Program
Program
The conference program will comprise lectures by our invited speakers supplemented by selected contributed talks and poster sessions.
Workshops
The following workshops will take place concurrently on Sunday 16 November 14.00 – 17.00. They are all free of charge.
Workshop for Early Career Researchers
Academic Careers and Skills: What No One Told Me
Organiser: Jungbin Kim
This workshop is designed to support students and early career researchers in navigating academic career development and building a sustainable professional life. It combines essential yet often unspoken aspects of academic work, from job applications to grant writing and networking. The program begins with strategies for entering the academic job market, followed by insightful discussion on balancing teaching, research, and service as a university professor. It also provides practical insights into research funding, proposal development, and the strategic alignment of research goals. Networking is addressed through real-world guidance, an often underestimated but critical skill. After a short break, the workshop moves into an interactive poster pitch session, where 12 participants will present their research in concise 5-minute segments. This offers a unique opportunity for presentation practice and peer feedback. The workshop concludes with awards and closing reflections. By bridging experience and insight, this workshop equips the next generation of scholars with the tools and perspectives.
Program Details (tentative):
14:00–14:10 Welcome & Introduction
14:10–14:30 Navigating the Academic Job Market
14:30–14:50 Life as a University Professor: Balancing Teaching, Research, and Service
14:50–15:10 Grant Writing and Research Funding Strategies
15:10–15:30 The Power of Networking
15:30–15:50 Short Break
15:50–16:50 Poster Pitch: 5-minute Research Presentation (12 participants)
16:50–17:00 Poster Pitch Feedback and Awards & Closing Remarks
Target audience : Students and Young Researchers (not limited)
Workshop on brine mining
Mining the Brine: Innovations for a Circular Water Future
Organisers: Ho Kyong Shon, Nikolay Voutchkov, Qilin Li, Sangho Lee
Desalination brines are increasingly recognised as strategic resources for critical minerals, reagents, and water loop-closure, yet practical, scalable pathways from pilots to deployment remain fragmented. This workshop convenes leading researchers, utilities, technology developers, and policy stakeholders to translate state-of-the-art science into implementable brine mining solutions. We will examine membrane-enabled separations (electrodialysis, NF/RO hybrids), selective crystallisation and precipitation, solvent- and sorbent-based recovery, AI-driven brine initiatives, and integrated process trains that target high-value co-products (e.g., Mg/Ca salts, Li/boron, sodium derivatives) while reducing liquid discharge. Case studies will foreground techno-economic analysis, life cycle assessments, and operability under variable feed chemistries; we will also address regulatory readiness, markets, and product quality standards. Interactive segments will map decision frameworks for site-specific flowsheets, explore digital twins and brine speciation modelling, and identify research–industry codesign opportunities. The session explicitly aligns with DESAL 2025 themes on resource recovery from brines, circular economy in water reuse and desalination, hybrid/novel processes, and environmental and economic analyses. Outcomes include a draft checklist for brine valorisation feasibility, a shared techno-economic assumptions, and a collaboration roster for multi-site demonstrations.
"How to get published’ - Author Workshop
Leaders: Tobias Wesselius, Senior Publisher, Elsevier and Hon Kyong Shon, University of Technology Sydney, Australia, Editor-in-Chief of Desalination and DWT
Post-Conference Technical Tour
City of Clearwater Reverse Osmosis (RO) Plant
A tour to the City of Clearwater Reverse Osmosis (RO) Plant and the City of Dunedin RO Plant has been arranged for Thursday, November 20, 2025.
Please note that places are limited, and the tour is subject to a minimum number of bookings. To book your place on the tour please do so via the conference registration site.
Booking deadline: Monday, November 3, 2025
Return Transportation by coach is provided. Pick-up and drop-off will be at Hilton Clearwater Beach Hotel. Price per person: $45
Tour Details: 08:30am: Depart Hilton Clearwater Beach Hotel Visit 1: Clearwater RO Plant Visit 2: Dunedin RO Plant 14.00pm: Arrive back at Hilton Clearwater Beach Hotel
A light sandwich snack/lunch will be provided
Addresses:
City of Clearwater RO Plant: 21133 US Hwy 19 N Clearwater, FL 33765
City of Dunedin RO Plant: 1401 County Rd 1, Dunedin, FL 34698
Tour details:
The tour will start first with a visit to the city of Clearwater’s 6.25 million gallons per day (MGD) [19.7 cubic meters per sec (m3/s)] brackish reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment plant. The average daily production ranges between 3.5 and 4.0 MGD [9.2 and 10.5 m3/minute]. The main process building houses three 1.75 MGD [5.52 m3/min] 2-stage skids. The plant is supplied by 12 brackish groundwater wells, with an additional 5 freshwater wells used for blending purposes. Concentrate is disposed via deep well injection.
The tour will finish after a second site visit to the Dunedin RO Plant. Source water originates in the Floridan aquifer and is pumped out of the ground by wells located throughout the City of Dunedin and treated at the RO plant prior to being chlorinated for disinfection purposes. Recently the plant was refurbished, and the rehabilitation was performed via a progressive design-build paradigm. The nameplate capacity of the plant is 9.5 MGD [25 m3/min] (expandable to 12MGD [31.5 m3/min]). The average daily production is 3.6 MGD [9.5 m3/min], with a peak production of 6 MGD [15.8 m3/min].
Please note:
NO smoking is allowed at any time during the tour. Both plants have extremely strict smoking policies – both are smoke free campuses.
Please wear closed toe shoes - no flip flops or sandals are allowed
No shorts or tank tops.
Conference Dinner
Join us for the DESAL 2025 Conference Dinner on Tuesday November 18, 2025 at the Island Way Grill in Clearwater, Florida. Set on their beautiful outdoor Tiki Deck, with a waterfront location, you can enjoy a three-course meal featuring fresh, local ingredients while sipping on your favourite beverages and as the sun sets, our DJ will set the mood, creating a relaxed and festive atmosphere. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, unwind, and celebrate with colleagues in a truly unique and picturesque setting!
This optional event is US$90 per person and tickets can be bought during online conference registration.
Desalination Editors awards
The Editors of Desalination will present the following awards to student and early career researcher presenters contributing to the meeting.
Three monetary awards will be given in each of the following four categories:
Young Researcher Best Oral Presentation (USD $500)
Young Researcher Best Poster Presentation (USD $500)
Student Best Oral Presentation (USD $250)
Student Best Poster Presentation (USD $250)
Conference app
An App will be available for 7th International Conference on Desalination Science and Technology 2025 (DESAL 2025) and will appear in the Elsevier Conference App shortly before the conference.
Install the Elsevier Conferences app on your phone or tablet by following the links below or by searching for "Elsevier Conferences" in the App Store or on Google Play.
Once you have installed this app, you will find the 7th International Conference on Desalination Science and Technology 2025 (DESAL 2025) App (when available) towards the top of the screen. Simply tap the event and select ‘Install’ to download the interactive conference program to your device.
The conference app will include information on presentations, speakers, exhibitors and more. It will allow you to plan what presentations to attend, add notes to the program, make lists via the To Do feature and add custom tags to presentations and exhibitors.
Instant access to all conference information
Have instant access to complete information for each presentation, session, person, exhibitor and sponsor – wherever you are.
Create your personalised program
Pick and choose sessions from within the sessions to build your own program.
Keep track with to-dos, notes and tags
You can add a Note to anything in the program. Make lists via the To Do feature and add custom Tags to presentations, people and exhibitors.
Share content more easily
Sharing content with others is easy – simply export to email or share via Facebook or Twitter direct from the App.
Internet access is only required once to download the conference app. After that, all of the data is available in the app, making it easy to access while traveling or at sites without a WiFi connection. You will require internet access to view the abstracts and to receive updates.