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a b s t r ac tQatar is an arid land with very scarce natural freshwater resources. Its groundwater resources are limited and are being heavily depleted by inefficient irrigation methods and the growing population. As a result, Qatar relies primarily on desalination of seawater. Accurate assessment of water resources, consumption levels and virtual water trade is the first step in formulating an effective water resources management policy. This paper, hence, reviews the renewable and non-renewable water resources and the disaggregated consumption trends as well virtual water trade in Qatar. The total groundwater produced internally is 56 Mm /capita/year. We recommend that the water conservation efforts in Qatar should follow an integrated approach taking into account supply as well as demand side management.

a b s t r ac tThe provision of clean drinking water is one of the greatest challenges in our time. Global population increase puts a lot of stress on current water desalination plants to meet the rising demand for freshwater and requires an increase in capacity. Conventional desalination plants are powered by fossil fuels and hence are a major cause of climate change as well as being unsustainable in the long term. There is a need to develop a sustainable desalination process, which does not contribute to climate change and is also economically competitive. Coupling solar thermal energy with the multi-effect distillation (MED) process is one of the most promising alternatives. This paper reviews extensively research on coupling solar thermal energy with MED from a technical and economic point of view. The MED process is discussed, the most suitable solar collectors are presented and various plant configurations are critically analyzed. The review highlighted the advances in knowledge obtained from experimental and modeling research studies. In addition, the main challenges in solar-driven MED such as storage, adaptability issues and cost are discussed. The review also provides general remarks about the literature and research gaps that should be addressed in the future.

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The gas-steam turbine combined cycle (GTCC) is the preferred power plant type because of its high efficiency and its use of cheap and clean natural gas as fuel. It is also the preferred type in the Arab Gulf countries where it is used as cogeneration power-desalting plant (CPDP). In this chapter, descriptions and analysis of the GTCC components are presented, namely, the gas turbine cycle (compressor, combustor, gas turbine), heat recovery steam generator, and steam turbine. Combinations of the GTCC with thermally driven desalination units to present CPDP are presented. A parametric study to show the effect of using GTCC on several operating parameters on the CPDP is also presented, as well as cost allocation methods of fuel between the two product utilities (electric power and desalted seawater are also presented).