How is desalination carried out?

Desalination is primarily achieved through distillation or processes that utilize membranes, such as reverse osmosis. Distillation involves boiling seawater to separate the water vapor from the salt and other impurities, then condensing the vapor back into liquid form. This effectively removes the salt content.

Reverse osmosis, on the other hand, uses a semi-permeable membrane that allows water molecules to pass through while blocking the passage of salt and other larger particles. In both methods, the goal is to produce fresh, potable water from saline water sources. This is crucial in many areas where freshwater is scarce, making the understanding of these processes important for addressing global water shortages.

The other methods described, such as filtering through sand or adding chemicals to clump salt, do not effectively remove dissolved salts to produce fresh water. Boiling and condensing seawater alone, without the use of more efficient methods like membranes, may not be practical for large-scale desalination needs.