Dow Water & Process Solutions

DOWEX Resins for Separation of Aluminum from Liquid Media

Aluminum - Al Aluminum is commonly found as the cation, Al+3. Aluminum's light weight and strength makes it ideal for a wide variety of applications in modern society. Aluminum can form oxides that are weakly anionic and difficult to remove with ion exchange resins.

Applications

Water / Wastewater: Aluminum is successfully removed from slightly acidic water based streams with a strong acid cation exchange resin like DOWEX™ G-26 (H) resin. If the aqueous stream has a pH from 3 to 8, a weak acid cation resin such as DOWEX MAC-3 should be considered due to the higher ion exchange capacity and economical regeneration. Aluminum can selectively be removed from brine streams with a selective resin like the aminophosphonic acid resin.

Anodizing Baths and Rinse Water: Processing of aluminum by bright dipping with phosphoric acid or anodizing with sulfuric acid and other acid solutions results in the accumulation of unwanted aluminum in these streams. A strong acid cation exchange resin like DOWEX G-26 (H) resin can be used for continuous removal of the aluminum. Capacities of 1 to 3 lbs of aluminum per cubic foot of resin are common.

Organic Media: Aluminum Lewis Acids (i.e. aluminum halides) can be removed from organic solutions using weakly basic anion exchange resins such as DOWEX M-43 resin.

DOWEX Ion Exchange Resins

Product	Description	Type	Matrix	Total Exchange Capacity* eq/l (kgr/ft3)	Available Forms
DOWEX G-26 (H)	Uniform particle size strong acid cation exchange resin for specialty demineralization and catalyst applications.	Strong Acid Cation	Styrene-DVB, Gel	2.0	H+
DOWEX MAC-3	A macroporous weak acid cation exchange resin used for water softening, dealkalization, and demineralization applications.	Weak Acid Cation	Polyacrylic, Macroporous	3.8 (83.0)	H+
DOWEX M-43	Corrosion control with DOWEX M-43 ion exchange resin.	Weak Base Anion	Styrene-DVB, Macroporous	1.55	FB (Free Base) form