An electrically regenerated electrosorption process known as carbon aerogel CDI was developed for continuously removing ionic impurities from aqueous streams. A salt solution flows in a channel formed by pairs of parallel carbon aerogel electrodes. Each electrode has a very high BET surface area and very low resistivity. After polarization, anions and cations are removed from electrolyte by the electric field and electrosorbed onto the carbon aerogel. The solution is thus separated into two streams, brine and water. Based on this, carbon aerogel CDI appears to be an energy-efficient alternative to evaporation, electrodialysis, and reverse osmosis. The energy required by this process is about QV/2, plus losses. Estimated energy requirement for sea water desalination is 18-27 Wh gal{sup -1}, depending on cell voltage and flow rate. The requirement for brackish water desalination is less, 1.2-2.5 Wh gal{sup -1} at 1600 ppM. This is assuming that stored electrical energy is reclaimed during regeneration.