Special issue on International Conference on Water and Energy (ICWE21) Hassiba Benbouali University of Chlef, Algeria on 25–27 May 2021 Foreword

This Special Issue of Desalination and Water Treatment contains manuscripts presented at the International Conference on Water and Energy (ICWE21) that was held at Hassiba Benbouali University of Chlef, in Algeria on 25–27 May 2021 (Virtual conference). The Conference provided a platform for researchers, engineers, and academicians to present and discuss their research results on membrane technology for water and wastewater treatment. A total of 75 papers were presented, and after a rigorous review process, 27 manuscripts were accepted for publication in this Special Issue. The topics of the conference included: membrane technology for environmental applications, biomembranes and biotechnology, membrane technology for gas and vapor separation, advanced materials for membrane fabrication, membranes in energy conversion, electro-membrane processes, advanced fabrication techniques, membrane fouling, membrane in bio-medical field, new trends in renewable energy, environmental impact of water treatment and desalination, organic solvent nano-filtration, modeling in membranes and water and waste water technology. There were several excellent plenary talks, given by Dr. Alberto Figoli (ITM-CNR Director), Prof. Miriam Balaban (Desalination and Water Treatment Editor-in-Chief), Dr. Konstantinos Plakas (CERTH, Greece), Prof. Sami Sayadi (Qatar University, Qatar), Prof. Ahmed Kettab (ENP, Algeria) and Dr. Guillermo Zaragoza (PSA-CIEMAT, Spain). Sincere thanks go to the ICWE21 International Scientific Committee for their strong support as well as the Conference Organizing Committee for their tireless efforts and dedication. On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we would also like to recognize and acknowledge that this conference was a part of the IDEA project (ERANETMED), with the financial support of the Directorate General for Scientific Research and Technological Development (DGRSDT) in Algeria, Greek General Secretariat of Research and Innovation (GSRI) under contract number T8EPA2-00017, Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) in France, The Deanship of Scientific Research at The University of Jordan, Italian Ministry of Education University and Research, The Science and Technology Development Fund ( STDF) in Egypt. Finally, the Guest Editors would like to offer special thanks to Prof. Miriam Balaban, Editor-in-Chief of Desalination and Water Treatment journal for allowing us to publish the conference papers in this special issue.