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[Ian Morris]

Really cool photo essay about turning massive amounts of salt water into clean drinking water. 

http://www.popsci.com/dubais-desalination-plant-photos

It is amazing how creative the engineers in the UAE have been.  They have been making land for many years and now they even make potable water. 

One thing the photo essay omitted was the fact that the UAE is the second highest per capita user of water in the world, just behind the US.  I would say the difference is we use our water primarily for agriculture and they use alot of their water for growing grass in the desert. 

1 Like LIBERTYNY likes this.

[BubbleCat]

Am I the only one for whom the numbers dont add up or an I mistaking at some point, like assuming the plant was the only one supplying the quoted demand or something ?

[Mangrove]

Exactly how much energy (i.e. barrels of oil a day or tonnes of coal per day, etc.) does it take to power such a massive facility? The author stated that reverse osmosis energy costs have been descending in recent times, yet never answers the question as to how much energy per day that plant uses, as well as how much toxic chemical waste it emits per day as well; instead, they follow it up with a statement that modern day water treatment plants have a higher rate of treating water (this is a clear non-sequitur IMO). I have been growing to despise these over-simplified face-palmingly misinformed articles and all their discontents. If the author doesn't cite their original sources/links at the end of their article (e.g. engineering reports, design schematics, an in-depth critique on efficiency of the facility vs others, energy/economic costs associated with the facility, etc.), as any Proffesional journalist/news reporter/author should, their story/news report may as well be a piece of science fiction, and should be treated as such.

I'm pissed,
-Mangrove

1 Like Chicsa likes this.

[BubbleCat]

 What about the facility leads you to the notion of toxic waste ? If you consider the enriched brine of the sea toxic (which it surely is, given that you drink enough) please consider H2O toxic too - water poisoning does exist. But honestly, if all products and waste products of a reverse osmosis plant were combined again everything will be as it was before. But even if you dump a few barrels of 'enriched sea water' back into the ocean the effect wont be measurable.
The only way to produce waste here, if you really meant it, would be through energy production (which this facility isnt attending to). Or tiny amounts of acidic waste from cleaning processes.

Just wondering. Honestly the author aims to inform the shallow information needs of the average reader. Newspapers must sell too and remain economically viable. Meaning efforts that go far beyond what is needed to satisfy the average reader are not to be made, especially if the small report would become a scientific essay less appealing to the target audience. Lastly most of the information might not be open to the public. Also in 'professional journalism' you'll find the source not to be named on a regular basis.

I dont see any basis for suspicion of missinformation or anything malicious or otherwise suggestive. Using 'toxic' out of suspicion or in a far fetched sense of its common understanding is suggestive or misinformation.

2 Likes Ian Morris and LIBERTYNY like this.

[LIBERTYNY]

 As a plumber in the waste water treatment industry, I think its a inspiring sight espically being from the USA where we are no longer capable of such things

[Mangrove]

As a plumber in the waste water treatment industry, I think its a inspiring sight espically being from the USA where we are no longer capable of such things

Why is the USA incapable of such things?

[Ian Morris]

BC has a good point, when I read that only 9% of the water taken is actually purified I wondered at the efficiency but my entire take away was people who throw concrete and sand into the ocean until terra firma is created are not necessarily concerned with efficiencies.

Not speaking for LibertyNY, but what I imagine he means is the US no longer has the patience/will/determination to do large scale projects like this.  Things like the Hoover dam, Panama canal, nuclear powerstations ect...  and to that I agree I wish our modern visionaries were more bold and less interested in selling us incredibly subsidized electric cars to feel good about ourselves.

-Ian