Desalinization, also known as "desalination," is the process of separating sea water or brackish water from their dissolved salts. The average salt content of the ocean water is about 3.4% (normally expressed as 34 parts per thousand). The range of salt content varies from 18 parts per thousand in the North Sea and near the mouths of large rivers to a high of 44 parts per thousand in locked bodies of water such as the Red Sea, where evaporation is very high. The desalination process is accomplished commercially by either distillation or reverse osmosis (RO).

Distillation of sea water is accomplished by boiling water and condensing the vapor. The components of the distillation system consist of a boiler and a condenser with a source of cooling water. Reverse osmosis is accomplished by forcing filtered sea water or brackish water through a reverse osmosis membrane. In a reverse osmosis process, approximately 45% of the...