Are deslination plants expensive to build?

Question

Are desalination plants expensive and difficult to build?

Answer 1

Yes desal plants are expensive and requires massive amounts of energy.

Answer 2

Yes they are.  The exact numbers vary but a lot of raw materials go through these to filter the salt and other things out of sea water.

Answer 3

Yes and no. Typical plants are expensive. There are, however, solar-powered ones for areas with enough insolation. They are more expensive to build, being essentially giant greenhouses with places for the evaporated water to condense and run off. However, maintenance is just a matter of pumping water and keeping the glass clean.

Answer 4

Maybe a small one for a sea side home would be cheap enough.

Answer 5

Yes they are very expensive that is why it is cheaper to pipe water into dry areas than to build a desalinization plant

Answer 6

Not only are they expensive to build but to run. Millions, possibly billions of dollars will be spent on construction and maintenance, however the technology is advancing.

Just an example, a new desalination plant in Victoria, Australia will cost 3 billion to build and can supply 150 billion litres a year.

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/drinkseawat...

this website has some numbers for comparison