- Q.
The Drinking Water/ Potable Water Available in the World is Diminishing Fast and There Are Apprehensions That the Next World War May Be Fought for Water. We Know That About Three Fourth Part of Our Earth is Covered With Ocean Having Abundance of Water but That Cannot Be Used for Drinking Purpose. My Question is That Can We Devise a Mechanism to Convert Ocean Water Into Drinking Water at Reasonable Cost and in Large Amount?
Name: Naquib Ahmad, Class XII
Age: Not Available
Institution: Jamia Senior Secondary School
City: New Delhi
- A.
The desalination of sea water can be achieved either through Reverse Osmasis or through Flash Evaporation. The cost of converting seawater into potable water has been coming down in the last two decades. In rupee terms, in 1980 it was Rs. 125 per thousand liter, in 1990 it became Rs. 75 per thousand liter and in 2000 it has come down to Rs. 50 per thousand liter. In 2004 in Israel the cost has come down to Rs. 25 per thousand liter. India is working on converting sea water into potable water. In the near future, use of solar energy is expected to bring down the cost of desalination further.
By A.P.J.Abdul Kalam