The scarcity of potable water is a great challenge. It may be resolved by the desalination of
seawater. In this work the possibilities of a new desalination technique using polymeric
hydrogels as a separation medium for water and salt is explored. The bound charges in such a
polymeric network prevent salt from entering it - under pressure the desalinated water is
released from the gel. It is demonstrated that the method is viable and the influence of
various process parameters investigated.
