DOWEX Resins for Separation of Sulfur from Liquid and Vapor Media

Sulfur - S Sulfur occurs widely in nature in the oxidized and reduced forms.

Applications

Potable Water: Sulfur oxides as sulfuric acid, sulfate and sulfite are anions and readily removed with anion exchange resins. When they are present as acids, they can be removed from potable water with DOWEX™ MONOSPHERE™ 77 weak base anion exchange resin. For potable water at neutral pH, a high capacity strong base anion exchange resin like DOWEX 1 is recommended.

Wastewater: When present as acids, sulfate and sulfite can be removed from waste water with DOWEX M-43 anion exchange resin, an acid absorber. For pH neutral waste water streams, a strong base resin like DOWEX 21K XLT resin will be required. Here, the resin will remove all of the anions along with the sulfate and sulfite. For streams that have a high organic content and are prone to surface fouling, DOWEX MARATHON™ MSA resin is recommended.

Selective Sulfate Removal from Brine has been described using a metal hydroxide loaded ion exchange resin. (1, 2, 3) This approach is particularly valuable in high salt streams like brines. Product recommendations are DOWEX M-31 and DOWEX MONOSPHERE M-31 catalysts.

Hydrogen Sulfide: The reduced form of sulfur, H₂S, acts as a weak acid so it can be captured for water or air with DOWEX M-43 acid absorber.

Mercaptans are organo-sulfur compounds that are typically not charged. These compounds can be captured by an adsorption mechanism with DOWEX OPTIPORE™ L493 and DOWEX OPTIPORE V493 polymeric adsorbents.

RO membranes have also been described to remove sulfate from ground water. For more information, please go to sulfate removal from seawater.

DOWEX Ion Exchange Resins

Product	Description	Type	Matrix	Total Exchange Capacity* eq/l (kgr/ft3)	Available Forms
DOWEX MONOSPHERE 77	Ion exchange resin for sweetener applications providing the lowest chemical and energy use.	Weak Base Anion	Styrene-DVB, Macroporous	1.7	FB (Free Base)
DOWEX 1	High capacity strong base anion exchange resin.	Type I Strong Base Anion	Styrene-DVB, Gel	1.4 (30.6)	Cl-
DOWEX M-43	Corrosion control with DOWEX M-43 ion exchange resin.	Weak Base Anion	Styrene-DVB, Macroporous	1.55	FB (Free Base) form
DOWEX 21K XLT	Uniform particle size, high capacity, strong base anion exchange resin for mineral processing applications.	Type I Strong Base Anion	Styrene-DVB, Gel	1.4	Cl-
DOWEX MARATHON MSA	Uniform particle size, high capacity, macroporous strong base anion exchange resin for water demineralization applications.	Type I Strong Base Anion	Styrene-DVB, Macroporous	1.1 (24.0)	Cl-
DOWEX M-31	Standard grade product for general catalytic applications. This catalyst has unmatched durability and dependability within the MTBE/TAME industry.	Strong Acid Cation	Styrene-DVB, Macroporous	1.7	H+
DOWEX MONOSPHERE M-31	A uniform bead size strong acid catalyst. This is our highest performance catalyst for MTBE/TAME.	Strong Acid Cation	Styrene-DVB, Macroporous	1.85	H+
DOWEX OPTIPORE L493	A general purpose polymeric adsorbent for the concentration of a wide variety of chlorinated and organic solvents from water.	Adsorbent	Styrene-DVB, Macroporous
DOWEX OPTIPORE V493	Polymeric adsorbent resin is used for the concentration of chlorinated and organic solvents from air streams, particularly in fluid bed systems.	Adsorbent	Styrene-DVB, Macroporous

References 1. US Patent 4,415,677 "Removal of sulfate ions from brine using composite of polymeric zirconium hydrous oxide in macroporous matrix" Lee; John M. ; Bauman; William C. Assignee: The Dow Chemical Company (1983). 2. US Patent 4,415,678 "Removal of sulfate ions from brine using amorphous polymeric zirconium oxide formed within a macroporous polymer matrix" Lee; John M. ; Bauman; William C. Assignee: The Dow Chemical Company (1983). 3. "Method of purification of salt solution for electrolysis", Oohara, C.; Matsuoka, T.; Kishi, T. and Okuno, T. of Chlorine Engineers Corp., Ltd. European Patent Application EP 0 987 221 A1 (1999).