Stripping ions from exchange resin

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Stripping hydrogen ions from a cation exchange resin using hot water poses challenges, as the process typically involves ion replacement rather than removal. While heating water to above 130 degrees Fahrenheit was attempted, no immediate decrease in pH was observed. The resin in question, likely polystyrene sulfonate, can theoretically dissociate ions, but practical results may vary. Using copious amounts of water could replace cations with H+ ions through autodissociation, though this method is impractical due to the volume required. Concerns about degrading the resin with boiling water were raised, and the discussion emphasized that simply using water may not effectively achieve the desired ion exchange without introducing other cations. The feasibility of achieving a solution rich in unbalanced H+ ions while maintaining the integrity of the resin remains uncertain.
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I want to remove the hydrogen ions from a cation exchange resin. I believe it uses polystyrene sulfonate.
I want to strip the hydrogen ion from a cation exchange resin. Would it be feasible to do this using hot water? I've tried using water at somewhere above 130 degrees Fahrenheit I believe, but I didn't see any immediate decrease in pH. I believe the resin uses polystyrene sulfonate. Should I use boiling water? I'm concerned about degrading the resin. I want to use the deionized resin to remove the sodium from sodium bicarbonate. It would also be nice to be able to use the solution of hydrogen ions as well.
 
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What does the manufacturer say?
 
Somehow I don't get what you say. Ions are not "stripped" but replaced. What do you want to replace H+ with using just water?

Resin that adsorbed metal cations can be regenerated by using an acid - H+ will replace the cations. You can get the same effect with copious amounts of water - cations will get replaced with H+ from water autodissociation (although amount of water required makes this process unpractical).

So, back to my question: what do you want to replace H+ with using just water?
 
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Borek said:
Somehow I don't get what you say. Ions are not "stripped" but replaced. What do you want to replace H+ with using just water?

Resin that adsorbed metal cations can be regenerated by using an acid - H+ will replace the cations. You can get the same effect with copious amounts of water - cations will get replaced with H+ from water autodissociation (although amount of water required makes this process unpractical).

So, back to my question: what do you want to replace H+ with using just water?
That is typically how it works, but couldn't I in theory remove the hydrogen from the resin? There should be some degree of dissociation, and I believe polystyrene sulfonate should be a fairly strong acid. I don't want to replace the hydrogen with other cations, as is typical.
 
So what then? Are you expecting to get a solution full of unbalanced H+ ions, and a resin full of unbalanced sulfonate anions? Good luck with that!
 
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mjc123 said:
So what then? Are you expecting to get a solution full of unbalanced H+ ions, and a resin full of unbalanced sulfonate anions? Good luck with that!
In theory there should be some dissociation of ions, and I can exchange water once it reaches equilibrium to continue removing hydrogen ions. I want to use hot water to encourage dissociation, but I'm unsure why I'm not seeing a decrease in pH.
 
Strange_matter said:
In theory there should be some dissociation of ions, and I can exchange water once it reaches equilibrium to continue removing hydrogen ions. I want to use hot water to encourage dissociation, but I'm unsure why I'm not seeing a decrease in pH.
Best to recheck post #3 what @Borek said.
 
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