I was watching this show on Discovery about people stranded on an island without fresh water. I was wondering what would've happened if they boiled the salt water and collected the vapor to drink.
2007-03-15 08:00:40 · 3 answers · asked by cpuvvada 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Not necessarily. Steam has a limited capacity to carry solutes into the vapour. This is the principle behind steam-distillation. If water is evaporated through a column with a large surface area though, it'll be pretty much free of salt by the time it recondenses
2007-03-15 08:05:20 · answer #1 · answered by Ian I 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They'd be fine. Salt is in solution as ions (Na+) and (Cl-), which don't boil over with the water. They stay behind and eventually crystallize back out as NaCl. Problem is, how many people carry around a distillation unit, condenser ' n all
in their luggage?
The military (and other orgs) are turning to high capacity ion exchange to desalinate sea water for survival use. It significantly reduces the salt content, but not as effectively as distillation.
2007-03-15 08:07:36 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm just guessing, but I would think since the salt and the water are already a solution, it they would both evaporate, leaving behind a salty residue. I suppose if the process was repeated, the water could be collected in a more pure state and would be at least a little better to drink.
2007-03-15 08:07:22 · answer #3 · answered by ANT-a-gonistic 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋