ABSTRACT
The demand for freshwater is growing rapidly and water scarcity is a major issue in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries (Ghaffour et al., 2015; Goosen et al., 2014). The earth is rich in saline water resources; seawater and brackish water together account for up to 97% of the total water available in the world. Efforts are being made to desalinate them and supply freshwater for human needs. However, desalination is an energy-intensive process and meeting the associated energy requirements from declining conventional sources is a major worldwide challenge. There is now rapid development towards linkage of desalination processes with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. This will not only reduce the burden on conventional energy sources but will also protect the environment through lower emissions (Brand and Würzburg, 2015).
