MULTICOMPONENT FIXED-BED ION-EXCHANGE - VERIFICATION OF EQUILIBRIUM COHERENCE THEORY

The coherence method, a technique for modeling multicomponent fixed-bed adsorption with time dependent feed conditions, has been applied to a fixed-bed ion-exchange system under a variety of operating conditions. The authors present the results of an experimental study to verify the practical utility of the coherence method. A ternary ion-exchange system of K+, Na+, Li+ on a fixed bed of AG-50WX8 resin has been studied. Breakthrough curves have been obtained for single abrupt, multiple abrupt, and linear influent composition changes. A non-equilibrium model has also been developed and has been used to describe limiting binary exchange cases. The experimental breakthrough curves have been compared with the predictions of both models.