ABSTRACT
The sustainable economic development of the society in which we live is determined not only by technical progress but also by environmental management [1-4]. The application of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, wave, and geothermal, for example, is now considered by many as a good option for maintainable water desalination [5-7]. Elimelech and Phillip [8], for instance, reported on the possible reductions in energy demand by desalination technologies and the role of innovative technologies in improving the sustainability of desalination as a technological solution to global water shortages (Figure 12.1). They argued, for example, that future research to improve the energy ef- ciency of desalination should focus on, for example, the pretreatment and posttreatment stages of seawater reverse osmosis (RO) plants. However, this argument is questionable as pretreatment and posttreatment processes represent less than 10% of the total energy consumption. The better opportunities for reducing seawater RO (SWRO) energy
consumption exist in the actual desalination process and optimization techniques.
