Desalination
<p ><b>Desalination</b>, <b>desalinization</b>, or <b>desalinisation</b> refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_chloride" title="Sodium chloride" >salt</a> and other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral" title="Mineral" >minerals</a> from saline <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water" title="Water" >water</a>. More generally, desalination may also refer to the removal of salts and minerals,<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination#cite_note-0" >[1]</a></sup> as in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_salinity_control" title="Soil salinity control" >soil desalination</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination#cite_note-1" >[2]</a></sup>
Salt water is desalinated in order to produce fresh water that is suitable for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_water" title="Drinking water" >human consumption</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrigation" title="Irrigation" >irrigation</a>. </p>
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One potential <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/By-product" title="By-product" >by-product</a> of desalination is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_chloride" title="Sodium chloride" >table salt</a>. Desalination is used on many seagoing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship" title="Ship" >ships</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine" title="Submarine" >submarines</a>. Most of the modern interest in desalination is focused on developing cost-effective ways of providing fresh water for human use. </p>
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Along with recycled <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wastewater" title="Wastewater" >wastewater</a>, this is one of the few non-rainfall-dependent water sources.</p>
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Large-scale desalination typically uses large amounts of energy and specialized, expensive infrastructure, making it more expensive than fresh water from conventional sources such as rivers or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundwater" title="Groundwater" >groundwater</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Fischetti2007_2-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination#cite_note-Fischetti2007-2" >[3]</a></sup></p>
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Desalination is particularly relevant to countries like Australia which traditionally have relied on collecting rainfall behind dams to provide their drinking water supplies.</p>
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According to the International Desalination Association, in 2009 14,451 desalination plants operated worldwide, producing 59.9e6 cubic metres (2.12×10<sup >9</sup> cu ft) per day, a year on year increase of 12.3%.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination#cite_note-3" >[4]</a></sup> It was 68 million in 2010, and expected to hit 120 million by 2020, some 40 million is planned for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East" title="Middle East" >Middle East</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination#cite_note-4" >[5]</a></sup> </p>
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The world's largest desalination plant is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jebel_Ali" title="Jebel Ali" >Jebel Ali</a> Desalination Plant (Phase 2) in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates" title="United Arab Emirates" >United Arab Emirates</a>.</p>