07/07/06

Middle East centre to tackle desalination research

Oman relies on desalination for much of its drinking water Copyright: Sandia National Laboratories

By: Mohamed Alian

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Middle East centre to tackle desalination research</h1>
<h4>By: Mohamed Alian</h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><P>[MUSCAT] The Oman-based Middle East Desalination Research Center is preparing to conduct research for the first time since it was set up in late 1996.</P><br />
<P>Until now, the centre has only funded and managed research projects in the region, but from next year it will begin its own research programmes in laboratories currently under construction in the capital Muscat.</P><br />
<P>Its director Koussai Quteishat says that Lebanon and Syria are the only two countries in the Middle East with adequate water supplies according to the United Nations’ definition of levels ‘critical for development’.</P><br />
<P align=left>He predicts that long before 2050, every country in the region will face dire water shortages that only desalination technology can avert.</P><br />
<P align=left>Desalination involves purifying salty or brackish water by removing dissolved salts. Oman currently supplies 61 per cent of its annual residential water using this approach. </P><br />
<P>Quteishat says that the research centre’s main aim is to find ways to make desalination less expensive. </P><br />
<P>Though he believes that desalination is the top technological approach for increasing water supplies in the region, Quteishat emphasises the need for other measures, such as recycling water and reducing consumption. </P><br />
<P>He points out that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which provide water for free, use more per person than anywhere else in the world.</P><br />
<P>Since 1996, the Middle East Desalination Research Center has funded 55 research projects involving researchers from 34 countries. It also provides scholarships for regional students taking higher degrees in desalination science, and conducts workshops in the Middle East and North Africa.</P><EM>Mohamed Alian is science editor at Radio Oman</EM> <BR><BR></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/middle-east-centre-to-tackle-desalination-research/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/global/news/middle-east-centre-to-tackle-desalination-research/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

[MUSCAT] The Oman-based Middle East Desalination Research Center is preparing to conduct research for the first time since it was set up in late 1996.

Until now, the centre has only funded and managed research projects in the region, but from next year it will begin its own research programmes in laboratories currently under construction in the capital Muscat.

Its director Koussai Quteishat says that Lebanon and Syria are the only two countries in the Middle East with adequate water supplies according to the United Nations’ definition of levels ‘critical for development’.

He predicts that long before 2050, every country in the region will face dire water shortages that only desalination technology can avert.

Desalination involves purifying salty or brackish water by removing dissolved salts. Oman currently supplies 61 per cent of its annual residential water using this approach.

Quteishat says that the research centre’s main aim is to find ways to make desalination less expensive.

Though he believes that desalination is the top technological approach for increasing water supplies in the region, Quteishat emphasises the need for other measures, such as recycling water and reducing consumption.

He points out that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which provide water for free, use more per person than anywhere else in the world.

Since 1996, the Middle East Desalination Research Center has funded 55 research projects involving researchers from 34 countries. It also provides scholarships for regional students taking higher degrees in desalination science, and conducts workshops in the Middle East and North Africa.

Mohamed Alian is science editor at Radio Oman