A Comprehensive Guide to Desalination Technology
In recent years, dwindling freshwater supplies have become a major concern – and a stark reality – for communities around the world. This has led many experts to begin ringing alarm bells, alerting us that this trend, while happening on a relatively small scale now, could quickly escalate into a full-scale water crisis of global consequence. Now, with each passing year and facing an increasingly volatile climate, farmers around the world are beginning to listen – and to consider alternative, more sustainable farming and irrigation practices.
Desalination is one such practice that may be able to offer tremendous benefits. While many people in farming and agricultural circles have heard of this practice, only the experts tend to have a firm grasp on how desalination actually works and how it might be able to provide relief during a serious water crisis.
If you’re curious about the benefits of desalination but are concerned about financing such a change on your farm, you may want to consider an agriculture loan. In this article, we’ll explore how desalination could change the face of farming and how farmers can get started with an ag land loan.
How Does Desalination Work?
If you’re the owner of a small farming operation or ag land, it’s important to understand the technologies that could change the industry. Desalination is near the top in that list.
Simply put, desalination is a mechanical process that is employed to remove the mineral content from saline (salt) water. In other words, it’s the process of transforming toxic saltwater into fresh, drinkable, and usable water. Although desalination has been used as a mode of freshwater production for millennia, it has really only begun to gain real traction as an industrially-powered practice since the latter half of the 20th century.
Removing the salt content from seawater can be done by using either of two primary methods. The first is through thermal (heat) energy. This is a relatively simple process involving boiling, condensation, and allowing the mineral components to become separated and removed naturally.
The second, more recently developed method is carried out through electrical power. In this process, a small but powerful electric field is generated in a tube of saltwater that branches off into two individual tubes at its end. When pressure is applied and the water is pushed through the tube, the electric field separates the salt from the water, allowing the salt to proceed into one of the branches while the newly-desalinated water flows into the other.
How Could Desalination Change Agriculture?
Today, only about 1% of the world’s population relies primarily on desalination as a means of acquiring freshwater. But that could change rather quickly. In fact, the UN now estimates that by 2025 fully 14% of the world’s population will come to rely on desalination.
As we all know, agriculture relies heavily on the irrigation of freshwater, which means that the industry would be extremely vulnerable if a global water crisis were to occur. Thankfully, desalination technology may be able to provide a viable solution. And as the world gets dryer, the necessity for sustainable solutions will only become more acute.
How to Implement Desalination Technology on Your Farm
Implementing desalination technology requires a heavy financial investment. Unfortunately, considering the current state of the ag industry, many farmers do not have access to these funds. That’s where agriculture loans can help. Ag loans can give you access to the funds needed to make operational changes on your farm.
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Curious about the benefits of agriculture loans but unsure how to get started? You’re not alone! Thankfully, MSF Agriculture has you covered. Contact our office today to get started!