DESAL RESEARCH GROUP

Sustainable technologies for a water-secure future

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KEY VALUES

Committed to excellence

We aim to be at the forefront of global efforts to contribute to a water-secure future. We envision a world where sustainable desalination technologies and water treatment solutions are pivotal in providing clean and safe water to communities and fostering economic growth. Through continuous innovation and collaboration, we aspire to set new standards for excellence in the field, leaving a long-lasting effect on the well-being of societies and the health of our planet.

About
DESAL team at the lab
RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY

Driven by innovation, recognized by impact

The DESAL Research Group pioneers advancements in desalination and wastewater treatment, prioritizing excellence, innovation, and sustainability. Our focus on cutting-edge research and efficiency aims to address global water challenges and support sustainable development goals.

NEWS & UPDATES 

Discover the latest breakthroughs from our team

21 September, 2026

DESAL research featured in Arab News: How AI is reshaping desalination in Saudi Arabia

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08 September, 2026

A Summer of Research at DESAL: Meet Our 2026 Interns

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04 August, 2026

DESAL research featured in Arab News: Hydrogels and the Future of Saudi Desalination

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ADVANCING SCIENCE

Scientific Contributions

Through research papers, patents, and PhD dissertations, we push the boundaries of knowledge, driving innovation in desalination and water treatment.

Explainable Low-Rank Mixture-of-Experts Transformers for Water Quality Assessment Under Extreme Class Imbalance
Year: 2026 DOI:dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.7344663
Authors: Wu Wang, Yuang Cheng, Fouzi Harrou, Noreddine Ghaffour, Ying Sun
  • Water quality monitoring
  • Rare event detection
  • Transformer-LoRAMoE
  • Class imbalance learning
  • Time-series classification
Heat-activated peroxymonosulfate pretreatment toward high water recovery in RO–MD seawater desalination
Year: 2026 DOI:10.1016/j.cej.2026.181861
Authors: Jaewon Lee, M. Obaid, Najat A Amin, Taegeun Park, Seunghwan Woo, Hayoung Lee, Seonkyu Lee, Min Zhan, Seungkwan Hong
  • Peroxymonosulfate
  • Seawater Desalination
  • Membrane fouling
  • Pretreatment
  • High water recovery
Insights into micro- and nano-organics in produced water streams with implications on the membrane distillation system
Year: 2026 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hazmo.2026.100024
Authors: Muhammad Saqib Nawaz, Sofiane Soukane, Muhammad Bilal Asif, Hamidreza Samouei, Najeh Kharbatia, Veerabhadraiah Gudideni, Sultan Alrubaish, Noreddine Ghaffour
  • Produced water chemistry
  • Micro-pollutants
  • Volatile fatty acids
  • Organic contaminants
  • Membrane distillation
Mechanistic evaluation of electrocoagulation pre-treatment for reducing calcium–magnesium scaling during non-oily refinery wastewater treatment
Year: 2026 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2026.123570
Authors: Kanwal Anwar, Muhammad Saqib Nawaz, Sher Jamal Khan, Noreddine Ghaffour, Momina Maheen
  • Electrocoagulation pre-treatment
  • Forward osmosis
  • Non-oily refinery wastewater
  • Calcium–magnesium scaling
  • Water and resource recovery

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Be part of our journey towards cleaner, safer water, reduced environmental impact, and economic growth. Whether you're a researcher, industry expert, or passionate advocate, let's collaborate to set new standards in desalination and wastewater treatment.