Trichloroethylene (TCE) continues to be a major carcinogenic pollutant found the superfund sites in the United States. TCE is regulated at parts per billion levels in drinking water by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Bioremediation is an important strategy in degrading TCE, but pH control is critical in complete degradation of TCE. In this study, different solidification procedures of polymer hydrogels were evaluated for use in protecting microorganisms degrading TCE by adsorbing and diffusing out acid. Different hydrogel polymers crosslinking agents and cross-linking times were tested to determine the effect on acid diffusivity. A diaphragm cell was used to measure the rate at which acid moves through the hydrogels. We discovered that increasing physical and chemical crosslinking improves structural support of the hydrogels. Acid diffusion rate results were statistically insignificant relative to a 10% PVA cryogel control. However, it was observed that with the addition of ionic substances such that of potassium chloride, effective diffusivity increased approximately 100% for both chemical and physical crosslinking. These results help provide important knowledge in building the structure of the membranes while maintaining high diffusivity rate which contribute to the strategy of bioremediation
