Patent ID: 7198722

Claim:
A process for treating sea water comprising (A) adding to said sea water about 0.1 to about 60 g/L of a compound selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium hydroxide, potassium carbonate, calcium oxide, calcium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum sulfate, aluminum potassium sulfate, and mixtures thereof, whereby a precipitate of a calcium compound forms in said water; (B) separating said precipitate from said water; and (C) desalinating said water to a first stream that has lower concentration of dissolved solids and an second stream that has a higher concentration of dissolved solids, and (1) a mixture is formed of said second stream and said sea water; (2) a sufficient amount of said compound is added to said mixture to bring its concentration within a range of about 0.1 to about 60 wt %; and (3) said mixture is recycled to step (B).