Sea ice goes from pest to pal
Source: Xinhua |
April 8, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SEA ice, seen as a disaster in northeast China's Bohai Bay, is being eyed as an important alternative freshwater source by Chinese scientists.
Their latest research shows China's desalination technology is feasible for mass production.
"The salinity of desalinated sea ice can reach 150 milligrams per liter when 5 tons of it is treated per hour through our lab equipment," said Chen Weibin, a researcher of the desalination program based in Dalian, Liaoning Province.
"The result is on a par with salt levels in many of China's rivers."
Chen is also head of the Marine Environmental Dynamics Lab under the China Marine Environment Monitoring Center.
He said the program had attracted a group of scientists from Beijing Normal University and Tianjin University.
The Bohai and Yellow seas were hit by the worst ice in 30 years lasting from early January to the middle of March.
"The salinity of the seawater in Bohai Bay is 3,200 milligrams per liter," said Gu Wei, a professor with Beijing Normal University, who is involved in the research.
"However, when the water is frozen, the rate drops to 600-800mg/l. Our equipment can further reduce salinity."
If commercially adopted, the technology was expected to help quench the thirsty north China, where per capita availability of fresh water is only between 100 and 300 cubic meters annually, compared with 500 cubic meters - a United Nations criteria for water scarcity, said Gu.
So far, the program has led to the development of a sea ice collecting machine, which can gather 1,000 cubic meters of floating sea ice per hour.
The program has attracted interest from companies in China, Singapore and the United States.
Gu said Bohai Bay which received flows from many rivers, had low salinity compared with the other seas off China's coasts. It was feasible to build a freshwater tank in the bay to collect the desalinated sea ice using the new technology, he added.
The scientists said the technology may be first applied by big industrial water users.
(Xinhua)
Their latest research shows China's desalination technology is feasible for mass production.
"The salinity of desalinated sea ice can reach 150 milligrams per liter when 5 tons of it is treated per hour through our lab equipment," said Chen Weibin, a researcher of the desalination program based in Dalian, Liaoning Province.
"The result is on a par with salt levels in many of China's rivers."
Chen is also head of the Marine Environmental Dynamics Lab under the China Marine Environment Monitoring Center.
He said the program had attracted a group of scientists from Beijing Normal University and Tianjin University.
The Bohai and Yellow seas were hit by the worst ice in 30 years lasting from early January to the middle of March.
"The salinity of the seawater in Bohai Bay is 3,200 milligrams per liter," said Gu Wei, a professor with Beijing Normal University, who is involved in the research.
"However, when the water is frozen, the rate drops to 600-800mg/l. Our equipment can further reduce salinity."
If commercially adopted, the technology was expected to help quench the thirsty north China, where per capita availability of fresh water is only between 100 and 300 cubic meters annually, compared with 500 cubic meters - a United Nations criteria for water scarcity, said Gu.
So far, the program has led to the development of a sea ice collecting machine, which can gather 1,000 cubic meters of floating sea ice per hour.
The program has attracted interest from companies in China, Singapore and the United States.
Gu said Bohai Bay which received flows from many rivers, had low salinity compared with the other seas off China's coasts. It was feasible to build a freshwater tank in the bay to collect the desalinated sea ice using the new technology, he added.
The scientists said the technology may be first applied by big industrial water users.
(Xinhua)
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