Once again that is per day which would be just under 42 million tons in one year. To put that in perspective, it is about 7 great pyramids.
This is just one desalinization plant. Producing fresh water from saltwater has this unfortunate and insurmountable side effect. Dumping back into the ocean is the most realistic solution, but it severely damages the ecosystem.
And to put that into perspective, industrial salt consumption in China was over 110 million tonnes in 2024. While all the new salt produced won’t likely be used, it’s not as insane as it might seem at first glance.
I’m not saying it’s not a lot of salt, but uses can be found for it. And also it means that just one plant can replace all the other salt mining which is presumably an energy intensive industry as well.
This is very impractical for a population of 3 billion people. Luckily, China has access to a lot of fresh water.
The reason I mention this is someone was suggesting they could use desalinization plants on the West Coast of the US to help with fresh water. Providing some supplemental water is one thing, but providing the majority of water is extremely problematic in not just energy usage, but also the incredible amount of salt that is produced.
Once again that is per day which would be just under 42 million tons in one year. To put that in perspective, it is about 7 great pyramids.
This is just one desalinization plant. Producing fresh water from saltwater has this unfortunate and insurmountable side effect. Dumping back into the ocean is the most realistic solution, but it severely damages the ecosystem.
And to put that into perspective, industrial salt consumption in China was over 110 million tonnes in 2024. While all the new salt produced won’t likely be used, it’s not as insane as it might seem at first glance.
That is just one plant that produces almost half of what a country of 3 billion uses. That is a lot of salt.
I’m not saying it’s not a lot of salt, but uses can be found for it. And also it means that just one plant can replace all the other salt mining which is presumably an energy intensive industry as well.
This is very impractical for a population of 3 billion people. Luckily, China has access to a lot of fresh water.
The reason I mention this is someone was suggesting they could use desalinization plants on the West Coast of the US to help with fresh water. Providing some supplemental water is one thing, but providing the majority of water is extremely problematic in not just energy usage, but also the incredible amount of salt that is produced.
You’re doubling China’s population
You are correct 1.4 billion. Thank you.
Yeah, I would imagine this is supplemental type of tech, the situation in the US is very different. And I was discussing it in the context of China.