What is it about?
This book chapter reviews membrane materials used in desalination and water treatment, including thin-film composite membranes, graphene oxide, metal-organic frameworks, biomimetic aquaporin membranes, and other advanced materials. It explains how membrane properties affect water permeability, salt rejection, durability, fouling resistance, and long-term desalination performance.
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Why is it important?
Membranes are central to modern desalination, but they must handle high salinity, fouling, chemical exposure, and long operating periods. Better membrane materials can reduce energy use, improve water quality, extend membrane lifetime, and make desalination more sustainable. This is especially important in arid regions where seawater desalination is a major source of freshwater.
Perspectives
This chapter connects material science with practical desalination challenges. From my perspective, improving membrane materials is essential for the next stage of sustainable desalination. Future systems will need membranes that are not only selective and efficient, but also durable, scalable, and suitable for harsh water conditions.
Dr. Hussain Al-Sairfi
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Membrane Materials for Desalination, February 2026, IntechOpen,
DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.1014282.
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