Solvent Drying

Dried DOWEX™ strong acid cation exchange resins offer many advantages when used as desiccants for organic solvents. DOWEX resins, based on polymers of styrene cross-linked with divinylbenzene and functionalized by sulfonation, are the most stable synthetic organic ion exchange resin polymer system available in the industry.

The resin's very easy regeneration at lower temperatures (150°C/300°F) than traditional media, results in less acid produced from chlorinated solvent drying operations. DOWEX ion exchange resins are able to handle moisture loads up to 20% by weight of the dry resin and are very tolerant of free phase water that can be a problem for other drying media.

DOWEX resins are particularly useful for the removal of trace amounts of water from non-polar solvents, such as the chlorinated hydrocarbons used in dry cleaning, vapor degreasing, etc. Most non-polar materials are not imbibed into the resin structure; therefore many of the inhibitor systems are not taken from the solvent upon drying. Solvents that are relatively non-ionic in character can be dried to moisture levels below 10 ppm.

Additional technical data is available in DOWEX Resins as Organic Solvent Desiccants. (30KB PDF)