The Future of Desalination: Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Solutions Through Membrane Innovation
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water-Energy Nexus".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1022
Special Issue Editors
Interests: process simulation; process optimization; desalination; uncertainty analysis; sensitivity analysis; process safety; renewable energy; membrane reactors; synthetic fuels; artificial intelligence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: process simulation; process optimization; desalination; process safety; renewable energy; polymers; process control; gas–liquid reactors; brine treatment; artificial intelligence
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue aims to present the latest research on sustainable and energy-efficient desalination, with a particular emphasis on innovations that strengthen the Water–Energy Nexus. Contributions focusing on the development of advanced membrane materials (e.g., novel polymers, nanocomposites, and biomimetic and stimuli-responsive membranes) and process innovations (e.g., hybrid configurations, system optimization, and advanced brine management) are welcome.
Special attention will be given to studies addressing energy utilization, recovery, and integration in desalination systems, as well as the coupling of desalination with renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, or waste heat. Research exploring energy storage, dynamic operation under intermittent supply, and synergistic water–energy systems is particularly welcome.
We also encourage submissions employing artificial intelligence, process modeling, digital twins, uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, and multi-objective optimization to enhance energy and resource efficiency.
In addition, studies on emerging desalination technologies (e.g., membrane distillation, forward osmosis, capacitive deionization), resource recovery, and circular economy strategies are within the scope. By bridging energy innovation and sustainable water production, this Special Issue seeks to promote integrated pathways for advancing desalination under the Water–Energy Nexus framework.
Prof. Dr. José M. Gozálvez-Zafrilla
Prof. Dr. Salvador C. Cardona
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Publisher’s Notice
The Special Issue, together with its publications, has been shifted from Section Oceans and Coastal Zones to Section Water–Energy Nexus on 11 November 2025. The publications remain available in the regular issues in which they were originally published. The Editorial Office confirms that these articles adhered to MDPI's standard editorial process (https://www.mdpi.com/editorial_process).
Keywords
- desalination sustainability
- membrane innovation
- reverse osmosis (RO)
- nanofiltration (NF)
- membrane distillation (MD)
- forward osmosis (FO)
- electrodyalisis
- hybrid desalination processes
- renewable energy integration
- brine management and resource recovery
- water–energy nexus
- process optimization
- process integration
- uncertainty and sensitivity analysis
- artificial intelligence (AI) in desalination
- techno-economic and life cycle assessment
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