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• 1 2024-08-23T01:07:55+00:00 Desalination - Turning Seawater into Potable Water 14 This page discusses the primary means in which the UAE is adapting to their water scarcity problem and how it has substantial drawbacks and consequences associated with it plain 2024-08-23T12:28:50+00:00

  Desalination is the process of removing salt and other contaminants from seawater to produce potable water.
  There are two primary methods of desalination:

  
  1. Thermal Desalination:
  • Involves heating seawater to its boiling point, where water vapor is separated from the salt and condensed back into liquid form.
  • This process is extremely energy-intensive due to water’s high specific heat capacity, requiring substantial energy—typically from burning fossil fuels—to heat and then cool the water.
  • The UAE’s reliance on this method contributes to its high per capita CO2 emissions, ranking 4th globally at 21.75 tons per person.
  • The byproduct, brine—a highly saline solution—is often dumped back into the ocean, leading to increased salinity levels that harm marine ecosystems.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  2. Membrane-Based Desalination:
  • Achieved by forcing saltwater through a semipermeable membrane at high pressures, separating the salt from the water.
  • This method also requires significant energy to overcome the natural osmotic pressure of seawater, with most of this energy derived from fossil fuels.
  • Like thermal desalination, membrane-based desalination produces brine, exacerbating the environmental stress on marine life.
  
  
  
  Environmental Impact:
  
  Desalination has profound negative consequences on the environment. The increased salinity and temperature of ocean water have been linked to the decline of coral reefs in the Arabian Gulf, with 70% of the Gulf’s reefs disappearing in recent decades. This loss of biodiversity not only affects marine life but also has economic repercussions, with the Gulf region losing an estimated $94 billion annually from tourism, aquaculture, and fisheries.
  
  The environmental degradation caused by desalination parallels the concept of "scientific forestry," where natural ecosystems are simplified for human use, often leading to unintended consequences. In the UAE, this simplification manifests in the reduction of the ocean to merely a source of potable water, ignoring its broader ecological role.