What does desalting mean?
Desalting is the process of removing salt from a substance, most commonly from seawater or brackish water so that it becomes suitable for drinking, agriculture, or industry. The term also has an important second life in petroleum engineering, where desalting refers to washing salt out of crude oil before it enters a refinery, since dissolved salts corrode equipment and poison catalysts. In food production, desalting describes soaking or processing salted foods—such as salted cod—to reduce their sodium content. The word carries a technical, practical register rather than an emotional one, appearing mostly in engineering reports, environmental discussions, and trade literature. As freshwater scarcity intensifies worldwide, desalting has moved steadily into public conversation, often used interchangeably with the more familiar "desalination," though that term usually denotes the full industrial operation of turning seawater into fresh water.
nounThe process of removing salt from something, especially from seawater or brackish water to make it drinkable or usable for irrigation, or from crude oil during petroleum refining.
- The removal of salt from seawater or brackish water to produce fresh water.
- The removal of salt and other impurities from crude oil before refining.
- In food processing, the reduction of salt content, as in desalted cod or cheese.
"The coastal city invested heavily in desalting to secure its drinking water supply."
"Advances in membrane technology have made large-scale desalting far more energy-efficient."
"Before refining begins, crude undergoes desalting to remove corrosive salts that would damage downstream equipment."
Every glass of water from a desalting plant once carried the same salt as the ocean around it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of desalting
Desalting derives from the verb "desalt," formed by adding the reversal prefix "de-" (from Latin) to "salt" (from Old English sealt, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *saltą). The root traces back to Latin "sal" and Greek "hals," which also give English such cognates as "saline," "salary" (Roman soldiers' association with salt allowance), and "sauce." The word emerged alongside modern industrial water treatment in the twentieth century, though its components are far older.
Related word forms
How desalting is actually used
"Desalting" is a technical term common in engineering, water-treatment, and petrochemical contexts; in everyday speech about making seawater potable, "desalination" is considerably more frequent. The word functions chiefly as a noun formed from the gerund of "desalt."
Easily confused with desalting
"Desalting" refers generally to the act of removing salt, while "desalination" is the more formal, established term for the industrial process of producing fresh water from seawater.