Ion Exchange Reactions Ion exchange is a reversible chemical reaction where an ion (an atom or molecule that has

lost or gained an electron and thus acquired an electrical charge) from solution is exchanged for a similarly charged ion attached to an immobile solid particle. These solid ion exchange particles are either naturally occurring inorganic zeolites or synthetically produced organic resins. The synthetic organic resins are the predominant type used today because their characteristics can be tailored to specific applications. An organic ion exchange resin is composed of high-molecular-weight polyelectrolytes that can exchange their mobile ions for ions of similar charge from the surrounding medium. Each resin has a distinct number of mobile ion sites that set the maximum quantity of exchanges per unit of resin. Most plating process water is used to cleanse the surface of the parts after each process bath. To maintain quality standards, the level of dissolved solids in the rinse water must be regulated. Fresh water added to the rinse tank accomplishes this purpose, and the overflow water is treated to remove pollutants and then discharged. As the metal salts, acids, and bases used in metal finishing are primarily inorganic compounds, they are ionized in water and can be removed by contact with ion exchange resins. In a water deionization process, the resins exchange hydrogen ions (H+) for the positively charged ions (such as nickel. copper, and sodium). and hydroxyl ions (OH-) for negatively charged sulfates, chromates. and chlorides. Because the quantity of H+ and OH ions is balanced, the result of the ion exchange treatment is relatively pure, neutral water. Ion exchange is the reversible interchange of ions between a solid (the ion exchange resin) and a liquid. Since they act as "chemical sponges", ion exchange resins are ideally suited for effective removal of contaminants from water and other liquids. This technology offers a number of advantages in industrial water demineralization and softening, wastewater recycling and other water treatment processes-including high water recovery, low volume of waste and operational flexibility. Ion exchange resins are also used in a variety of specialized applications such as chemical processing, pharmaceuticals, mining, and food and beverage processing. DOWEX and AMBERJET are among the world's leading brands of ion exchange resin technology, backed by Dow's more than 60 years of experience in this area. http://www.dowwaterandprocess.com/products/ion_exchange.htm

exchanging calcium Ca2+ and magnesium Mg2+ cations against Na+ or H+ cations (see water softening). Industrial and analytical ion exchange chromatography is another area to be mentioned. Ion exchange chromatography is a chromatographical method that is widely used for chemical analysis and separation of ions. For example, in biochemistry it is widely used to separate charged molecules such as proteins. An important area of the application is extraction and purification of biologically produced substances such as proteins (amino acids) and DNA/RNA. Ion-exchange processes are used to separate and purify metals, including separating uranium from plutonium and other actinides, including thorium, and lanthanum, neodymium, ytterbium,samarium, lutetium, from each other and the other lanthanides. There are two series of rare earth metals, the lanthanides and the actinides, both of whose families all have very similar chemical and physical properties. Using methods developed by Frank Spedding in the 1940s, ion-exchange used to be the only practical way to separate them in large quantities, until the advent of solvent extraction techniques that can be scaled up enormously. A very important case is the PUREX process (plutonium-uranium extraction process), which is used to separate the plutonium and the uranium from the spent fuel products from a nuclear reactor, and to be able to dispose of the waste products. Then, the plutonium and uranium are available for making nuclear-energy materials, such as new reactor fuel and nuclear weapons. The ion-exchange process is also used to separate other sets of very similar chemical elements, such as zirconium and hafnium, which is also very important for the nuclear industry. Zirconium is practically transparent to free neutrons, used in building reactors, but hafnium is a very strong absorber of neutrons, used in reactor control rods. Ion exchangers are used in nuclear reprocessing and the treatment of radioactive waste. Ion exchange resins in the form of thin membranes are used in chloralkali process, fuel

on exchange is widely used in the food & beverage, hydrometallurgical, metals finishing, chemical & petrochemical, pharmaceutical, sugar & sweeteners, ground & potable water, nuclear, softening & industrial water, semiconductor, power, and a host of other industries. Most typical example of application is preparation of high purity water for power engineering, electronic and nuclear industries; i.e.polymeric or mineralic insoluble ion exchangers are widely used for water softening, water purification, water decontamination, etc. Ion exchange is a method widely used in household (laundry detergents and water filters) to produce soft water. This is accomplished by

cells and vanadium redox batteries. Ion exchange can also be used to remove hardness from water by exchanging calcium and magnesium ions for sodium ions in an ion exchange column.