Thermal Solar Desalination: Methods and Systems presents numerous thermal seawater desalination technologies varying from the very simple, easy to construct and operate solar stills, to the more advance membrane and indirect distillation methods. All types of solar thermal desalination technologies are presented in detail to enable readers to comprehend the subject, from design details to enabling further research to be carried out in this area. The various units used in desalination are outlined, along with diagrams of all detailed working principles of desalination methods and systems. The authors consider the economic aspects of these processes, demonstrating successful implementation of desalination units suitable for areas where supplies of fresh water in natural ways is limited or non-existent.

Processes for recovering fresh water from the oceans - of which men have dreamed since antiquity - have changed markedly in the last 20 years. In fact, it has become possible so to increase the productivity of the technical steps involved that the cost of production of such water is almost three orders of magnitude smaller than for other large volume industrial products. However, the monographs and comprehensive reviews which have appeared to date in this field have been prepared by specialists for specialists. In accordance with the tradition and objectives of the Gmelin Handbook, this bibliography has been prepared to provide access to aII of the ways in which fresh water can be, and has been, obtained on an industrial scale from the ocean. Production of fresh water from sea and brackish waters amounts to almost two million cubic meters per day, and this is increasing by about 25% per year. This means that it will increase nearly tenfold in 10 years.