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Comment on Desalination system could produce freshwater that is cheaper than tap water

Since this produces distilled water, I imagine you could use it to filter any water, not just saltwater. You'd still need to boil it to make sure it was free of pathogens, in either case, and add an appropriate amount of salts and minerals back in to make it potable for the long term.

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TheSaneWriter@lemmy.thesanewriter.com ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
You're correct about readding a small amount of salts and minerals, but you may not actually need to boil it. Often the membranes used for distillation have pores that are so small that only individual atoms can go through them, which effectively filters out bacteria and virions.

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- merde@sh.itjust.works ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  minerals and salts, you get them from what you eat. you don’t need to add them to your distilled water.
  
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  - TheSaneWriter@lemmy.thesanewriter.com ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    You're correct to an extent, but water is still a very useful source of minerals. Potassium, calcium, magnesium, and fluoride are all minerals and salts that we primarily get from water, and thus distilled water can cause a person to become deficient in these elements (Source).
    
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    merde@sh.itjust.works ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    primarily? That’s an exaggeration.
    
    potassium > simply a banana
    
    calcium > cheese, yoghurt, milk or if you’re vegan almonds and plant based milk, &c
    
    magnesium > chocolate (cacao), nuts, spinach
    
    the list goes on and on. Yes, you’re right, if you drink distilled water, you have to pay attention to deficiency but it’s not a big deal. Water, unless it’s enriched artificially, has traces of these minerals.
    
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