- The book comprises 14 chapters covering all the issues related to water desalination. These chapters emphasize the relationship between problems encountered with the use of feed water, the processes developed to address them, the operation of the required plants and solutions actually implemented. This compendium will assist designers, engineers and investigators to select the process and plant configuration that are most appropriate for the particular feed water to be used, for the geographic region considered, as well as for the characteristics required of the treated water produced.This survey offers a comprehensive, hierarchical and logical assessment of the entire desalination industry. It starts with the worldwide scarcity of water and energy, continues with the thermal – and membrane-based processes and, finally, presents the design and operation of large and small desalination plants. As such, it covers all the scientific, technological and economical aspects of this critical industry, not disregarding its environmental and social points of view.- The sustainability and prosperity of the ancient civilizations of China, Egypt, Babylonia,Phoenicia, Persia and Roma were based on the extensive use of water for human consumption, crop irrigation, canal navigation and energy generation. Today, the worldwide scarcity of water and clean energy constitutes a central and critical problem for the whole humankind. This situation is aggravated as industrial, agricultural and municipal effl uents reach the water bodies, or the coastal seawater that is used as feed for esalination plants. All these problems are linked to the actual, natural and anthropogenic changes of climate, global warming and greenhouse-gas emissions, all interrelated phenomena that aff ect our planet. In order to avoid damage to its facilities and equipment, the desalination industry invests considerable eff orts to deal with these changes, in particular with extreme events such as torrential rains, devastating fl oods, dry seasons with devouring fi res, as well as with extended spells of cold weather with freezing temperatures. The book chapters are arranged in an hierarchical sequence, starting with conventional and novel desalination processes and following with energy, environmental, economic and ecological issues, all aff ecting the desalination industry image and profi tability. Leading experts from academia and industry, as well as environment researchers, distinguished teachers and experienced engineers have writt en special chapters for this impressive collection. The contributing authors off er a large amount of practical information, presenting it in a highly condensed yet coherent body of useful knowledge and practical expertise. Moreover, the multi-authored characteristic of this volume off ers a wide spectrum of knowledge and experience, as the authors are specialists in diff erent fi elds and express diverse  approaches and orientations. The intended multifacet content of this publication certainly contributes to enrich it. This compendium provides valuable, encyclopedic knowledge on research, development, processes, plants and technologies of this industry, from the fundamental concepts up to many practical cases collected from around the world. Hence, it provides a useful insight into the world of water, energy and desalination, easy to follow and to apply. This volume is an essential companion to chemists, as well as to civil and chemical engineers who design, build and operate desalination plants. It is also highly relevant to maintenance personnel, corrosion specialists, material- and mechanical engineers. Also, university  ecturers and researchers will fi nd it useful for their students while preparing their thesis on subjects related to desalination processes and plants. Not less so, desalination industry executives should make sure that their fi eld managers and engineers in charge of running their plants will have access to it, and apply the built-in know-how in their daily work routine.Another strong part of this book is the wealth of  references listed for each chapter, amounting to hundreds of sources of detailed information from the modern scientifi c and technical literature. Anyone interested in desalination will be thrilled by their diverse content. All in all, this volume enables the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the state of the art of the desalination industry and to become acquainted with the most recent developments and technologies in this area. Finally, it is my pleasant duty to acknowledge with thanks each of the learned authors for contributing their chapters to this volume.