(bolded words inside this post besides headings are going to be in the glossary.)
Ocean Water is Impure
Ocean water is full of bacteria and viruses.
Salt Makes You Thirsty
The ocean contains salt. Salt makes you thirsty, if you didn’t know. The kidney needs water in order to remove salt from your body. When consuming too much salt and too little water, (which is our case when drinking ocean water) it makes you dehydrated even though you are drinking water.
Removing Salt From Water
To turn salt water into pure, clean, drinking water, there is more than one way. Here are two ways:
Reverse Osmosis
- Saltwater flows through a semipermeable membrane that only allows water molecules to pass. It blocks out all salt and other impurities.
- The result is collected once through the membrane, allowing you to have clean drinking water.
Distillation
- Saltwater is heated and boiled, evaporating only the water.
- Evaporation leaves the impurities and salt behind, and the steam is collected.
- The steam is then condensed, turning it back to freshwater.
(Picture is made with MS. Paint)
Desalination Plants
Plants that use these methods to filter your water (desalination plants) are typically located near large saltwater sources and they turn your old, unhealthy, dehydrating, unsatisfactory, cold, bad water into pure, nice, healthy, hydrating, satisfactory, good water.
Glossary
salt (a.k.a. Sodium)
a compound that makes you thirsty and is used in many foods
kidney
an important organ in your body that cleans out impurities in your body
consuming
eating, drinking, injecting, etc. things into your body
ocean
a large body of water that is essential in the water cycle
dehydrated
when your body does not have enough water
semipermeable membrane
something that only allows specific types of molecules to pass through
impurities
things that aren’t healthy, such as bacteria, viruses, etc.
steam
the result of evaporation, usually turns into clouds if cold temperatures are nearby
desalination plant
a plant near the shores of oceans that take saltwater and turn it into freshwater
hydrated
opposite of dehydrated. When your body has enough water to stay good