The document summarizes research into synthesizing lignosulfonate hydrogels cross-linked with PEGDGE. Key findings include: 1) Hydrogels were optimized to have maximum swelling capacity of 39g water/g xerogel with 4g sodium lignosulfonate and 1.2g PEGDGE cross-linked at 85°C. 2) Both swelling capacity and ratio increased with temperature up to 85°C and pH up to 11, but decreased with additional lignosulfonate or PEGDGE. 3) The hydrogels reached maximum swelling within 2 minutes in room temperature water.