desalination plant 1. Plants for the extraction of fresh water from saltwater by the removal of salts, usually by distilling. 2. Parts of the world with severe water shortages are looking to desalination plants to solve their problems. Desalination of water is still nearly four times more expensive than obtaining water from conventional sources. However technology is improving and costs are likely to decrease slightly in the future. There is now more interest in building distillation plants beside electric installations so that the waste heat from power generation can be used to drive the desalination process
