Recent advances in ion exchange materials and processes for pollution prevention

Abstract

Even though ion exchange technology is mature and widely employed in industry, new applications, approaches, and materials are emerging at a rapid pace. This article summarizes recent advances in ion exchange technology abstracted from presentations made at the Trends in Metal Adsorption Workshop held on May 5–6, 1998 in Cincinnati, OH co-sponsored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Council for Chemical Research, and the United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE). Additional information was obtained from reviews of U.S. EPA sponsored pollution prevention projects, panel discussions and workshops, user surveys, and the authors' discussions with practitioners in industry. The objectives of this article in the context of ion exchange applications were: (1) to review advances and applications of ion exchange; (2) to present an overview of commercially available ion exchange technology; and (3) to highlight areas for further research. Many of the advances discussed achieve improvement in ion exchange performance through the use of alternate support matrices or through the combination of technologies such as membranes or electric fields with ion exchange.