61–70 of 132 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there any use for it at all?
It's possible to use salt water and limestone to capture CO2; I wonder whether brine could be used for this purpose.
Though I assume you then still have a waste product you need to do something with, and how fast are we going to run out of limestone if we start doing this on a large scale?
I’m surprised this article mentions nothing about energy. Practically all desalination in existence is powered by fossil fuels, with Israel and Saudi Arabia being the worst offenders. The only reason it’s even economically viable is the externalized cost of carbon emission. It’s simply not a long term tenable solution until this is addressed.
Sound like really obvious places to use solar.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sea salt has it's own problems due to it's microplastics content. Around 90% of domestic sea salt contains microplastics and the average adult consumes around 2,000 microplastic particles as a result every year. People who go out of their way to buy sea salt presumably ingest significantly more on average. My mother used to love sea salt, but recently switched to rock salt.
I don't think microplastic particles in the human digestive system are that big of a problem; most of it is fairly inert and will just pass through, the other stuff is in low enough quantities that our stomach should be able to deal with it.
Easy solution, use brakish water or sewage for desalination rather than sea water. Not difficult. And stop flushing drinking water down the toilet.
I admit I had not expected this to be a problem. The salt water comes from the sea, I'd expected it to be fine to release the salt back into the sea. But I understand that untreated, this extra-salty water would, in large amounts, become a current of its own that's significantly different from regular sea water. And apparently there are added chemicals in it that I suppose were necessary for the desalination process?…
You can't dilute it; the entire point of the exercise is to obtain and not use up fresh water. Probably the sensible answer is to dry it and bury the powder salt.
Also, I am not an expert.. but, couldn't we use the leftover salt for energy storage?
https://www.solarreserve.com/en/technology/molten-salt-energ...
Just to be clear, "brine" isn't "salty water." > This untreated salt water can’t just hang around in ponds—or, in worst-case scenarios, go into oceans or sewers. Disposal depends on geography, but typically the waste does go into oceans or sewers, if not injected into wells or kept in evaporation ponds. The high concentrations of salt, as well as chemicals like copper and chlorine, can make it toxic to marine life. >…
Yes, just like exhaled breath is a waste product full of C02 and containing very little oxygen. If other people had to breath that they would become very sick or even die.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sea salt has it's own problems due to it's microplastics content. Around 90% of domestic sea salt contains microplastics and the average adult consumes around 2,000 microplastic particles as a result every year. People who go out of their way to buy sea salt presumably ingest significantly more on average. My mother used to love sea salt, but recently switched to rock salt.
I don't think microplastic particles in the human digestive system are that big of a problem; most of it is fairly inert and will just pass through, the other stuff is in low enough quantities that our stomach should be able to deal with it.
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026974911...
I admit I had not expected this to be a problem. The salt water comes from the sea, I'd expected it to be fine to release the salt back into the sea. But I understand that untreated, this extra-salty water would, in large amounts, become a current of its own that's significantly different from regular sea water. And apparently there are added chemicals in it that I suppose were necessary for the desalination process?…
You can't dilute it; the entire point of the exercise is to obtain and not use up fresh water. Probably the sensible answer is to dry it and bury the powder salt.
High concentration brine does not automatically mix into the sea water. It goes to the bottom of the sea and forms a separate layer. But you can use nozzle diffusers, mixer etc. and discharge into high currents.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can't dilute it; the entire point of the exercise is to obtain and not use up fresh water. Probably the sensible answer is to dry it and bury the powder salt.
This is what I thought too. Why not dump them out into long shallow 'trays' which can then dry out in the sun, leaving behind just the salt, which can then be stored/used/disposed of. Also, I am not an expert.. but, couldn't we use the leftover salt for energy storage? https://www.solarreserve.com/en/technology/molten-salt-energ...
I don't think salt is something that is in particularly short supply.