Drinking water desalination

In some parts of the world, the rapidly growing population and already diminished water supply is forcing more people to turn to sea water as a source of drinking water. This is made possible by a process called desalination, which is the removal of salt from sea or brackish water using either reverse osmosis or electrodialysis. Reverse osmosis removes salts from water by applying pressure to the brine and forcing the water through a semi-permeable membrane, which leaves the salts behind and collects the purified water on the other side of the membrane. Electrodialysis removes salts by using electric currents and membranes to separate the ions from the water. Desalination is frequently used in regions where seawater is the only available supply, such as the Middle East and parts of Africa and has been widely used in the wake of the Tsunami, where wells of communities throughout Southeast Asia have been contaminated with sea water.