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Leftover brine is really a problem though https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-but-what-about-all-that-toxic-brine/ https://www.wired.com/story/

Leftover brine is really a problem though https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-but-what-about-all-that-toxic-brine/ https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-but-what...

jaggederest 2y ago
Yeah I don't think you can just dump it in the top end of the gulf of california, especially if that's where you're sourcing feedwater.
- kevin_thibedeau 2y ago
  Pump it into the Salton Sea.
  - viburnum 2y ago
    It already has too much toxic salt dust blowing around.
- mapt 2y ago
  Why not? Existing ocean currents in the Gulf of California driven by wind, tides, and thermohaline circulation are on the order of 10cm/s, tens of kilometers wide, hundreds of meters deep. Very little of that is associated with local rivers, which are relatively tiny because the whole region is extremely arid. Are you going to be desalinating 0.1 km^2 of water per second? The Sun pumps a thousand watts a square meter onto the surface of the Earth on a 24-hour cycle and this tends to shake things up.
  - viburnum 2y ago
    The brine doesn’t spread out automatically, it sinks, and it’s deadly to aquatic life.
    - mapt 2y ago
      It does spread out automatically. We call it diffusion. Diffusion can also be assisted with very modest power requirements.
resolutebat 2y ago
It's not a huge problem: it's the same salt that was in the sea, just more concentrated. Dilute it well enough and it's a literal drop in the ocean. The article also mentions that inefficient thermal desal produces much more brine, with modern RO desal being more efficient.
- bestouff 2y ago
  Yes just dilute it. In freshwater. Freshwater you got from ... where already ?
  - svsoc 2y ago
    Why do you want to dilute it in freshwater?
stevenAthompson 2y ago
I don't think it's just the brine that's concerning. Remember all of those toxic pesticides and heavy metals the author mentions? The ones causing health problems for residents of the Salton Sea area? Those have to go someplace as well, and they would be mixed into that brine. Dumping a more concentrated version of that sludge into the gulf sounds like a bad time for people who live in the gulf region. Don't get me wrong, I love this idea. I just know that there are hidden externalities here which need to be examined and dealt with properly.
eagerpace 2y ago
Could we just... eat it? A by-product sounds a lot more efficient to access than mining. And people pay a premium for "sea salt."

Leftover brine is really a problem though https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-but-what-about-all-that-toxic-brine/ https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-but-what...

jaggederest 2y ago

Yeah I don't think you can just dump it in the top end of the gulf of california, especially if that's where you're sourcing feedwater.

kevin_thibedeau 2y ago
Pump it into the Salton Sea.
- viburnum 2y ago
  It already has too much toxic salt dust blowing around.
mapt 2y ago
Why not? Existing ocean currents in the Gulf of California driven by wind, tides, and thermohaline circulation are on the order of 10cm/s, tens of kilometers wide, hundreds of meters deep. Very little of that is associated with local rivers, which are relatively tiny because the whole region is extremely arid. Are you going to be desalinating 0.1 km^2 of water per second? The Sun pumps a thousand watts a square meter onto the surface of the Earth on a 24-hour cycle and this tends to shake things up.
- viburnum 2y ago
  The brine doesn’t spread out automatically, it sinks, and it’s deadly to aquatic life.
  - mapt 2y ago
    It does spread out automatically. We call it diffusion. Diffusion can also be assisted with very modest power requirements.

resolutebat 2y ago

It's not a huge problem: it's the same salt that was in the sea, just more concentrated. Dilute it well enough and it's a literal drop in the ocean. The article also mentions that inefficient thermal desal produces much more brine, with modern RO desal being more efficient.

bestouff 2y ago
Yes just dilute it. In freshwater. Freshwater you got from ... where already ?
- svsoc 2y ago
  Why do you want to dilute it in freshwater?

stevenAthompson 2y ago

I don't think it's just the brine that's concerning. Remember all of those toxic pesticides and heavy metals the author mentions? The ones causing health problems for residents of the Salton Sea area? Those have to go someplace as well, and they would be mixed into that brine. Dumping a more concentrated version of that sludge into the gulf sounds like a bad time for people who live in the gulf region. Don't get me wrong, I love this idea. I just know that there are hidden externalities here which need to be examined and dealt with properly.

eagerpace 2y ago

Could we just... eat it? A by-product sounds a lot more efficient to access than mining. And people pay a premium for "sea salt."