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

15 February, 2026

DESAL summer intern Imran Alturkistani wins national awards at Ibdaa Science and Engineering Fair

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02 February, 2026

New DESAL research published in Nature Communications advances energy-efficient desalination

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28 January, 2026

DESAL and ACWA Power advance AI-based research for early membrane fouling detection

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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.

Natural products-based Janus hydrophilic/hydrophobic membrane for efficient scaling-resistance and photothermal membrane distillation

by Min Li, Nan Shang, Jinheng Lei, Xun Zhou, Peiqing Zhang, Noreddine Ghaffour, Quan Feng, Zhenyu Li
Year: 2025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2025.124100

Abstract

Freshwater scarcity has gradually become a serious global water crisis that needs to be solved urgently. Membrane distillation (MD) has been regarded as a promising desalination technology due to its merits compared with other desalination technologies, including high rejection of non-volatile components and superior feed water salinity tolerance. However, the conventional MD faces several challenges, including thermal loss and membrane scaling. Here, we develop a natural products-based Janus sodium alginate/melanin nanoparticles-composited polyvinylidene fluoride membrane (SA-M-PVDF membrane) with outstanding photothermal effect and high hydrophilicity, which can allow the SA-M-PVDF membrane to present excellent photothermal membrane distillation (PMD) performance and scaling-resistance property respectively, thus can solve the hard problems of thermal loss and frequent membrane scaling. Moreover, owing to the biomaterial characters of melanin nanoparticles and SA, the synthesis of SA-M-PVDF membrane circumvents risk of secondary pollution to product water. As expected, the SA-M-PVDF membrane showed excellent PMD performance with 96.5 % solar energy utilization efficiency. The SA-M-PVDF membrane exhibited high scaling-resistance ability and robust structural stability, sustaining over 40 h of continuous PMD operation with high-salinity feed, prospectively providing a facile and environmental approach for sustainably alleviating the freshwater and energy shortage.

Keywords

Photothermal membrane distillation Scaling resistance Janus hydrophilic/hydrophobic Melanin NPs Sodium alginate

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