1. Sea water contains lot of salt, so it is not useful for drinking or irrigation purpose. Therefore, it is necessary to convert the sea water into fresh water.
2. Desalination is the process of removal of salt from sea water and converting sea water into fresh water.
3. Desalination is done by heating water or freezing water or by electrical processes.
4. The desalination process is very expensive, therefore it is used where there is acute shortage of water.
5. The Minjur Desalination Plant is the largest in India, located at Kattupalli village, a northern suburb of Chennai on the coast of the Bay of Bengal that supplies water to the city of Chennai.
6. These desalination plants are more used in developing countries since the cost for processing is high. Desalination plants are located in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Cyprus, Algeria, Spain and UAE.
7. Desalination plants have adverse effect on the coastal environment. Small sea organisms like plankton and baby fish may be killed. Their food chain is disturbed.
8. It is still used in some countries to get fresh water.
