Modeling the desalination of saline water by using bacteria and marsh plants

Abstract

On the planet earth, large amount of saline water (in seas and some lakes) is present and a concerted effort is needed to desalinate this water by using cheaper methods already existing in nature. Keeping this in view, a non-linear model for desalination of saline water is proposed and analyzed by using bacteria (halophiles) and marsh plants (salt grass). The system is assumed to be governed by four dependent variables namely the salt concentration, the density of halophile bacteria, the biomass density of marsh plants and the concentration of dissolved oxygen. The density of halophiles and biomass density of marsh plants are assumed to follow logistic models and their growth rates and carrying capacities increase due to interactions with salt in water. The model is analyzed by using the theory of differential equations as well as by using numerical simulation. The analysis shows that salt concentration can become very small if densities of halophiles and marsh plants are very large. The analytical result is confirmed by numerical simulation.