Why is it so difficult to make water drinkable from the salty oceans?
In: 6
Correct me about the chemistry part but water being a polar solvent breaks down salt into its component sodium and chloride. Not to mention the other diluted minerals suspended within ocean water. (whale pee being one of them lol)
Now, breaking down that bond back into H2O and NaCl is really energy intensive. So it’s either you use insane amounts of pressure to filter ocean water through a membrane that only lets molecular water pass through (reverse osmosis) OR you apply a lot of heat to boil the water component into steam while leaving the heavier salts behind, producing brine (distillation).
Both processes give you distilled water that has to be filtered again (just to make sure), and then remineralized (because drinking distilled water straight ain’t good for you)
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