DESALFACTS is the home of the CDT-26 classification, the PIM Group standard for classifying desalination technologies, applied by DME and DESALFACTS.
The classification provides a consistent framework to compare desalination technologies across the market, from membrane to thermal processes. It is the backbone that keeps profiles, technologies and assessments comparable.
Independent assessment available. DESALFACTS shows what the data says; DME assesses it independently - no plant sales, no vendor ties.
CDT-26: a two-axis framework
The 2026 revision (CDT-26) organises desalination technologies along two independent, complementary axes:
- Applied axis - a phase-based tree: phase (phase-change vs. single-phase) → category → family → technology.
- Scientific axis - discipline → base mechanism → primary driving force. Core principle: the mechanism is not the same as the driving force.
Together they classify 54 leaf technologies in 23 families. The two axes are orthogonal, not competing - every technology has a place on each. CDT-26 supersedes CDT-24 (2024).