Closed-loop Supply Chain for Seawater Desalination: A Performance Measurement Model.

The expansions of global population, increasing water demand, along with recent climate changes and scarceness of natural water sources, have caused the increment need of seawater desalination worldwide. Much attention has been paid in the water desalination literature to optimize the unit processes of a single desalination plant and its operations. Nevertheless, there are few researches considered evaluating the desalination supply chain as a whole, more particularly closed-loop supply chain. Examining the water desalination process as a closed-loop supply chain allows decision makers to evaluate the performance of water desalination operations end to end. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop a performance measurement model for closed-loop supply chain in water desalination industry. The research methodology is based on literature analysis concerning performance measurement in closed-loop supply chain to be applied for companies belonging to the water desalination industry. Since the study focuses on a specific industry, this could be seen as a limitation. The proposed model could serve as a reference for the desalination industry to establish applicable performance appraisal indicators. It is believed that both researchers and practitioners would benefit from the model developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]