Our waterways are becoming more and more polluted due to PFAS, plastics, medicines, drugs, and new chemicals made by companies that just hand over the responsibility of cleaning to plants paid for by public moneys. Detecting the different chemicals and filtering them out if getting harder and harder. Could the simple solution of heating up past a point where even PFAS/forever chemicals decomposes (400C for PFAS, 500C to be more sure about other stuff) be alright?

  • @robato@lemmy.world
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    319 hours ago

    Molten Salt Nuclear Reactors (like the one China’s making with thorium) operate at something like 700* C to generate electricity. With the waste heat, we could desalinate water. Instead of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository, it becomes Yucca Mountain Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor and brackish groundwater distillation for Las Vegas.

    • atro_cityOP
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      09 hours ago

      This, I like. The water would be radioactive though, wouldn’t it? I wonder if “exchanging” the unknown toxins for radioactivity in the dispelled water would be better or worse. But, it could maybe help decompose some of the toxic chemicals during in the process.

      • @Randomgal@lemmy.ca
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        25 hours ago

        No. Radioactivity isn’t like a disease. Specific particles are radioactive. If you remove it prevent contamination form the first place, there is no reason the water would become radioactive. Heat is just heat.

        • atro_cityOP
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          11 hour ago

          That made no sense at all. Do you think toxic water is 100 toxins or that when somebody is sick they become one big walking disease?

          And “water can’t become irradiated” is a great take. So radioactive radiation has no effect on water whatsoever? “High energy particles don’t exist and they can’t hurt you🧠”