Glossary of water terms

How much do you know about water? There are some terms that we use on a daily basis around this natural resource. That’s because water is present in countless processes: technology, science, recycling, environment, space, construction, etc. For this reaseon, today we present a new post that, if it works well, we promise that it will have new parts in which we will expand our knowledge about this resource that is so necessary for life. Let’s start!

• Water: substance composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen (H₂O) and can be found in solid (ice), gaseous (vapor) and liquid (water). Water is the natural element that makes life possible on Earth.

• Desalination: process by which salt is removed from sea or brackish water to convert it into water suitable for human consumption or for industrial or agricultural use. The most widely used technologies worldwide are membrane desalination, mainly reverse osmosis, and thermal desalination (evaporation or distillation).

“ Do you know that brackish water is water with a salinity between fresh water and sea water? Find it in our glossary.

• Brackish water: it is water with a salinity between fresh water and sea water. The salinity of brackish water is not a precisely defined condition and it is considered that it can cover a wide variety of salinity regimes. Brackish water can contain between 0.5 and 30 grams of salt per liter. We can find it in estuaries and aquifers or the result of certain human activities, such as dams and coastal marsh floods for the cultivation of some species.
• Osmosis: process by which a solvent passes through a semi-permeable membrane, from a diluted solution to a concentrated one, until the difference in concentrations on both sides of the membrane is equal. The pressure required for this phenomenon is known as osmotic pressure.
• Reverse osmosis: in this process the flow through a semi-permeable membrane is reduced and a pushing force greater than the osmotic pressure is exerted in the opposite direction to the osmosis process. In this way, it is possible to separate the substances found in the water on one side of the membrane (concentrated) and on the other side a dilute solution low in dissolved solids (permeate) is obtained.

And so far our post/glossary of water terms. We hope it has been useful to expand your knowledge, or to clear up doubts about terms related to this sector. Remember that, in our blog, The Energy of Change, you can find a multitude of articles on technologies, projects and current issues related to this resource. In addition, on the Abengoa website, you can download a multitude of world-class water project infographics, videos and presentations.

Rocío Castro,Abengoa Communication Department.