what is the name for a machine that turns saltwater into fresh water ?

Answer 1

This is called a desalination plant (in the meaning of factory). There are various methods, but they all require energy to overcome the energy of dissolution of the solute (salt and minerals) in the solvent (water).

One common method is evaporation, whereby only the solvent evaporates, is separated and then is condensed in a pure form. This requires heat or vacuum, or both.

Other methods could be electrolytic or molecular filtration, such as diffusion across a membrane.

Answer 2

This probably aint an answer, but I have a suggestion of something that might or might not work. Bring salt water into the desert region via gigantic aqua ducts. Use great big mechanical wave generators or wave driven turbines that help drive the ocean water into the aqua ducts, and then go inlands. Once deposited in lakes or big holding tanks in the desert, where it can get phenomenally hot, we can use a big solar powered evaporation machine (boiler), and fresh water could with the aid from the desert based heat/ steam generator, emerge from the salt water depositories, into fresh water holding tanks. What do you think?

Answer 3

there is no machine that turns saltwater into freshwater. its called the water cycle. when the water evaporates the salt stays in the ocean

Answer 4

most of the time they're huge and they're called desalinization plants