From Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia.
Ion exchange is a
process in which
ions are exchanged between a
solution and an ion
exchanger, an insoluble solid
or
gel. Typical ion exchangers
are
ion exchange resins,
zeolite,
montmorillonite,
clay, and
humus. Ion exchangers are
either cation exchangers
for positively
charged
cations or anion exchangers
for negatively charged
anions. Ion exchange is a
reversible process and the ion
exchanger can be regenerated
or loaded by washing with
an excess of the ions to be
exchanged.
Ion exchange is a method widely
used in household and industrial
water purifications to produce
soft water. This is
accomplished by exchanging
calcium Ca2+ and
magnesium Mg2+
cations against
sodium Na+ or
hydrogen H+ cations.
Ion exchange chromatography is
a
chromatographical method that
is widely used in
biochemistry to separate
charged molecules such as
proteins. Ion exchange is also
applied in
Water softeners.
