Water Desalination

Roadmap Overview

1MBD - Water Desalination

International Filtration News. (2019, October 11). Reverse osmosis for desalination. International Filtration News. Retrieved from https://www.filtnews.com/reverse-osmosis-for-desalination/
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The world's present status on freshwater is progressively getting worse. The United Nations estimates that by 2030, the global demand for freshwater will be 40% higher than in previous years (Jaynes). Dwindling traditional sources of freshwater, population increase, and unpredictable climate change are gradually creating an unsustainable scenario. Given the development in membrane technologies such as reverse osmosis, desalination has been considered an essential means of supplementing freshwater supplies. The desalination process changes seawater into potable freshwater, creating a new and reliable source of freshwater independent of traditional sources. These solutions involve adopting efficient desalination technologies through membrane-based, reverse osmosis systems. These systems can ensure greater efficiency and less energy use than thermal desalination systems (Politano). It comprises several steps, intake, pre-treatment, and filtration through semi-permeable membranes, the procedure would provide drinkable water to sustain demand.

Several emerging technologies, such as Interface Solar Steam Generation and membrane-based desalination, are becoming the most promising developments in the desalination industry. ISSG utilizes solar energy to heat water into steam, which gets condensed into fresh water. It provides complementary technology that could reduce dependence on other energy resources in sunny areas.

The technology continues to improve with innovations like hydrophobic graphene-based membranes that further improve salt rejection rates and energy economy (Cai). The second is membrane-based distillation, which couples the thermal process with membrane filtration, showing a very high purity of salient waters (Cai). These technologies address water shortages and meet environmental goals through reductions in carbon footprint and shifts towards renewable energy sources. Such advanced technologies could go a long way toward answering the world's increasing freshwater needs while maintaining ecological sustainability.