two billion people<\/a> worldwide did not have access to safe drinking water, and only 0.5 percent of water on the planet was usable freshwater. to help combat this water insecurity, we use desalination, a process implemented globally to increase the amount of fresh water available by removing salt and other pollutants from seawater and brackish water. desalination, while an effective method of producing freshwater, is not without its challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\nthe process produces brine, a waste product of highly concentrated salt water. but what if this waste product could be used to create something positive? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
elizabeth north, ph.d., a scientist and professor at the university of maryland center for environmental science, and her team of researchers are currently developing a biomanufacturing process that uses brine to produce calcium carbonate, a chemical compound needed in various industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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