CATIONIC ION-EXCHANGE RESINS AS CATALYST

This paper presents a review of the literature pertaining to catalysis by cation exchange resins. Emphasis has been given to the literature that has appeared during the last seven years. A variety of reactions catalyzed by cation exchange resins have been tabulated according to their broad classification; industrially important reactions have been delineated. Examples, where the use of ion exchange resin catalysis has led to an improvement in the selectivity of the desired products, have also been discussed. Approaches for the interpretation of kinetic data and modelling have been reviewed. The type of reactor to be employed for carrying out ion exchange resin catalyzed reactions has been discussed. A new emerging area is the adoption of distillation column reactors (e.g., methyl tert-butyl ether from isobutylene and methanol). Some aspects of the deactivation and regeneration of these catalysts have been briefly discussed. The use of ion exchange resins for the removal of impurities from mixtures and the separation of close-boiling compounds by exploiting their different chemical reactivity has been highlighted. Suggestions have been made for further work.