Seawater desalination is a coastal-based industry. The growing number of desalination plants worldwide and the increasing size of single facilities emphasises the need for greener desalination technologies and more sustainable desalination projects. A comprehensive evaluation of potential environmental impacts of desalination plants, this book emphasizes discusses strategies for impact mitigation. The author proposes a best-available technology concept for seawater desalination technologies in combination with a methodological approach for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of desalination projects. It outlines the scope of EIA studies, including environmental monitoring and toxicity and hydrodynamic modeling studies. The book also explores the usefulness of multi-criteria analysis as a decision support tool for EIAs and then uses them to compare different intake and pretreatment options for seawater reverse osmosis plants.

Desalination is a dynamically growing field with more research, more engineering, more applications, more countries, more people, and with more training programs. This book provides high quality invited reviews on progress in various aspects of the desalination field. It features comprehensive coverage of desalination science, technology, economics, markets, energy considerations, environmental impact, and more. It is a key guide for professionals and researchers in water desalination and related areas including chemical, mechanical, and civil engineers, chemists, materials scientists, manufacturers of desalination membranes, water reuse engineers, and water authorities, as well as students in these fields.

There has been an exponential increase in desalination capacity both globally and nationally since 1960, fueled in part by growing concern for local water scarcity and made possible to a great extent by a major federal investment for desalination research and development. Traditional sources of supply are increasingly expensive, unavailable, or controversial, but desalination technology offers the potential to substantially reduce water scarcity by converting the almost inexhaustible supply of seawater and the apparently vast quantities of brackish groundwater into new sources of freshwater. Desalination assesses the state of the art in relevant desalination technologies, and factors such as cost and implementation challenges. It also describes reasonable long-term goals for advancing desalination technology, posits recommendations for action and research, estimates the funding necessary to support the proposed research agenda, and identifies appropriate roles for governmental and nongovernmental entities.

Desalination is a dynamically growing field with more research, more engineering, more applications, more countries, more people, and with more training programs. This book provides high quality invited reviews on progress in various aspects of the desalination field. It features comprehensive coverage of desalination science, technology, economics, markets, energy considerations, environmental impact, and more. It is a key guide for professionals and researchers in water desalination and related areas including chemical, mechanical, and civil engineers, chemists, materials scientists, manufacturers of desalination membranes, water reuse engineers, and water authorities, as well as students in these fields.

The Mogao Grottoes, a World Heritage Site in northwestern China, are located along the ancient caravan routes—collectively known as the Silk Road—that once linked China with the West. Founded by a Buddhist monk in the late fourth century, Mogao flourished over the following millennium, as monks, local rulers, and travelers commissioned hundreds of cave temples cut into a mile-long rock cliff and adorned them with vibrant murals. More than 490 decorated grottoes remain, containing thousands of sculptures and some 45,000 square meters of wall paintings, making Mogao one of the world’s most significant sites of Buddhist art. In 1997 the Getty Conservation Institute, which had been working with the Dunhuang Academy since 1989, began a case study using the Late–Tang dynasty Cave 85 to develop a methodology that would stabilize the deteriorating wall paintings. This abundantly illustrated volume is the definitive report on the project, which was completed in 2010.

Biofuels made from algae are gaining attention as a domestic source of renewable fuel. However, with current technologies, scaling up production of algal biofuels to meet even 5 percent of U.S. transportation fuel needs could create unsustainable demands for energy, water, and nutrient resources. Continued research and development could yield innovations to address these challenges, but determining if algal biofuel is a viable fuel alternative will involve comparing the environmental, economic and social impacts of algal biofuel production and use to those associated with petroleum-based fuels and other fuel sources. Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels was produced at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy.