Lesson 14 - Hard Engineering: Desalination Flashcards
What is desalination?
Conversion of saline waters to fresh water for human consumption
Why can desalination be considered sustainable?
Feeds on ocean supply
Doesn’t affect freshwater reserves
Conserves freshwater for future gen.
How has desalination improved in recent years?
Become more cost effective
Less energy intensive
Easier to implement on large scale
How has desalination become more cost effective?
Cost of freshwater exploitation rising
Relative cost of desal. is lower
What are the drawbacks of desalination?
Still incurs large costs
Major ecological impact on marine life
How has the cost of desalination changed?
Down by roughly 4% p/year
Why does desalination present environmental concerns?
Left over water has twice the salinity of sea water
Dumping near coastlines adversely affects coral reefs + food webs
How efficient is desalination?
Variable, generally low
Old plants, little as 10% water converted
New plants, closer to 50%
What is hard engineering?
Use of manmade, artificial structures to manage supply
