IX.
ANSWERS TO STUDY QUESTIONS
1. What are other applications of ion-exchange aside from what was illustrated in the
experiment? Cite examples and explain.
Ion-exchange has been used for the analyses of anions and cations. It has been
successfully applied to the analysis of raw materials, bulk active ingredients, counter
ions, impurities, and degradation products, excipients, diluents and at different stages of
the production process as well as for the analysis of production equipment cleaning
solutions, waste streams, container compatibility and other applications. It has wide
applicability which includes high throughput application formats, average cost, powerful
resolving ability, large sample handling capacity and ease of scale-up as well as
automation.
ANALYSIS OF ANIONS AND CATIONS
Analysis of Amino Acid Mixtures - Columns of cation-exchange resin are
used, and the solutions are maintained sufficiently acid so that the amino acids
are at least partly in their cationic forms.
Analysis Of The Products Of Nucleic Acid Hydrolysis - the products of
hydrolysis of nucleic acids are analysed where information about the
molecules are gained.
SEPARATION OF INORGANIC IONS
Inorganic ions can be separated by ion-exchange chromatography. The lanthanoids, or
rare earth elements, are separated on columns of cation-exchange resin. Solutions of
citrates, lactates, or other salts whose anions form negatively charged complexes with the
lanthanoid ions are used to wash the ions from the column. The metal ions themselves are
held by the resin; the complexes are not.
TREATMENT OF WATER
Treatment of water is one of the major industrial applications of Ion Exchange. Where
hard water is softened by exchanging the positive ions: calcium and magnesium, with
sodium ions.
2. Cite and discuss practical applications of the principle of adsorption in a chemical
company or industry.
USE OF GAS MASKS:
All gas masks are devices containing suitable adsorbent so that the poisonous gases
present in the atmosphere are preferentially adsorbed and the air for breathing is purified.
SUGAR CLARIFICATION:
Sugar is decolorized by treating sugar solution with charcoal powder. The latter adsorbs
the undesirable colors present.
CHROMATOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS:
The selective adsorbent of certain substances from a solution by a particular solid
adsorbent has helped to develop technique for the separation of the components of the
mixture. This technique is called chromatographic analysis.
CATALYSIS:
The action of certain solids as catalysts is best explained in terms of adsorption. The
theory is called adsorption theory. According to this theory, the gaseous reactants are
adsorbed on the surface of the solid catalyst. As a result, the concentration of the
reactants increases on the surface and hence the rate of reaction increases.
HARD WATER SOFTENING:
The use of ion exchangers for softening of hard water is based upon the principle of
competing adsorption just as in chromatography.
REMOVING OF MOISTURE FROM AIR:
Such instruments which may be harmed by contact with the moist air are kept out of
contact with moisture using silica gel.
3. What is the relationship of the amount of resin and the ion exchange in the experiment?
The amount of resin is directly proportional to speed of exchange. By increasing the amount
of resin, the sites available for exchange is higher, thus, an opportunity for exchange is also
higher. Such is expressed through the ion exchange capacity of resins.
4. Compare the batch-wise ion-exchange and ion-exchange using a fixed bed. What
conclusions can you draw from the experiment?
BATCH-WISE ION EXCHANGE
In a batch-wise ion exchange, the wastewater is placed in an agitated tank and added with the
ion exchange resins. After equilibrium has been reached the resin is filtered and the water is
discharged. The resin in not typically regenerated in a batch-wise operation.
ION-EXCHANGE USING A FIXED BED
In a fixed bed operation, a single phase is passing through a column. Such example is the
passing of wastewater over a bed of activated carbon or ion exchange resigns. The terms
“concurrent” and “countercurrent” are used to indicate the direction of the regenerating
solution with respect to that of the water.
LIST OF APPARATUS
Ion Exchange Column – is an apparatus filled with
a fixed bed of resins where ion exchange takes
place.
Spectrophotomer -
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Ion Exchange – is a process that utilizes the concept of Double Displacement, to remove
unwanted ions from a certain material. Ion exchange takes place in a resin with an ion that will
easily displace upon contact with the unwanted ion.
