The aims of the Rabin Desalination Laboratory (RDL) are centered on the need to advance the theory and practice of desalination technologies. Goals are realized by conducting basic and applied research, and by training of students in desalination and related water technologies. Furthermore the RDL seeks to provide desalination related services to the Israeli industries and national agencies. The laboratory goals are further promoted by initiation and participation in activities such as workshops and conferences, which advance public awareness of the need of large-scale desalination for coping with the acute water shortage of Israel and neighboring countries.

Meaningful desalination cost reduction is the key to wider use of desalination for improving the quality of life in water-scarce regions. The general directions for achieving this goal may be summarized as follows:

Reduction of Desalination Energy requirements:

• Development of concepts and schemes for optimal integration, by co-generation or otherwise, of various energy sources and desalination technologies.
• Hybrid systems and solar energy integration.
• Re-evaluation of freeze desalination technologies.
• Identification of novel schemes for improving desalination processes and energy recuperation.
• Development higher efficiency pumps and energy recovery.

Improvements in Current Thermal Technologies:

• Development of improved designs and manufacturing technologies for heat transfer bundles and containment vessels that reduce investment costs.
• Development of improved pretreatment methods for controlling scaling, fouling and bio-fouling.
• Devices so as to increase heat transfer coefficients to reduce heat transfer areas.
• Improved plant performance through advanced control tools.

Improvements in Current Membrane Technologies:

• Development of membranes, which achieve the same performance at reduced permeation pressures.
• Improvement in the resistance of membranes to oxidizing agents.
• Extending membrane lifetime, improving membrane salt rejection and reduction of membrane compaction.
• Improved methodology for achieving optimal pretreatment.
• Optimal integration of microfiltration and ultrafiltration and other unit operations in feed pretreatment.

Integration of Desalination within the Overall Water System:

• Widening the scope of water reuse through membrane technologies.
• Processes enabling exploitation of naturally or man-made polluted streams.
• Study of supply and demand curves for water of different qualities, by various consumer groups or industry, to enable better management of water resources.
• Investigation of the way desalination in varying degrees, in national and regional water systems, affects the supply and demand for water.
• Development of new concepts for optimal desalination oriented water supply systems.

More details on the research activities of the Rabin Desalination Laboratory are given in the pages describing a selection of research activities and some on-going projects .