Ahmed al-Amoudi, head of a government-run desalination research institute, sees a future where industrially useful minerals such as sodium chloride salt, magnesium and calcium are extracted from the seawater alongside clean water, and no highly-salty wastewater - known as brine - flows back into the sea. "We can benefit from the sea and its treasures by the extraction of minerals," Amoudi said. Above, an employee stands next to a waste water collection pool at the world's largest water desalination plant at the Saline Water Conversion Corporation Ras Al-Khair Power and Desalination Plant in Ras al Khair.
REUTERS