Creating useful products from desalination waste

ENGINEERS at MIT, US have proposed a method that could use desalination waste to produce useful chemicals, including chemicals that can make desalination more efficient. This could potentially provide an economically and ecologically beneficial method for the disposal of desalination waste. Desalination is a rapidly growing industry. It is used to produce water for drinking and for agricultural purposes in arid coastal regions. The waste product of desalination is highly concentrated brine. Currently, 100bn L/d of water is produced by desalination, leaving a similar amount of brine. The brine is usually disposed of by dumping it in the sea, which requires expensive pumping systems and has to be managed carefully to prevent damage to marine ecosystems.