A Critical Review on Desalination Technologies for High-Salinity Wastewater: Development and Challenges

The ongoing expansion of industrial operations has resulted in the generation of a large amount of high-salinity wastewater with complex compositions. The direct discharge of this wastewater poses significant threats to ecosystems and leads to the loss of valuable salt resources, for example, triggering freshwater salinization syndrome and mobilizing heavy metals to form toxic “chemical cocktails”, leading to the loss of valuable salt resources. Desalination of high-salinity wastewater primarily involves two key processes: concentration and crystallization, whereby a concentrated brine is first obtained through membrane-based or thermal methods, followed by salt recovery via crystallization. This review begins by employing a bibliometric analysis to map the knowledge structure and trace the evolution of research trends, revealing that “membrane-thermal integration” has become a dominant research hotspot since 2020. It then provides a systematic examination of advanced treatment technologies, chronicling the progression from early biological methods to contemporary membrane-based and thermal desalination approaches. A specific analysis of the influence of salinity on membrane scaling is also included. Consequently, this paper critically assesses the prospects and challenges of several alternative desalination technologies and proposes that integrated processes, combining membrane-based and thermal desalination, represent a highly promising pathway for achieving zero liquid discharge (ZLD). Finally, we suggest that future research should prioritize the development of key functional materials, explore efficient hybrid physiochemical–biochemical processes, and advance emerging technologies, aimed at enhancing treatment efficiency and reducing operational costs.