, and exacerbate climate change if renewable energy sources are not used for freshwater production.

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Can you filter salt water to drink?

There are several ways to remove salt from water. Reverse osmosis and distillation are the most common ways to desalinate water. Reverse osmosis water treatment pushes water through small filters leaving salt behind.

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Can you desalinate ocean water in a survival situation?

In survival scenarios, desalination (pulling the salt out of water) is the only way to make seawater safe enough to drink. The simplest form of desalination is basic evaporation.

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Why don't they use sea water to put out fires in Australia?

“When you dump saltwater on bushland it can have a detrimental* effect, especially in areas close to rivers and creeks.” In addition to the environmental concerns, there are practical ones. “Pumps don't like seawater,” Supt Haig said.

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Can fire exist underwater?

Fire requires a combustible substance and oxidizer to ignite. For underwater burning in Baltimore, since there's no oxygen available underwater, the torch has two hoses that produce the combustible substance and oxygen gas. With careful application, a sustained fire can be created even underwater.

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Can milk put out a fire?

But trying to move the pot might splash burning oil on you, your home, and anything around you. DO NOT douse the grease fire with water, or milk, etc… If you do, it will explode into a fireball. Pouring water can cause the oil to splash and spread the fire.

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Which country uses the most desalinated water?

Saudi Arabia is the country that relies most on desalination – mostly of seawater. The US is in second place.

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What happens to the salt after desalination?

But desalination plants are energy intensive and create a potentially environment-harming waste called brine (made up of concentrated salt and chemical residues), which is dumped into the ocean, injected underground or spread on land.

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Which country gets 97% of its drinking water through the process of desalination?

While 97% of Saudis have access to potable water, Saudi Arabia is classified as one of the most water-scarce nations on the planet. The absolute water scarcity level is 500 cubic meters per capita, per year. Saudi Arabia has only 89.5 cubic meters per capita, per year.

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Can you drink rain water Australia?

Providing the rainwater is clear, has little taste or smell and is from a well maintained water catchment system it is probably safe and unlikely to cause any illness for most users. Rainwater tanks are widely used as a source of drinking water throughout rural Australia.

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Can you drink rain water if you boil it first?

Boiling the water kills just about any bacteria or pathogens that are in the water. You can use this method when wanting to use rainwater for things such as watering plants, bathing, etc., however, it is strongly recommended that one does not try to boil water as a means of purifying it for drinking purposes.

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Is it safe to drink snow?

Freshly melted snow is generally considered to be safe to drink without further treatment, however it should not be assumed that because water is frozen that it is safe to drink. Exercise the same caution for melted Ice as you would for standing water, and if in doubt boil the water for 10 minutes.

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How long can you survive in saltwater?

One can live for weeks even without food, but it takes only three days to choke unto death without water or fresh drinking water, to be specific. Surviving in open seas is dementing and depends on the survivors' ability to apply the required skills and be able to use whatever is available and meant for survival.

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