desalination
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'' there is no more freshwater on earth than there was 2,000 years ago, when population was three percent of its current size.'' (1)
Water is the most essential condition of sustainable development of human society but its efficacy as a renewable resource is fading with the rapid population growth and the increasingly polluted water supplies. Factors such as, massive urbanization, industrial development, uneven water supply, climate change, improper management, and over consumption of water supplies have lead to water shortage worldwide.
The impending indicators to the coming water crisis have compelled us to develop technically, and economically feasible alternative water supplies. (2)
The sea is the ultimate source of water; from it we may generate large volumes of water through the process of desalination. The developed technologies on desalination have made it practical to obtain water of suitable purity, from seawater, brackish water, or used water. Fresh water, the "essence of life", can now be reliably produced by desalination.(2)
There are two developed desalination water treatment processes: distillation processes and membrane processes.
Distillation is a phase separation method whereby saline water is heated to produce water vapor, which is then condensed to produce fresh or product water. Distillation consists of 60% of the world's installed desalinated water...