Dow Water & Process Solutions

DOWEX Resins for Separation of Oxygen from Liquid or Vapor

Oxygen - O Oxygen and its compounds constitute about half of the earth's crust by weight. Oxygen can exist as part of a very wide variety of compounds or as a gas (O2). The compounds that oxygen forms can be accessed in this index by the other elements in the compound.

Applications

The simplest compound of oxygen is arguably hydrogen peroxide or H₂O₂. DOWEX™ ion exchange resins are frequently used to remove a variety of metals from H₂O₂ solutions. For more information on specific metals see the Periodic Table. DOWEX OPTIPORE™ adsorbents are used to remove organic compounds from H₂O₂. While hydrogen peroxide is not very ionic, it is a strong oxidizing agent. Since ion exchange resins are made from organic plastics they can be oxidized. Oxidizing agents such as nitric acid attack organic ion exchange resins under certain conditions. This could lead to anything from slight resin degradation to a violent exothermic reaction (explosion). Before using strong oxidizing agents, consult sources knowledgeable in handling such materials.

Since O₂ gas is often used in a compressed form, it is often contaminated with compressor lubricants. DOWEX OPTIPORE polymeric adsorbents have been shown to work well to remove these lubricants from compressed gas streams.

References "Removal of oil from compressed gas with macroporous polymeric adsorbents" Bowman, R.H. and Goltz, H.R. US Patent 5,700,310, MG Generon, December 23, 1997.