Converting Seawater to Potable Water

Following a wide-spread disaster, such as a hurricane, some of the most important and basic needs of a community become damaged or unattainable. One of those resources is water. 

Water is an essential tool that’s used daily for food and cleaning purposes but after a disaster, getting clean, potable water becomes a challenge.

If a community’s water source becomes contaminated, residents are left without one of the most powerful resources that affect their daily lives. As part of our Emergency Response capabilities, Cotton Logistics provides the experience and necessary equipment to transform saltwater from the ocean or nearby body of water into clean, potable water that fuels families and businesses through the recovery process. 

Desalination is a process that removes salt and mineral components from seawater. One of the desalination techniques used by Cotton Logistics is a membrane process known as reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis is a pressure-driven process that filters and separates contaminants and salt from the water. The pressure is applied to the saltwater, pushing it through a semipermeable membrane with tiny pores and filters out salt and other contaminants from the water. The result is freshwater that is safe to drink. 

Using this exact same process, Cotton Logistics was able to convert seawater into potable water to support employee and family relief efforts at a petroleum storage terminal in the Bahamas. Click here to read the full case study and to learn more about our Emergency Response capabilities.