Comparison of different ion-exchangers' performances for removal of cadmium(II) from aqueous solution

In this paper, comparison of the ion-exchange characteristics of removal cadmium (II) ions from aqueous solution was investigated. In the experiments, three strong cation-exchangers, 732 resin, K-1 fiber and ZB-1 fiber with sulfonate groups, weak cationic exchanger 724 resin with carboxylate groups and X-1 chelating fiber with diethylamino functional groups as well as the AK-22 amphoteric fiber with amino and carboxylate groups were used. In the pH value range from 2.0 to 7.0, all the candidate materials had the maximal removal Cd (II) up to 98% except AK-22 (only 65%). The loading and eluting kinetics results showed that the exchange rate of ion-exchange fibers (especially ZB-1) were higher than ion-exchange resins. Therefore, it was found that ZB-1 ion-exchange fiber was the most effective for removal and elution of Cd (II) and had the potential application for the purification of waters polluted by Cd (II).