seawater contains more than just salt. Coastal waters near ports and industrial areas are often contaminated with oil, which can clog the specialized membranes used in desalination systems.

To address this challenge, a research team […] has developed a new multifunctional hydrogel membrane for solar-driven desalination. […] Rather than treating oil separation and desalination as separate processes, the researchers designed a single membrane architecture that does both.

The study will be published the journal Desalination on October 15, 2026.