Osmosis

These are some facts about water:

1.8 billion people still do not have drinking water on their premises.
3.4 billion people — nearly half the world’s population— still lacked safely managed sanitation, including 354 million who practiced open defecation. (WHO/UNICEF 2025)
Improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene can save 1.4 million lives per year. (WHO, 2023).
Better water, sanitation, and hygiene could prevent the deaths of around 1,000 children per day. (WHO)
Approximately 10 percent of the global population lives in countries with high or critical water stress (FAO/UN-Water 2024)

In the meantime the UK Parliament and our media are totally obsessed with drivel about the appointment of a politician.

Genesis Water Tech asks: ‘Ever gazed at the vast expanse of the ocean and thought, “How to desalinate seawater using Reverse Osmosis technologies? Can we really convert this seemingly endless source of saltwater into freshwater?”

many hot countries rely on desalination for their water

The answer is a resounding yes.

Understanding the Reverse Osmosis Desalination Process
One of the processes of turning seawater into freshwater is no magic trick, but a scientific marvel called reverse osmosis. It’s one of our best bets for tackling water scarcity since over 97% of Earth’s water is saltwater.

But how does it work? The reverse osmosis desalination process uses pressure to push seawater through a semi-permeable membrane. This special layer allows only certain molecules to pass, so when pressurized sea water comes in contact with this membrane, pure H2O molecules slip through while salts and other impurities get left behind.

Key Components of a SWRO Plant
A seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant is more than just pipes and water. It’s an intricate system, each part working together to convert saltwater into fresh, potable water. One of the first aspects of how to desalinate seawater using RO is the importance of pre-treatment.

how reverse osmosis works

The Importance of Feed Water Pre-treatment
The first step in the process? Feed water pre-treatment. This is vital for maintaining efficiency and extending the lifespan of the RO membrane elements. By removing large particles before they reach the RO membranes, we can prevent fouling and clogging among other issues that might reduce their effectiveness over time.

Next up are high-pressure pumps. These pumps require optimized electricity to power both high- and low-pressure systems within SWRO plants. But why all this pressure?

You see, pressure vessels hold a key importance in a SWRO plant setup because they contain multiple RO membrane elements where actual desalination happens. They manage flow rates by creating enough force to push feed water through these tiny pores on membranes – overcoming the natural osmotic pressure.

Last but not least are energy recovery devices or ERDs as we like to call them here at Genesis Water Technologies Inc. Our goal with ERDs is simple: recover as much energy from the brine stream after it passes through membranes, then reuse it. Why waste good energy when you can recycle it back into your system? Now that’s what we call smart engineering.

Advantages and Environmental Impact of Reverse Osmosis Desalination
The magic behind reverse osmosis desalination lies in its efficiency. This process makes it conceivable to convert seawater into potable water, an incredible accomplishment taking into account that 97% of the planet’s water is saline. Plus, compared to other desalination technologies, reverse osmosis has a leg up.’

a desalination plant

A Digression

Far more people died
during the period of conflict
from drought and starvation
than from acts of war.

For instance
the virtual eradication of Bangla Desh
and most of its population
due to crop failure as a result of rising sea levels
had been expected for so long
that it barely made the news.

I’ve checked the records
and coverage of the decrease
in flow of the Indus
was barely mentioned
outside the Asian Subcontinent.

There was more coverage
of water shortages in Capetown.
To the return of the dust bowls
in the North American midwest.
Many of us will remember the shock
when Perth was abandoned.

Questions are starting to be asked
as to why people like me
have never addressed the implications
of this lack of coverage
but that is a separate question
and did not affect the course of the war
in any meaningful way.

From my 'Notes on the Causes of The Third World War', IDP Pamphlets 2020

Thanks for reading, Terry Q.