Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8286, USA.
Science. 2011 Aug 5;333(6043):712-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1200488.
In recent years, numerous large-scale seawater desalination plants have been built in water-stressed countries to augment available water resources, and construction of new desalination plants is expected to increase in the near future. Despite major advancements in desalination technologies, seawater desalination is still more energy intensive compared to conventional technologies for the treatment of fresh water. There are also concerns about the potential environmental impacts of large-scale seawater desalination plants. Here, we review the possible reductions in energy demand by state-of-the-art seawater desalination technologies, the potential role of advanced materials and innovative technologies in improving performance, and the sustainability of desalination as a technological solution to global water shortages.
近年来，许多水资源短缺的国家都建造了大型海水淡化厂来增加可用水资源，预计在不久的将来，新的海水淡化厂的建设将会增加。尽管海水淡化技术取得了重大进展，但与传统的淡水处理技术相比，海水淡化仍然需要更多的能源。人们还担心大型海水淡化厂可能对环境造成的影响。在这里，我们回顾了最先进的海水淡化技术在降低能源需求方面的可能效果，先进材料和创新技术在提高性能方面的潜在作用，以及海水淡化作为解决全球水资源短缺的技术解决方案的可持续性。
