Many politicians and history buffs have argued for years that the coming disputes between countries will not be over energy such as oil resources, but actually over water sources and piping.  There are certainly examples of such disputes within our own country (Arizona and California, we’re looking at you!) at the present moment, and the situation is only likely to get worse.  Many pose that if it were possible to use desalination that would help alleviate one of mankind’s upcoming crises.  But what is that process like, and will it really work?

It makes a certain kind of sense.  After all, our planet is covered in water – and a whopping 97.5% of it is salt water.  It seems like a resource just waiting to be properly corralled.  The process of removing dissolved salt from water to create fresh water (desalination) is fairly complex, however.  In desalination plants worldwide, salt water is screened for debris and a chemical treatment leads to a diatomaceous earth filter for microscopic particles.  Reverse osmosis completes the process to remove the salt.  This process is tough, and the yield isn’t very high, given the process.  It also relies on serious amounts of fossil fuels, which presents its own problems.

However, static mixers are hard at work in every step of the process.  Static mixers are used to adjust the pH in the water, introduce chemicals into the stream and create a consistent final product.  Without static mixers, the desalinization process would not be possible on such a large scale.

With the help of innovative start-ups, a quicker, more fuel efficient and higher yield desalinization process will emerge, and static mixers will be right there to help solve one of the world’s oldest problems.