| abstract |
An improved water desalination process comprising evaporating and condensing water containing inorganic salts, the precipitation of said salts being controlled by the presence of a terpolymer consisting of 30 to 55 mol% maleic anhydride, 30 to 65 mol% moles of acrylamide or methacrylamide and 5 to 15 mole % of a third monomer selected from the group consisting of styrene, alphamethyl styrene, alkyl acrylate or alkyl methacrylate having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms in the alkyl group and a 1-alkene having from 4 to 10 carbon atoms, the terpolymer having a relative viscosity of about 1.02 to 1.10 in dimethyl sulfoxide at a concentration of 0.5 grams per deciliter, and a solubility of less than 0 .10 grams per gram of solution (water) at room temperature in a concentration of at least two parts per million, and remove the desalinated water thus obtained. |