Can you drink salt water if you boil it and collect the evaporated water in a separate container?

Question

I'm thinking of 2 sealed containers with a hole in the top of each one. In the hole, I place an upside-down-u-shaped pipe joining them together. I container is salt water, the other is emptied. Can I boil the salt water (to separate salt from water), let the water evaporate into the pipe, and cool it on the other side to turn back into water? More importantly, would this make it safe enough to drink if I were stranded on an island?

Answer 1

yes... the water will be good to drink.. but .. if you are going to boil it.. you will need a steam exhaust from the collection jar.. so the pressure does not make the whole thing blow up in your face... also.. make sure that it does not boil hard enough to make saltwater splatter up into the tube coming out of the top of the 1st jar

Answer 2

yes

Another way I have heard about to purify water.

Take a large coffee can and place a smaller can or cup in the middle. Fill the coffee can with water but not the inner cup or can (this will be used to collect the pure water). Stretch a piece of saran wrap or something similar over the top of the can. Place a small stone in the center of the saran wrap and put the whole thing out in the sun. The sun will cause the water to vaporize. The water vapor will condense on the saran wrap. The stone causes the water to run into the middle where it drips into the collection container.

Answer 3

Yes. What you would have to do is have your one with salt water, hole in the top so the steam rises then a tube to collect the steam, the tube should be wrapped in a cold compress (towel, ice) as it travels through the pipe it will condense and become water again, this will get rid of the salt, to make it safe for drinking you have to bring it to boiling again cause it may collect airborn germs through its evaporation and condensation phase. The n cool and drink. ciao.

Answer 4

Yes, that is the same as distillation.

Be sure to drink the water within a week, as it can become contaminated with algae and stuff and may go stale.

An easier method uses a plastic bag over a hole duug in the ground. The water condenses on the plastic, and dripps off the lowest point of the plastic into a container. Nasty fluids, like urine, can even be purified in this manner (in a pinch).

Answer 5

This is called distilllation and yes it works. However, you will need to perform the process in stages to get drinkable water. In other words, it is difficult to remove all the salt during the first try. You may have to boil and distil the water several times to get all the salt out. This is how the Navy makes potable water on their ships.

Answer 6

You can drink the water produced from the condensation, as it is pure, distilled water (although not completely pure).

The water would be safe enough to drink, albeit it may not be as tasty as the water you normally drink from the tap. It also contains no minerals, so you would need to get those elsewhere (in your food,probably).

Answer 7

You can drink it, however, you also might add some more components such as F2 to help your teeth and all that other stuff they have in water, if you find it necessary.
I must say, boiling it once is not enough.

Answer 8

yes. Its called distillation, and makes the water safe to drink.