Preface

The need for fresh water is increasing with the rapid growth of the world's population. In countries and regions with available water resources, it is necessary to ensure the health and safety of the water supply. However, in countries and regions with limited freshwater re‐ sources, priority is given to water supply plans and projects, among which the desalination strategy stands out. In the desalination process, membrane and thermal processes are used to obtain fresh water from salty water, which is in abundant amounts in the sea. High ener‐ gy requirement, brine (concentrate) disposal and greenhouse gas emissions are still the main challenges for desalination. Therefore, it is necessary to combine renewable energy sources with desalination facilities and to develop concentrate management. This book will outline valuable scientific contributions to the new desalination and water treatment technologies to obtain high quality water with low negative environmental impacts and cost.

This book consists of four sections. In the first section, some case studies related to the desalina‐ tion processes used for various purposes are included. In the second section, studies using renewable energy in desalination systems are discussed. In the third section, research utilizing membranes in different characteristics is presented and in the last section, research on current technologies used in water treatment applications and water treatment facilities is stated.

> **Asst. Prof. Murat Eyvaz and Prof. Ebubekir Yüksel** Department of Environmental Engineering Gebze Technical University Turkey

**Section 1**

**Desalination Applications**
