The transition to seawater desalination aiming at resource recovery, particularly in water- and energy-scarce regions, requires innovative approaches that consider societal benefits and costs. This study goes beyond traditional techno-economic evaluations by employing a Value-Sensitive Design (VSD) approach to integrate stakeholder values into the design and assessment of technical scenarios for integrated seawater desalination and brine treatment systems. The VSD approach guided the selection of performance indicators and informed the design of each scenario, ensuring that the scenarios are socially relevant by incorporating stakeholder values directly into the design process. Four technical scenarios were designed for the recovery of water and valuable materials from seawater, minimizing brine disposal, and dealing with trade-offs. Techno-economic models are implemented using Python to analyse the feasibility and performance of these scenarios. All scenarios achieved zero brine production. However, the trade-off between resource recovery and greenhouse gas emissions is evident, with scenarios emphasizing that increased salt recovery leads to larger CO2 emissions (locally) due to electricity consumption. Scenario 1 excelled in minimising electrical energy consumption, emissions, and maximising water production, while Scenarios 2 and 3 performed best in water and high-quality salt production. Despite its higher CO2 emissions, Scenario 4 proved most profitable due to the production of chemicals using only electricity-based technologies. These findings highlight the importance of tailoring plant designs to regional needs. The VSD approach provides a comprehensive understanding of trade-offs, offering new insights into how stakeholder values can guide the development of sustainable and context-specific desalination systems. This approach fosters dialogue with stakeholders and serves as a valuable tool for decision-makers.

Valuable and rare materials in seawater brine are often discarded during desalination. However, there is an increasing focus on recovering these resources, rather than minimizing their disposal volume, due to the economic and environmental opportunities it can bring. Despite this shift, current Sustainability Assessment (SA) studies in desalination tend to overlook the brine handling and social dimensions, and brine treatment assessments remain predominantly centered on techno-economic dimensions. Therefore, in this work, we propose a comprehensive and transparent framework for the sustainability assessment of integrated desalination and resource recovery options. The framework not only evaluates pre-defined systems but supports the identification of system features of interest, such as products to assess and technologies to include, as well as the transparent selection of indicators when considering specific contexts. To develop this framework, a critical review of the literature on SA in desalination and brine treatment systems was conducted. Looking at the identified gaps, we synthesized the findings and key messages and proposed the integration of Multi-Criteria Analysis and Value-Sensitive Design in the decision-making process. This allows stakeholders to be involved and incorporates their values at different stages of the assessment, making it distinct from traditional SA methods. This framework offers structured guidance to stakeholders on how to carry out qualitative and quantitative assessments while ensuring transparency in the assessment process. This work serves as a foundational contribution to benefit future research on the development of a sustainable desalination industry, valuing the input and involvement of all stakeholders.