Seawater is 97.5% of the total water on Earth. In times of drought and other thirst, humans have tried to cleanup seawater to turn it into freshwater. But so far we do not know how to transform seawater into freshwater economically and without severely impacting the environment.
Seawater has a composition much like the human body
Recognizing that our ancestors originally lived in the sea, it is not surprising to find that the proportion of minerals and salts in human tissue is very similar to that in seawater.
Of course, the exact proportion varies around a similar mean proportion for individual seawater and human tissues.
Human bodies require the salt they contain.
Human bodies loose salt easily
Sweating, crying and urinating are some of the ways in which the human body looses salts. We must replace this lost salt but we cannot intake an excessive amount of extra salt. The excessive salt is bad for the cells that make up our bodies and organs like our kidneys.
What happens when we ingest more salt than we need?
Water moves out of cells to dilute the salt content to a normal acceptable level. This movement dehydrates cells and impairs their normal functioning. Seizures, unconsciousness and brain damage are some of the results of extreme dehydration or prolonged dehydration. Excessive intake of seawater is, thus, a life threatening issue for the human body.
Salt content of Freshwater
USGS has categorized different waters, based on their salt content in parts-per-million (ppm), as follows:
Seawater has a composition much like the human body
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| Seawater composition Source - earth.usc.edu |
Of course, the exact proportion varies around a similar mean proportion for individual seawater and human tissues.
Human bodies require the salt they contain.
Human bodies loose salt easily
Sweating, crying and urinating are some of the ways in which the human body looses salts. We must replace this lost salt but we cannot intake an excessive amount of extra salt. The excessive salt is bad for the cells that make up our bodies and organs like our kidneys.
What happens when we ingest more salt than we need?
Water moves out of cells to dilute the salt content to a normal acceptable level. This movement dehydrates cells and impairs their normal functioning. Seizures, unconsciousness and brain damage are some of the results of extreme dehydration or prolonged dehydration. Excessive intake of seawater is, thus, a life threatening issue for the human body.
Salt content of Freshwater
USGS has categorized different waters, based on their salt content in parts-per-million (ppm), as follows:
- Fresh water - Less than 1,000 ppm
- Slightly saline water - From 1,000 ppm to 3,000 ppm
- Moderately saline water - From 3,000 ppm to 10,000 ppm
- Highly saline water - From 10,000 ppm to 35,000 ppm
- Ocean water - about 35,000 ppm
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