EXPERIMENT NO.

OBJECT:

Determination of the Ion-exchange capacity of a cation exchanger.

APPARATUS AND CHEMICALS REQUIRED:

Ion –exchange resin (5g), ion –exchange column, beaker, 2M HCl solution , 1M NaCl solution,

1M NaOH solution, conical flask, burette etc.

THEORY:

Ion- exchange is a process of water softening where an ion solut ion is passed through

an immobile resin containing charged ions and undergoes a reversible chemical reaction

where the ion in the solution and the ion in the resin exchange with each other. The resins are

used for separation, purification and decontamination processes. An ion-exchange resin is made

from macroscopic organic beads which form an insoluble matrix. These beads have pores

on their surface which easily trap and release ions. The ion –exchange materials are classified

as (a) mineral and (b) organic. The former are numerous silicates, (alumino silicates, aluminum

hydroxide, zirconium phosphate and like material. The Latter are the high molecular weight

compounds containing inorganic groups. The exchanger is of complex nature and is polymeric.

The polymer carries an electric charge that is exactly neutralized by the charge on the counter ions.
The active ions are cations a cation – exchanger. Thus a cation exchanger consists of a polymeric

anions and active cations, while anions exchanger is a polymeric cation with active anions.

This process is generally used to remove undesirable ions from a liquid and substitute acceptable

ions from the solid (resin). The devices in which ion exchange occurs are commonly called

demineralizers. This name is derived from the term demineralize, which means the process

whereby impurities present in the incoming fluid (water) are removed by exchanging impure ions

with H⁺ and OH⁻ ions, in the formation of pure water. H+ and OH– are present on the sites of resin

beads contained in the demineralizer tanks or columns.

Capacity of ion exchange resin can be defined as the number of inorganic groups (which can be

exchanged) present in 1 gram of dry resin.

Generally in laboratory experiments ion-exchangers used are organic resin. It is either Dowex-50

WXS or Amberlite- IR-120, both of which are the copolymers of styrene and divinyl benzene.

They are also called cation exchange resins. The inorganic (SO 3H) group is introduced by

sulphonation.

An anion exchange resin is a polymer containing amine or (quaternary ammonia) groups as an

integral part of the polymer lattice and amount of anions such a chloride, hydroxyl or sulphate

ions. Commercially available a anion –exchangers are Amberlite-IRA-400, Dowex-IX8 etc.

Thus if the matrix of the resin is represented by R, the resin in H⁺⁺ Or as HR, in OH⁻ form as ROH,

resin in metal in form as MR, Cl─ form as RCl etc., then the exchange reaction may be represented

as follows:-

nHR + n MX -------------- nMX + nHX

nROH + nHX -------------- nRX + nH2O

Where n is the valency of the ions.

Water sample containing any type of soluble sat and other ionic impurities when passed through a

resin bed in H+ form and then through a resin bed in OH⁻ form, may give all its ions to the resin.

The resin in turn will give out H⁺ and OH⁻ ions. This process will be stoichiometric in nature as

written above. As a matter of fact it removes all ionizable substances and the water obtained is

called, deionized or demineralized water.

Pure water can also be obtained by allowing tap water to percolate through a mixture of ion –

exchange resins: a strong acid will remove cations from the water and replace them by hydrogen

ion, and a units are commercially available (Permutit, Elgastat etc.) for the production of deionized

water. The usual practice is to monitor the quality of products by means of conductivity meter.

The resins are usually supplied in an inter-changeable cartridge so that maintenance is reduced

to minimum. A mixed bed ion exchange column in which cation and anion exchangers are taken

in the same column are fed with distill water. It is capable of producing water with a very low

conductivity of about 0.2 x 10-6 ohm-1 cm-1. In spite of very low conductivity, water may contain

traces of organic impurities which can be detected by means of a spectrofluorimeter.

The ion-exchange process is very good for water used in very high pressure boilers. The objective

of boiler feed water treatment is firstly to avoid troubles in the boiler plants and secondly to obtain

steam of sufficient purity for the steam turbine. If the system is not of sufficient purity there is a

fouling of the blades of the steam turbine which reduces the capacity of the turbine.

This process is also very good for water for using in the laboratory. In the quantitative chemical

analysis, purification of water is required. It is employed in analytical operations with increasingly

lower limit of detection attained in instrumental method of analysis. Hence higher standards of

purity are imposed upon the water used in laboratories.

PROCEDURE:

Weigh 5g of Dowex 50 WX8 cation exchange resin and place it in sufficient amount of water in a

beaker for about 24 hours of swelling. When swelling is completed place cation –exchange resin

in 20ml of 2M HCl to convert the cation exchange resin into the H+ form. The resin is washed

with distilled water till pH 6 is achieved. (These operations have already been done).

Clamp the supplied resin column in stand. Pass 100 ml of 2M HCl through the cation-exchange

column (2 ml/min) and then wash the column with deionized water till the effluent pH becomes 6.

Now pass 100ml of 1M NaCl solution through the cation –exchange column at the rate of 2ml/min

and collect the effluent in 500ml conical flask. When all the solution has passed through the

column, titrate the effluent with standard 1M NaOH using phenolphthalein as indicator. The

reaction may be presented as follows-

R─ H⁺ + Na⁺………….. R⁻ Na⁺ + H⁺

And proceeds the completion because of large excess and large volume of NaCl solution passed

through the column.

CALCULATION;

The capacity of the resin in millimoles per gram is given by (a×v⁄w) where a is the molarity of the

sodium hydroxide solution, v is the volume in ml of NaOH solution and w is the weight (g) of the

resin.

RESULT;

The capacity of the supplied cation-exchange resin is…….millimoles/g.