Editing Distillation (section)

===Multi-effect distillation===
The goal of multi-effect distillation is to increase the [[Efficient energy use|energy efficiency]] of the process, for use in desalination, or in some cases one stage in the production of [[ultrapure water]]. The number of effects is inversely proportional to the kW·h/m<sup>3</sup> of water recovered figure and refers to the volume of water recovered per unit of energy compared with single-effect distillation. One effect is roughly 636&nbsp;kW·h/m<sup>3</sup>:
* [[Multi-stage flash distillation]] can achieve more than 20 effects with thermal energy input, as mentioned in the article.
* [[Vapor compression evaporation]] – Commercial large-scale units can achieve around 72 effects with electrical energy input, according to manufacturers.

There are many other types of multi-effect distillation processes, including one referred to as simply multi-effect distillation (MED), in which multiple chambers, with intervening heat exchangers, are employed.