The influence of temperature on the ion exchange properties of phenolformaldehyde sorbents

The influence of temperature on cation exchange on phenol groups of macroporous materials based on phenolformaldehyde resins (PFRs) was studied for Amberlit XAD 761 with irregularly shaped grains obtained by breaking up polycondensation resin blocks and FFS-1.4/0.7 with spherical granules. An increase in temperature caused some decrease in the sorption capacity of PFRs in the alkaline region, but almost did not influence the selectivity of alkali metal ion exchange. The sorption capacity and selectivity of PFRs did not change after multiple (dozens of cycles) transfer of phenol groups from the hydrogen to salt form and back. Ion exchangers of this type can effectively be used for separating mixtures of alkali metal ions containing cesium and rubidium.