Lesson 1: Operating a Desalination Plant

Do you think you have what it takes to operate a desalination plant? You’ll need to know when to use vacuum pumps, water pumps, liquid pipes, and when to use gas pipes. Collect your virtual tools and start building your plant that changes ocean water into fresh drinking water.

Doing the science

1. Start the Desalination Simulation by clicking on the “Sim” tab.
2. Select Surface for Warm Water Intake Depth and 200m for Cold Water Intake Depth, and then click Continue.
3. Your tasks are listed on-screen between the Fresh Water and Cold Water Reservoirs as well as in Table 1. Work on each task in order.
4. In order to connect the Warm Water to the Aerosolizer, scroll over the icon of the appropriate element (pipe or pump). If you need the element to be vertical instead of horizontal, click on the R for rotate. The farthest left, bottom dot in the Warm Water tank should be your starting point.
5. Drag your element to the dots on the screen. No paths should overlap.
6. Experiment connecting pumps and pipes on a path from the bottom left hand dot in Warm Water to the middle dot on the Aerosolizer. When you have the correct combination, the task will convert from the Red Incomplete to the Green Complete.
7. When you have the correct combination, record how many of each element you used in Table 1.