Solution Document

The Solution

Desalination is the removal of salt from ocean water to make it drinkable. There are several methods for effective desalination. Solar evaporation separates the salt from the sea water and has been used by sailors for at least several thousand years. 

The most common method of desalination is distillation. Most of the world’s 1,500 desalination plants use distillation, but many also use flash evaporation or electrodialysis. All of these desalination methods are very expensive, so desalination has been used very sparingly where other alternatives are also very expensive, like in desert cities. 

However, desalination research has been growing over the years due to a demand for portable water. New processes have been developed. A method involving the heating of sea water and pushing it through semi-permeable membranes to separate the salt from the water has been developed. This process can be even less expensive if the plant is near an electrical power plant that is already heating sea water for cooling functions. This method involving a semi-permeable membrane is more expensive than the others but has become more competitive and could become a solution to the scarcity of clean fresh water in Africa.

Adding Desalination plants across Africa would help the continent in so many ways. When supply finally meets demand, and accessibility is more easy and less challenging. Desalination plants can store huge amounts of fresh water, while still converting even more. If an African has easy access to water and it is there for them and clean, then they will have a greater day. And with these plants will come organization and methods of storage and probable ways of transportation. Desalination plants are a true solution to the water problem in Africa.