Abstract
This paper provides a succinct and simplified account of desalination techniques. The techniques are categorized as membrane-based, thermal-based, combined membrane/thermal-based and miscellaneous techniques. Essential features of membrane-based, thermal-based and combined membrane/thermal-based techniques are presented, while their associated limitations are equally highlighted. Reverse Osmosis (RO) remains the state-of-the-art technology in seawater desalination with the highest installed capacity of 65% globally. Whereas, solar desalination potentially shows as a cost and energy-effective means of ensuring steady supply of potable water in off-grid arid-coastal environments, where freshwater reserves are non-existing. In general, if the world is to aim for global freshwater sustainability, seawater desalination must be considered crucial, and a good understanding of its techniques will further drive the vision closer to reality.
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The authors are grateful for the supports provided by Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS for this study under the YUTP-FRG grant, cost-center: 015LC0-215.
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Abimbola, T.O. et al. (2021). A Concise Review of Major Desalination Techniques: Features and Limitations. In: Mohammed, B.S., Shafiq, N., Rahman M. Kutty, S., Mohamad, H., Balogun, AL. (eds) ICCOEE2020. ICCOEE 2021. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 132. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6311-3_18
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