Removal of copper ions by a cation-exchange resin in a semifluidized bed

The removal of copper ions was studied experimentally in a semifluidized bed charged with a strong cation-exchange resin, Amberlite 200C. The semifluidized bed system was formed by inserting a retaining grid in a packed bed and increasing the fluid velocity above U-mf. In this arrangement, the bed is separated into two sections; the upper packed bed section and the lower fluidized bed section. As the fluid velocity increases, the portion of the packed bed section becomes larger. As expected, the breakthrough curve obtained from the semifluidized bed lies between those from packed and fluidized beds. The breakthrough curves of copper ions were predicted reasonably well by using an axial dispersion model. In this paper, the effects of the liquid flowrate and the retaining grid height on the breakthrough behavior are extensively discussed.