Two Swansea University chemical engineering academics have written a handbook which reviews current state-of-the-art developments in salinity gradient processes in desalination, one of the most promising technologies to improve energy efficiency in desalination.
The impending crisis posed by water stress and poor sanitation represents one of the greatest human challenges for the 21st century, and membrane technology has emerged as a serious contender to confront the crisis on a global scale.
Seawater desalination is poised to become one of the main alternative freshwater resources as almost 60% of the world's population live less than 36 miles from a seacoast. Membrane-based processes and desalination have emerged as technologies that will answer these challenges. Market predictions point to a global desalination market of US$52.4 billion in 2020, an increase of 320% from 2010.
Professor Nidal Hilal, Director of the Centre for Water Advanced Technologies and Environmental Research (CWATER) at Swansea University and Editor-in-Chief of the International journal Desalination, and Dr Sarper Sarp, Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, both from the College of Engineering, Swansea University are the co-authors of the handbook titled Membrane-Based Salinity Gradient Processes for Desalination.
The book topics span various types of salinity gradient processes for desalination such as forward osmosis (FO) and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO), including the novel membranes, process developments and case studies. The book also highlights full-scale application approaches. A big part of the publication is dedicated to membrane types, developments and optimisation, including thin-film composite and hollow fibre membranes.
Membrane-Based Salinity Gradient Processes for Desalination, ISBN 13: 9780444639615, will be published in July 2018.
