Posted on 02/03/2014 6:36:24 PM PST by BenLurkin
SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — In light of California’s escalating drought emergency, the onetime dream of President John F. Kennedy of obtaining fresh water from salt water may become a reality in the very near future.
The process of getting usable fresh water from salt water, called desalination, stems from a technology that is already accepted worldwide, according to UCLA Professor of Chemistry and Bio-Molecular Engineering, Youram Cohen.
“It’s a technology that is now in widespread use all around the world, and I think that, in time, this is what we will see,” Cohen said.
UCLA has reportedly developed a number of small desalination plants, including one at Port Hueneme near Ventura, that are said to be capable of producing clean drinking water for up to 24,000 people each day at a fraction of the cost of ground water that is imported by municipal water districts in California.
“It is a lot cheaper than bottled water, and, I should say, that water is very tasty,” Cohen said.
Additionally, contrary to the idea that desalination plants may be harmful to the environment, Professor Cohen says that global evidence suggests that the discharge from desalination plants may actually be beneficial to marine life.
“The Australians will show you that marine life is (thriving more) in the area of discharge from the desalination plants than elsewhere,” Cohen suggested.
A number of environmental organizations, however, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and The Orange County Coast Keeper, are yet to be convinced of the potential benefits of desalination.
“Our stance on desalination plants is that it is a potential source for the future,” Orange County Coast Keeper’s Ray Hiemstra said. “We have a lot of work to do in developing desalination technology to where it is not as expensive and better for the environment. So, that’s what we need to do; experiment, find out what’s going to work and take our time and it will be a source for the future.”
California’s first major desalination plant is currently under construction in Carlsbad, with a scheduled launch date some time in 2016, after a number of regulations are met.
While a number of scientists and environmentalists believe desalination is the technological wave of the future, the debate over when, or if, that future will ever become reality, continues.
Just my opinion of course.
I’m confused by this.
Reverse osmosis desalination plants are in operation all over the world, and have been for years.
Is this a new technology that is less expensive? There is no mention of that in the article.
???
I assume this is from 1914 rather then 2014?
Or is UCLA hiring stupid people again.
Nah, just a prof pimping for attention and relevance and maybe some research money in the midst of a crisis.
Smart people with meaningless jobs do it all the time.
He’s got nothing to sell.
While a number of scientists and environmentalists believe desalination is the technological wave of the future, the debate over when, or if, that future will ever become reality, continues.
We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember, my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future.
Yes this is a much less expensive process that requires less energy. Current plants are cost prohibitive to operate in most places
I just knew that JFK could make this happen, what a visionary.
Little doubt about that, the longer they can stretch this out the more money they make and that's what they're after.
I guess sea salt would be a bi product.
Or even a by product.
Or nuclear power?
What happens to the salt?
The desalination plant typically uses three kilograms of seawater to produce 1 kilogram of fresh water. The extracted salt dissolves in the excess sea water used in the process to form so-called brine. The brine is returned to the sea where it is diluted again in its natural medium.
Can salt be recovered?
The usual desalination processes do not provide for such recovery. Whereas they concentrate seawater 1.5 times, recovery of salt would require seawater to be concentrated ten times. Under such conditions the first crystals would appear in the brine. This would require a lot of energy and cannot be justified on an economic standpoint. Today whenever a large surface area is available close to a sunny seashore, salt pans, which make use of solar energy, are still the best method of salt production.
Ok, what is the process? Did I miss it in the article?
They’ll have their cheap desalinization plants producing clean drinking water as soon as the cold fusion reactors are ready to power them.
Here’s some info on desalinization
http://www.pacinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/desalination_report3.pdf
Carlsbad Cal is building a pant which is slated to open in 2016, 16 years after the proposal was approved by the city. Administrative hearings and court processes in which environmental groups got several bites of the apple trying to shot it down.
“A number of environmental organizations, however, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and The Orange County Coast Keeper, are yet to be convinced of the potential benefits of desalination.”
So...now we have environmentalists standing in the way of fresh water for human consumption, perhaps the only substance without which humans cannot survive.
Seriously upside down priorities.
Environmental whackos are Luddites when it comes to ANY new technology that is even remotely related to the environment.
When did they”Stop”?
“The Hidden Salt Ponds of Chula Vista” (San Diego)
http://voiceofsandiego.org/2008/06/16/the-hidden-salt-ponds-of-chula-vista/
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