Change Initiatives: Indian scientists developed a method to turn seawater into drinkable water- God of Small Thing

How Indian scientist achieved the feat to turn seawater drinkable? 

Drought in India has resulted in millions of deaths over the course of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Indian agriculture is mostly determined by the climate of India: a favorable southwest summer monsoon is critical in securing water for irrigating Indian crops. In some parts of India, the failure of the monsoons result in water scarcity, resulting in below-average crop yields.

But there is a piece of good news for Indian areas prone to drought, the scientists in Tamil Nadu have devised a new system that can make seawater potable and safe to drink too.
The amount of seawater purified per day in 6.3 million Litres. This heralds, relief for 13 states in India which are presently reeling under drought.

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How does the water purification structure work?

The system has been set up by scientists of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu. This was the place where they use waste steam from a nuclear reactor to purify seawater. They have also developed certain filtration methods that will ensure groundwater containing arsenic and uranium is safe to drink. Here the scientists use the waste stream from a nuclear reactor to purify the seawater.

Several plants have been installed in West Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, said KN Vyas, Director of BARC, Mumbai. He also said that BARC has developed several membranes that can produce purified drinking water out of groundwater contaminated by uranium or arsenic, at very low cost.

How will this methodology help?

These scientists have also made several household water purifiers that are being marketed across the drought-hit areas of Marathwada, Maharashtra. These purifiers have thin membranes and special filters to separate contaminants.

And Interestingly it is not the first time that BARC scientists have come up to the war against the problem of water scarcity, they have already developed several membranes, by which, at a very low cost, groundwater contaminated by uranium or arsenic can be purified and made fit for drinking, Dr. Vyas, Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre was quoted as saying. The Abstract people appreciate the efforts and work of Scientists of BARC for producing such an efficient system that would actually help the country face the problem of the water crisis.

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Turn seawater into drinking water India: Advantages of the purification framework

This comes as a real boon for people suffering under the severe conditions of drought with a shortage of drinking water. The method is cost-effective and has the potential to resolve the water crisis faced by several Indian states including Maharashtra. As per a report, 40% of Indians will have no access to drinking water by 2030.

By the chemical, process water is desalinated and it tastes like fresh water, no saline taste at all. The desalinated water has TDS of less than 100 and people at the Kudankulam plant have already begun using the processed water for drinking and other purposes.

And the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while on his recent visit to the BARC plant site applauded the collective efforts of the scientists and congratulated the team on its success. He even pedaled a bicycle that had a water purifier installed on it where the pedals produced enough energy for the purifier to run and treat contaminated water into drinkable freshwater.