A desalination plant in Tangshan, Hebei province has achieved a 60% reduction in energy consumption by converting waste brine into industrial salt for chemical production. The facility processes seawater at a three-to-one ratio, producing fresh water and refined concentrated brine that is piped to a nearby chemical plant to manufacture soda ash used across multiple industries.
Seawater greenhouses are solar-powered structures that grow crops and produce fresh water in arid regions by pumping seawater to create cool, humid conditions and extract freshwater through solar desalination. First developed by Charlie Paton in 1991, pilot projects have been successfully implemented in Tenerife, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Australia, and Somaliland, with the Sahara Forest Project combining the technology with concentrated solar power to produce vegetables and freshwater while rehabilitating desert soil.