Turning seawater into drinking water – the dirty truth

As countries struggle to produce enough fresh water to meet demand, they’re increasingly looking to the ocean. Desalination plants can turn seawater into freshwater, but they also produce a lot of waste.

paper published recently in the journal “Science of the Total Environment” found that desalination plants globally produce 141.5 million m3/day of brine – a salty, chemical-laden waste product. This can be potentially toxic to marine life, particularly organisms living on the sea-floor which may have limited ability to move elsewhere.

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