Desalination Meets Sustainability
The Growing Importance of Desalination in Water Supply Water scarcity is a pressing global issue, and as populations grow and climate change intensifies, the need for alternative water sources becomes increasingly urgent. One of the most promising solutions is desalination — the process of converting seawater into potable water. While this technology has been around for centuries, modern advancements have made it more efficient and widespread than ever before. Desalination has evolved from ancient methods like boiling seawater to more sophisticated techniques such as reverse osmosis, which uses high-pressure membranes to filter out salt. Today, there are over 16,000 desalination plants operating worldwide, producing an estimated 56 billion liters of fresh water daily. This equates to about 7 liters per person on the planet, highlighting the scale of this industry. However, the environmental impact of desalination cannot be ignored. The process generates a significant amount of brine...