Desalination.com
an environmental primer

Tom Pankratz and John Tonner
Lone Oak Publishing

“desalination.com - an environmental primer” is a new book that reviews desalination technologies and applications by Tom Pankratz (CH2M Hill) and John Tonner (WaterCI).

Until recently, most desalination plants have been located to a few regions of extreme water scarcity. “desalination.com” explains the technological advances that have reduced desalination costs and greatly increased the number and size of new installations.

Most desalination books review a single desalination technology, but this 132-page book describes membrane and thermal processes in concise, easy-to-understand language. Many descriptive photographs and figures complement the book’s text. Color illustrations describe the steam, water, and brine flow paths in the distillation flow diagrams and explain how cogeneration plants integrate reverse osmosis and distillation systems within an electric power generation plant to produce water and power.

Many things differentiate this book from other technical publications we have seen. A separate chapter describes the alternative project delivery methods - BOOs & DBOOTs - and other public-private partnership concepts that characterize most new desal projects. Fifteen FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) cleverly tie in the internet aspect of the book’s title, while technical features of some of the world’s high-profile plants are tabulated in another special section.

An appendix includes useful information on seawater chemistry, corrosion, and process evaluation factors, and the glossary defines 400 desalination-related words and acronyms.

This book will help engineers, regulators, and students better understand one of the most rapidly growing segments of the water industry, and the US$24.95 price is also much lower than most technical books. The book can be ordered directly over the internet at the website or by mail from Lone Oak Publishing, P.O. Box 75064, Houston, Texas 77234 USA.