What is the difference between total exchange capacity and operating capacity in an ion

exchange resin?
Ion exchange capacity may be expressed in a number of ways. Total capacity, (i.e., the total
number of sites available for exchange), is normally determined after converting the resin by
chemical regeneration techniques to a given ionic form. The ion is then chemically removed
from a measured quantity of the resin and quantitatively determined in solution by
conventional analytical methods. Total capacity is expressed on a dry weight, wet weight or
wet volume basis. The water uptake of a resin and, therefore, its wet weight and wet volume
capacities are dependent on the nature of the polymer backbone as well as the environment in
which the sample is placed.
The factor which defines the ability of an ion exchange resin to remove ions from solution is
the capacity. The Total Exchanqe Capacity (TEC) is defined as the theoretical number of
exchangeable ions per unit volume or weight of resin. The TEC can only be attained by a
total and complete regeneration that is not employed in practice due to the prohibitive
regenerant costs that would be required.
Operating capacity is a measure of the useful performance obtained with the ion exchange
material when it is operating in a column under a prescribed set of conditions. It is dependent
on a number of factors including the inherent (total) capacity of the resin, the level of
regeneration, the composition of solution treated, the flow rates through the column,
temperature, particle size and distribution.
The Operating Capacity is the true measure of a resin's ability to remove a given number of
ions from solution. It is defined as the number of exchangeable ions available under a given
set of conditions. These conditions are variable from one case to the next, and consist of such
parameters as influent composition, effluent requirements, flow rate, regenerant dosage (i.e.,
degree of regeneration), temperature, exhaustion and rinse end points, resin selectivity, and
particle size.
Capacity is commonly expressed in terms of the number of equivalents of ionic species found
in a liter or kilogram of resin or, alternatively, the number of kilograins in a cubic foot (1 eq/l
= 21.85 kgr/ft3 ). The ionic concentrations are normally expressed in calcium carbonate
(CaCO3) equivalents since the Molecular Weight of calcium carbonate is 100. In all solutions,
the number of cations (expressed in terms of calcium carbonate) must equal the number of
anions (also expressed as calcium carbonate), such that the solution concentration in ppm (as
CaCO3) = ppm (as ion) x 50/E.W. where 50 = Equivalent Weight of CaCO3.
What does total exchange capacity (TEC) in units of eq/L mean?
When we say that a resin has a capacity of 1.8 equivalent/L, we mean that one liter of resin
contains 1.8 equivalents of exchange sites. Hence, one liter of H+ form cation exchange resin
having a capacity of 1.8 mol/L would load 1.8 mol of Na+. You will also need to consider the
number of charges on your target ion (e.g., for Ca++ you need to consider that it has 2 charges)
Multivalent ions do not necessarily occupy multiple ion exchange sites as it has more to do
with the proximity (cross-link) of the those sites for interaction. We also suggest that a
customer assumes only a 65-90% operating efficiency when initially sizing a resin bed. Ion
exchange is an equilibrium process and is never 100% efficient. Any resin evaluation is best
done with a couple of simple tests such as an equilibrium isotherm test (23KB PDF)