ION EXCHANGE

Ion exchange is the process through which ions in solution are transferred to a solid matrix
which, in turn releases ions of a different type but of the same polarity. In other words the
ions in solutions are replaced by different ions originally present in the solid [ CITATION
Arm10 \l 1033 ].

Impurities in water
Water, be it natural water, from the river, in a well or from the tap contains small amounts of
foreign substances which can be:
 Solid, insoluble substances, such as sand or vegetal debris. You can in principle filter
these solid substances out.
 Soluble substances, that are most often cannot be seen and that cannot be filtered out.
These substances can be inorganic or organic, they can be ionised (electrically
charged) or not
 Carbon dioxide is a small molecule with a simple formula: CO2
 Sugar is a larger molecule with a complicated formula abbreviated as C12H22O11.
In many cases, these substances cause no problem. Drinking water containing some salinity
is much better for health than ultra-pure water. For specific applications, however, these
foreign substances are regarded as impurities and must be removed from water. Insoluble
substances (sand etc.) can be removed by filtration. There are many different sorts of
filtration technologies, down to ultrafiltration that can remove sub-micron particles. For
soluble substances other techniques must be used. Soluble ionised substances can be removed
by ion exchange.
Ion exchange resins are utilised for the process of ion exchange. Ion exchange resins are
organic compounds polymerized to form a porous tridimensional matrix · A crosslinking
agent (e.g., divinylbenzene) is added during the polymerization reaction to generate the
tridimensional structure · The resins, in the form of spherical particles, are chemically
activated by reacting the polymer matrix with a compound capable of introducing the desired
ion exchange functional group (e.g., with sulphuric acid to introduce sulfonic groups)
Ion Exchange Materials
Ion exchange materials are made of organic or inorganic matrices containing ionic functional
groups · Both natural ion exchange materials (zeolites) and synthetic ion exchange materials
exist · The vast majority of the ion exchangers used in industrial wastewater treatment is of
synthetic origin · The most common type of synthetic ion exchange materials are organic
resins
How do ion exchange resins work?
The resins are prepared as spherical beads 0.5 to 1.0 mm in diameter. These appear solid even
under the microscope, but on a molecular scale the structure is quite open, as shown by the
diagram below. This means that a solution passed down a resin bed can flow through the
cross-linked polymer, bringing it into intimate contact with the exchange sites. The affinity of
sulphuric acid resins for cations varies with the ionic size and charge of the cation. Generally,
the affinity is greatest for large ions with high valency.
For dilute solutions the order of affinity for some common cations is approximately:
Hg2+ < K+ ≈ NH4+< Cd2+ < Cs+ < Ag+ < Mn2+ < Mg2+ < Zn2+ < Cu2+ < Ni2+ < Co2+ < Ca2+ < Sr2+
< Pb2+ < Al3+ < Fe3+
The structure of the resin is a polymer (like all plastics) on which a fixed ion has been
permanently attached. This ion cannot be removed or displaced; it is part of the structure. To
preserve the electrical neutrality of the resin, each fixed ion must be neutralised with a
counter ion. This counterion is mobile and can get into and out of the resin bead. The figure
below shows schematic cation and anion exchange resin beads. The dark lines represent the
polymeric skeleton of the resin bead: it is porous and contains water. The fixed ions of this
cation exchange resin are sulphonates (SO3 —) that are attached to the skeleton. In this picture,
the mobile ions are sodium (Na+) cations. Cation exchange resins such as Amberjet 1200 are
often delivered in the sodium form.

Figure 1: Schematic cation and anion exchange resin beads

The anion resin bead has a very similar skeleton. The functional groups are quaternary
ammonium cations shown in the picture as N+R3; a more accurate formula would be
CH2-N+ -(CH3)3. The mobile ions in the anion resin bead are chloride anions (Cl—). This is
also the standard delivery form for many anion resins. Each ion going into the bead has to be
replaced by an ion getting out of the bead, again to preserve electrical neutrality. This is what
is called ion exchange. Only ions of the same electric sign are exchanged. You cannot make a
resin that can exchange cations as well as anions, because the fixed cations inside the resin
beads would neutralise the fixed anions and no exchange with the outside world would be
possible. Therefore, you need separate cation exchange resins and anion exchange resins
Common Applications of Ion Exchange in Industrial Wastewater Treatment
 Removal of heavy metals from electroplating wastewaters and other industrial
processes
 Polishing of wastewater before discharging
 Nitrogen control (removal of ammonium ion from wastewaters)
 Removal of salt build up in close-loop utility water (e.g., removal of salts from
cooling water blowdown)
 Purification of acids and bases to reuse them
 Removal of radioactive contaminants in the nuclear industry
Advantages of Ion Exchange in Wastewater Treatment Processes
 Capability of handling and separating components from dilute wastes
 Possibility of concentrating pollutants
 Capability of handling hazardous wastes
 Possibility of recovery expensive materials from waste (e.g., precious metals) ·
Possibility of regenerating ion exchanger
 Possibility of recycling components present in the waste and/or regenerating
chemical
Disadvantages of Ion Exchange in Wastewater Treatment Processes
 Limitation on the concentration in the effluent to be treated
 In general, lack of selectivity against specific target ions
 Susceptibility to fouling by organic substances present in the wastewater
 Generation of waste as a result of ion exchanger regeneration
 Down time for regeneration
Limits of ion exchange
For ion exchange to be efficient there must be a difference in affinity between the ion in the
resin and the ion or ions you want to remove from solution. The resin must have a higher
affinity for the ion in solution compared to the ion in the resin. The ion exchange technology
is a perfect tool to remove or exchange contaminants present in low concentrations. In such a
case the running time until the resin column is exhausted can be very long, ranging from a
few hours to several months. When however, the concentration of contaminants is high, say
several grams per litre of water, the ion exchange cycles become exceedingly short and the
quantity of regenerants increases to uneconomical levels. In the case of brackish water
(underground water with high salinity as often found in arid countries) or sea water, ion
exchange is not suitable and other technologies must be used, such as reverse osmosis or
distillation. Also, any contaminant that is not ionised cannot be removed by ion exchange.
Other technologies are available for this purpose, using activated carbon, polymeric
adsorbents, molecular sieves and other media.
References
Armenante, P. M., 2010. Ion exchange. s.l.:NJIT.
Corbitt, R. A., 1990. The Standard Handbook of Environmental Engineering. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Rohm & Haas, 2008. Ion exchange introduction, s.l.: Lenntech.
Treyal, R. E., 1968. Mass transfer Operation. New York: McGraw-Hill .
Wentz, C. W., 1989. Hazardous Waste Management. New York: McGraw-Hill.