Progress and prospects of seawater desalination in China

China is a populous country, and short of water resources. In China, the total volume of fresh water is 2.8 1012 m3, but per capita value of fresh water is less than 2400 m3, which is only a quarter of the world-wide average. Seawater desalination is particularly important and necessary in China, especially within coastal regions, which only account for 13% of the land area, but support 40% of the total population. This paper focuses on current applications for seawater desalination in China. We report that membrane technology and flash vaporization processes are used successfully to desalt seawater. For example, a device of flash vaporization has been built in Tianjin, and its yield is 6000 t/d fresh water. Additionally, in Changdao County, two reverse osmosis (RO) systems have been completed. The future prospect of applying membrane technology to seawater in China is evaluated based on economic analysis.