Application of Modern Research Methods for the Physicochemical Characterization of Ion Exchangers.

Yi-Gong Chen,Weronika Sofińska-Chmiel,Dorota Kołodyńska,Gui-Yuan Lv,Su-Hong Chen

doi:10.3390/ma14227067

Abstract

Ion exchange technique as the reversible exchange of ions between the substrate and the surrounding medium can be an effective way of removing traces of ion impurities from the waters and wastewaters and obtaining a product of ultrapure quality. Therefore, it can be used in analytical chemistry, hydrometallurgy, purification and separation of metal ions, radioisotopes and organic compounds, and it also finds great application in water treatment and pollution control. In the presented paper, the new trends for ion exchanger characteristics determination and application are presented. Special attention is paid to the ion exchangers with multifunctionality for heavy metal ions removal. They show superior actions such as sorption capacity values with excellent resistance to fouling and the possibility of application in the co-current or modern packed bed counter-current systems, as well as for the condensate polishing or the conventional mixed bed systems in combination with other resins. The results of the paper are expected to help researchers to establish a powerful strategy to find a suitable ion exchanger for heavy metal ions removal from waters and wastewaters. It is important because the best ion exchangers are selected for a specific application during laboratory tests taking into account the composition of the feed solution, pH, type of ion exchangers and then the column breakthrough tests. Therefore, the optical profilometry and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy can prove beneficial for this purpose in the case of three different ion exchangers such as Dowex M 4195, Amberlite IRA 743 and Purolite Arsen Xnp.

Highlights

Introduction iationsIon exchangers used in the ion exchange processes (IX) are the cross-linked/three dimensional materials forming the network called the matrix with fixed charges
The scanning electron electron microscopy microscopy (SEM) images for Dowex M 4195 and Purolite. These ion exchangers are of ST-DVB macroporous type
It is well known that loading rates decrease as the resin bead sizes

Summary

Introduction

Introduction iationsIon exchangers used in the ion exchange processes (IX) are the cross-linked/three dimensional materials forming the network called the matrix with fixed charges. The electro neutrality of the matrix is due to an equal number of ions of the opposite sign called counter-ions. IX is applied in a large variety of industries including water treatment, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals production as well as hydrometallurgy. It can be in a more privileged position especially for hydrometallurgical processes, because the extraction is characterized by larger valuable metal losses and smaller efficiencies [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]

Methods

Results

Conclusion