Providing the World with Access to Fresh Water
For many of us, access to clean and drinkable water is part and parcel of our everyday life. Did you know, though, that one of every four persons on the planet does not have ready access to fresh and clean water. Scientific evidence shows that the planet has become drier over the past quarter of a century, with more incidence of drought, severely limiting access to fresh water in many parts of the world. Much of the fresh water that gets used in the world comes from rivers, streams and lakes, but those resources are limited.
It’s not that there’s a shortage of water on the planet, though. About 70% of the earth’s surface is water. Unfortunately, only 2.5% of the water on the planet is fresh water…the rest is saltwater, unsuitable for drinking or human consumption. But what if you could convert that saltwater to fresh water? You’d have a virtually endless resource to provide the planet with fresh water. That’s the desalination process.
What Is Desalination and How Does It Work?
Desalination is a process that removes salt and other minerals from water, making it safe and palatable for human consumption, use in farming and for industrial use. Historical data documents attempts to remove salt from water as early as 5,000 BCE by boiling the water. A hundred years later, Aristotle proposed a method that involved evaporation and condensation.
The first modern attempts to desalinate were in the mid-1800s, when French engineers patented a seawater distillation device.
In the early 1960s, Israeli engineer Alexander Zarchin developed a desalination process that involved freezing water until ice crystals formed, which naturally separated the salt from the water. The process, however, is cumbersome, with massive quantities of ice and slush that must be separated and moved around. Primarily for that reason, the technology has never been fully embraced.
The modern process for removing salt is known as reverse osmosis (RO), where pressure is applied to water molecules to force them through a microscopic membrane, which acts like a filter, leaving salt and other substances behind. It’s typically a multi-step process, with different impurities removed at each step.
The Jewish Role in Desalination
An adequate freshwater supply has almost always been a challenge in Israel, where about half of the land is either arid or semi-arid desert. For that reason, there has long been research into ways to produce a larger quantity of potable water. In the 21st century, Israel derives about 75% of its drinking water from the desalination of seawater.
The first major contribution to Israel’s desalination efforts came from Sidney Loeb, an American-born engineer who did most of his work through Ben-Gurion University. Loeb revolutionized the reverse osmosis process by co-inventing a semi-permeable membrane that made desalination practical and economically feasible. Before applying for a patent on his device, Loeb tested it on the water supply in Coalinga, California, where residents had been relying on train deliveries of water because their own water was too contaminated with minerals from industrial operations. Loeb’s membrane successfully purified the water and he patented the device. Because of the success of the reverse osmosis process, Israel has created the world’s largest and most aggressive desalination infrastructure, which includes 6 large plants along its coast.
Gutterman’s and Gutterman Warheit—Comprehensive Assistance with Funeral and Burial Needs for More than 130 Years
At Gutterman’s and Gutterman Warheit, with funeral chapels in both New York and Florida, we have helped families and individuals in the Jewish community during their time of bereavement for more than six generations, offering advice and direction on all matters related to funeral and burial services. We understand the unique customs within each Jewish tradition and can help with every need, whether it’s the order of service at a memorial, the selection of a casket, the arrangements for sitting Shiva or the preparation of a Yahrzeit calendar. We will also work directly with your Chevra Kadisha to ensure compliance with Jewish law in the preparation of the body.
To learn how we can help, send us an email or call us at one of the numbers listed below.
Gutterman’s & Gutterman Warheit — Where Relationships Matter
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