Spectrophotometric method for rate determination of the ion-exchange process in solid-liquid heterogeneous systems

Abstract

A flow manifold is described that combines continuous flow with spectrophotometric detection for the monitoring of the metal ion content of the liquid phase during the ion-exchange process in heterogeneous systems. The method is simple, rapid, of low cost, accurate and reasonably sensitive. The reproducibility is fairly good, but can be improved. The method can selectively monitor specific metal ions in the presence of others. It can also be automated, remote controlled and can be computerised for data processing. The method can also be used with high-performance liquid chromatography to allow the determination of the metal ions that are eluted.