Mediterranean Desalination Plants

Too often droughts plague island and desert nations. Desalination, the process of converting salt water to fresh water, has been used for hundreds of years, but even in today's era it is still considered a high-tech process. Cyprus, a nation in the Mediterranean Sea, already uses desalination. Future projects can model their programs after Cyprus's desalination venture.

History

• The first account of desalination may come from the Bible. According to a passage in the Old Testament, Moses and the Hebrews came upon marshland that had bitter water. Moses prayed to God and the water was sweetened. The first documented occasion of desalination actually occurred in 1791. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson created a document describing desalination that steam ships could use to have backup water for their steam engines.

Desalination

• Desalination is the active conversion of salt water to consumable fresh water. Desalination can provide fresh water to populations in times of drought. Many desert nations chronically depend on desalination to provide water to their people. Desalination requires a complex procedure that includes reverse osmosis, which traps salt grain particles; thermal distillation, which boils water and collects purified water vapor; and electrodialysis, which chemically separates the molecules of water from their salt counterparts. Desalination requires large, expensive plants and requires funding from large corporations or from the government.

Benefits

• The obvious benefit of desalination is that it brings water to areas choked by drought. Specifically, desalination has been helpful to desert and island nations. Cyprus uses desalination not only for water for consumption, but for irrigation. Desalination can save money for a nation by avoiding the costs of processed water such as that sold in bottles.

Performance

• The European Union has strict parameters for water quality. Therefore, member nations in the Mediterranean that want to utilize desalination will have to meet these parameters. Standards include specified pH levels, limited contamination from boron and limited contamination of residual chlorine.

Application in the Mediterranean

• Desalination has changed Cyprus's water availability but problems still remain. For one, desalination has corrosive effects on the pipes in its plants. While this is not a deal-ender, it does make same experts hesitant to endorse desalination. However, when it is seriously necessary, the problems from corrosion and price are irrelevant. Desalination is the perfect solution for nations struggling with meeting their water needs.