I don't think the DeSantis launch failure is an enormous issue (it was a massive waste of an opportunity)... but the twitter reactions are pretty funny. #DeSaster
I mean...I'm no fan of Trump, but it's still referred to as the "When Trump came down the escalator" moment.
I currently pay 80 cents per gallon of distilled water. We go through about 10 to12 / 6 gallon cases a month.
Things have come down since the 50's / 60's when I first found out about a desalinization project that was supposed to be built in Santa Barbara back then because of current and looming water shortages way back then. The cost was prohibitive back then and never really got to a full scale project. Water was always a problem in California. The North had it, the South did not and the North objected to paying the costs to export it down South. The first Gov Brown supervised all the aqueducts built back then that as has been discussed in other threads did not include water capture for storage. A short sighted and expensive waste of resources for that reason.
it is still a challenge but desalination technology is getting better
it is one of the reasons i'm interested in small modular reactors (like molten salt)
as i understand it the waste heat is a good temp for desalination
i like the idea that we can produce low or no carbon energy and benefit from fresh water too
lot of smart and creative people working on it
i was putting price ref in for good measure but desal dropping over 50% in the last ten years is pretty impressive
israel has desal down to $2 per 1000 gallons
I currently pay 80 cents per gallon of distilled water. We go through about 10 to12 / 6 gallon cases a month.
Things have come down since the 50's / 60's when I first found out about a desalinization project that was supposed to be built in Santa Barbara back then because of current and looming water shortages way back then. The cost was prohibitive back then and never really got to a full scale project. Water was always a problem in California. The North had it, the South did not and the North objected to paying the costs to export it down South. The first Gov Brown supervised all the aqueducts built back then that as has been discussed in other threads did not include water capture for storage. A short sighted and expensive waste of resources for that reason.
Big desalination plants do not come cheap. The capital cost of large-capacity plants typically runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars: not surprisingly, most plants built in recent years have been in wealthy countries like the UAE and Israel, or to supply big cities in Australia or the US.
The latest desalination market report from Global Industry Analysts, a market research company, anticipates the global desalination market to grow by 9.8% annually from $15.2bn in 2022 to $22.5bn in 2026. However,this growth will largely be driven by China and the US, say the authors, rather than the many poorer countries of the world struggling to adapt to climate change.
(...)
Analysis from Christopher Gasson, publisher of the industry magazine Global Water Intelligence, points out that the low cost achieved in Israel may not be replicable in other countries. This is because the cost of project finance is typically much lower in wealthy countries, while Israel also has much lower labour costs than other wealthy countries like Australia and the US.
(...)
As desalination technology becomes cheaper, an ever-growing reason for the high cost of desalination is the processâs substantial energy demands, which vary from one-third to more than half the cost of producing desalinated water. Salty water undergoes several energy-intensive steps on its desalinisation journey, typically including transportation via pumping through pipes, and then a series of pre-treatment, micronic-filtering, reverse osmosis and post-treatment procedures.
Desalination is already responsible for 0.4% of the worldâs electricity consumption, and around 10% of the electricity consumed in Israel. If the process is to become compatible with a net-zero future, it must be powered by renewables. Unfortunately, this is far from the case in Israel today: more than 90% of the countryâs electricity comes from fossil fuels.
The first con on the page following the "price reduction" paragraph you copied:
* Still more expensive than traditional sources due to high energy consumption
It may be a good idea, and the pros (especially in a place like FL) may outweigh the cons, but Musk stating that desalination is "absurdly cheap" is crap. There are numerous issues with desalination and I watched him make the comment during the interview (not from reading a tweet). He was wrong. He is more about his persona now than about being a scientist. That's perfectly fine for him to do... but because a guy can land a booster rocket back on a launchpad (still amazes me to watch) doesn't mean he knows everything about engineering and science.
i was putting price ref in for good measure
but desal dropping over 50% in the last ten years is pretty impressive
israel has desal down to $2 per 1000 gallons
difficult to remember and we (my city) get a base charge and a usage charge
just looked, last month my base charge is $15 monthly and my usage charge is $7.37 for approximately 3800 gallons
edit: pilfered through the website and saw this:
The utility bill is made up of two components: a base charge and a consumption charge. If you receive City water and sewer services, you will have a base and a consumption charge for both services. If you have only one service, you will have only the appropriate base and consumption charge.
The base charge is a monthly minimum charge based upon the type and size of the metered service you have. Additionally, you are billed a consumption charge for the amount of water you use. Take a look at the usage number on your bill. Multiply that number by 1,000 to give you the amount of water (in thousands of gallons) you used.
The first con on the page following the "price reduction" paragraph you copied:
* Still more expensive than traditional sources due to high energy consumption
It may be a good idea, and the pros (especially in a place like FL) may outweigh the cons, but Musk stating that desalination is "absurdly cheap" is crap. There are numerous issues with desalination and I watched him make the comment during the interview (not from reading a tweet). He was wrong. He is more about his persona now than about being a scientist. That's perfectly fine for him to do... but because a guy can land a booster rocket back on a launchpad (still amazes me to watch) doesn't mean he knows everything about engineering and science.
How much does desalination cost?
Advancements in reverse osmosis technology have brought desalination costs closer to
other alternatives. Ten years ago, desalinated water cost more than $9 per 1000 gallons,
but today, the range is $2 to $5 per 1000 gallons. Israelâs world-largest desal water costs
about $2 per 1000 gallons and the recently completed 25 MGD Tampa Bay plant
produces water at about $3 per 1000 gallons. The cost depends on whether the source
water is brackish groundwater or seawater. Brackish water desalination costs less than
seawater desalination because it contains less dissolved salts. The total costs also depend
on the amount of pre-treatment and post-treatment needed. Because of available grants,
subsidies and innovative financing, the costs are not entirely passed to the end user.
I took a canoe trip in Canada when I was in my 20s, and I fished for whatever would take the lure. So, yes. Didn't catch one, they're know as the fish of a 1000 casts. I didn't cast that many times.
Well, take heart my friend. I no longer 'fish,' as much as I practice my cast
Ever actually fished for them? Only seen vids and heard stories...
I took a canoe trip in Canada when I was in my 20s, and I fished for whatever would take the lure. So, yes. Didn't catch one, they're known as the fish of a 1000 casts. I didn't cast that many times.
