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Water crisis in the subcontinent

MASSIVE amount of energy needed to desalinate ocean water like Indian army said. Funny we all came from the sea and still carry the same salty water around with us in our blood but now we can't even make use of ocean water.

But once completed, they will never be any water problems in rest of our lifes and next 100 years.
 
MASSIVE amount of energy needed to desalinate ocean water like Indian army said. Funny we all came from the sea and still carry the same salty water around with us in our blood but now we can't even make use of ocean water.

That is where Nuclear Energy comes in handy. Desalination is an expensive proposition and very energy hungry - but if done in enough quantity, then economies of scale kick in and costs can be brought down. For example if a desalination plant was set up in Mumbai which guaranteed 24x7 supply of water to its citizens - then a certain amount of tax would make up for this service.
 
That is where Nuclear Energy comes in handy. Desalination is an expensive proposition and very energy hungry - but if done in enough quantity, then economies of scale kick in and costs can be brought down. For example if a desalination plant was set up in Mumbai which guaranteed 24x7 supply of water to its citizens - then a certain amount of tax would make up for this service.

Nuke power is cheaper than alternative but it is still not that cheap. Hopefully we can be a little nicer to our environment.
 
But once completed, they will never be any water problems in rest of our lifes and next 100 years.

It's not the building that is expensive it is the running. When you think desalination, think giant pot boiling salt water to remove the salt through distillation, that process needs a constant source of energy

(reverse osmosis is better but still needs lots of power)
 
But once completed, they will never be any water problems in rest of our lifes and next 100 years.

Desalination plants can ideally solve woes of places on the coast like Mumbai and Chennai. For a place like Delhi which is not close to the sea, the transportation costs to pump water are huge as well.
 
MASSIVE amount of energy needed to desalinate ocean water like Indian army said. Funny we all came from the sea and still carry the same salty water around with us in our blood but now we can't even make use of ocean water.

you summed up the irony pretty well. :yahoo:

who knows, Cheap desalination may sow seeds for the next revolution...

After Green revolution, Industrial revolution, I.T. revolutions... What do they call this one. Water revolution?? ;)
 
It's not the building that is expensive it is the running. When you think desalination, think giant pot boiling salt water to remove the salt through distillation, that process needs a constant source of energy

(reverse osmosis is better but still needs lots of power)

More then energy, its the cost of the consumable (the membrane) which makes RO a bit uneconomical.. Better R&D to lower the cost of the membrane will probably do the trick.
 
Desalination plants can ideally solve woes of places on the coast like Mumbai and Chennai. For a place like Delhi which is not close to the sea, the transportation costs to pump water are huge as well.

Desalination combined with cheap solar technology (like the Israeli Zenith Solar Panels) may be a better option. Still desalination is immensely energy intensive and viable for production of demineralized water only at present, specially for countries like India, China.

Future thorium based reactor technology (which is also going to be coastal based) is something to keep an eye on.

Pipeline transportation may come into picture, but again, huge installation cost is involved.
 
My take is that Mother nature has provided all the answers to us. If we actively look and find an animal or plant that does this process of taking salt water can converting it fresh water then we can replicate that process on a grand scale through research. Australia and the West has a lot of success in this area of research.
 

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