PuriTech’s IONEX is targeted at a diverse range of industries. A major application for ion exchange systems, and in particular IONEX, is the purification of water for drinking, and for industrial and commercial use. It is also used widely in wastewater treatment.
Other areas in which IONEX may be applied, include food processing, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, the petrochemical and chemical industries, and in the treatment of fluids used in the metals and electroplating sectors.
Potable water
IONEX is used in both softening and de-alkalisation processes in beverage production and breweries, and in any other application that involves potable water. One of the most common uses is the removal of nitrate, arsenic and perchlorate from potable water.
Petrochemical and chemical
The acidic/basic properties of certain ion exchange resins allows them to function as catalysts in organic-chemical reactions, even on an industrial scale. This allows IONEX to be used in the petrochemical and chemical industry in the production of octane-enhancing chemicals and for processes used to manufacture of plastics.
Wastewater
Recent developments and refinements in resin technologies make ion exchange one of the
best and most complete forms of wastewater treatment available today. In the nuclear power industry,
ion exchange is the only way to concentrate traces of radioactive waste into small volumes for easy disposal.
The Ionex system is extremely effective at treating industrial effluents by removing of
small traces of toxic substances such as heavy metals, chlorinated solvents, phenols and
other aromatic compounds.
Minerals processing
Gold, silver, nickel and other metals can be removed from waste streams using the IONEX system. In the mining industry it can be used to recover uranium from leaching streams. The demineralization of rinse water in the electroplating industry, and the separation of organic substances and removal of alkaline earth metals from brine in chloralkali electrolysis, are other applications for with the technology can be used.
Industrial water treatment
IONEX is perfectly suited to applications that involve the treatment of water for use in power stations, paper
mills and breweries. It is used for a range of duties, including full demineralization, condensate polishing,
softening, and the removal of oxygen and residual organic substances.
In other industrial sectors — for example, the manufacture of semiconductors — pure water is
crucial to both product development and yield. It is essential that microchips, or silicon wafers, do not
come into contact with salt or organic substances in the rinse water that is used during their production.
IONEX is capable of generating ultrapure water for applications that have zero tolerance to contaminants.
Pharmaceutical and biotechnology
Ion exchange can be used to isolate a wide variety of important drugs, such as antibiotics and vitamins. Because resins can interact with biologically active substances, IONEX often provides an economical alternative to complex processes that involve the isolation and purification of vitamins and alkaloids, proteins and hormones, and the immobilization of enzymes.
Food processing
The use of ion exchange and adsorbent technology for the processing of food streams within the nutrition market place is well established, with a history stretching back many years.
IONEX is used in this sector to improve the yield and purity of starch and sugar products, such as cane and beet sugar and glucose, and is also used in the demineralisation of gelatine, citric and lactic acid, fruit juices and dairy products.
