The world's population is steadily increasing and with it is an increasing demand for freshwater, for both drinking and irrigation. In many areas of the world, particularly in arid regions, there are limited freshwater sources such as rivers and groundwater, so desalination is being increasingly used to produce freshwater to satisfy both requirements. Although desalination is sometimes carried out on brackish waters and highly saline well waters, most desalination plants generate fresh water from seawater with a daily production that reached 95 million m3/day in 2019.

Drs. Francis and Meroufel have been active in all types of desalination plants for many years, either solving corrosion problems, or, less often, preventing them from happening. There are very few publications that discuss the specific corrosion problems in desalination plants, and there are none written with the plant engineer in mind. Plant engineers often do not have an in-depth knowledge of corrosion, and because of this, they need help with day-to-day problems that may involve corrosion.

Modern desalination plants are often designed with a 40-year lifespan, so it is important that plant engineers know how to tackle corrosion problems to maintain water production without shutdowns or, in extreme cases, shortening plant life.

This book was conceived as being a helpful guide that can sit on an engineer's desk, and which will give advice not just on diagnosing corrosion failures, but on how to monitor the plant's resistance to corrosion by inspection and monitoring.