The saline solution

Desalination takes too much energy, but emerging technologies will help. Several contenders might make history of these concerns. New methods in the pipeline reduce desalination´s energy demands in innovative and intriguing ways. Further off are technologies that could turn desalination´s Achilles´ heel into a source of strength. The emerging technologies are the following: thermal desalination; electricity instead of membranes; reverse osmosis; better pretreatment; better membranes; forward osmosis; osmotic power; and microbial fuel cells.