ION Exchange Resins

Ion Exchange (IX) Resin is one the oldest & well proven treatment technologies to produce
demineralised or ultrapure water and has the capability to handle a wide range of dissolved
contaminants from a variety of challenging feed streams extending well beyond water
treatment.

Compared to conventional adsorption technologies, Selectivity and regeneration of ion

exchange resins is what makes them unique and re-usable in most water & process
treatment applications.

Three major areas of application using ion exchange resins:

Purification- For example removal of hardness and sulfates from water by softening, and
demineralisation or condensate polishing to reduce TDS/conductivity for boiler water
treatment.

Separation- Selectively removing hazardous contaminants/ions like heavy metals, Nitrates,

Sulfates from waste water without demineralisation for meeting EPA discharge limits.

Concentration- Valuable components like gold/PGM/Uranium and other precious metals are
adsorbed on to the resins and the regenerated stream is concentrated for increasing
efficiency of downstream processing.

Over the years ion exchange technology has evolved into a powerful solution making it a
more robust and specialised tool for water and process treatment challenges.
So, it is definitely worthwhile considering ion exchange resin technology when evaluating
potential treatment strategies for water and process treatment.

Majority of the commercially available ion exchange resins are based on an organic polymer
crosslinked with DVB. PolyStyrene and Poly Acrylate beads either in Gel or Macroporous
morphology are the most common ion exchange resins. These porous polymer beads are
then functionalised with a suitable chemical to produce ion exchange sites called functional
groups. At this point these resins are mechanically stable and offer excellent osmotic
properties.

Ion exchange resins based on the functional groups can be classified as Strong Acid Cation
(SAC), Weak Acid Cation (WAC)

How do ion exchange resins work?

Ion exchange resins basically work on the principle of ionic equilibrium and selectivity. In
most cases this is a reversible chemical reaction where dissolved ions/contaminants
(Cations, Anions, Organics) are removed from solution and replaced with counter ions in the
resin structure.

What are common types of Ion Exchange?

ion exchange resin The most common types include:

Strong acid cation (SAC) exchange resins.

Weak acid cation (WAC) exchange resins.
Strong base anion (SBA) exchange resins. Weak base anion (WBA) exchange resins. .
Chelating resins. Chelating resins are the most common type of selective resins with various
functional groups.
Resin selection Grid
What is resin regeneration?

Over time, all the available exchange sites in the Ion Exchange resin are loaded by the
contaminants in the feed solution and at this stage the resin is exhausted. A suitable
chemical regeneration process is then required to reverse the equilibrium and restore the
chemical form of the resin.

At Ozira we can provide guidance on regeneration of resins and ways to optimise resin life.