Optimization Of Extraction Potassium Process From Seawater By Ion Exchange

The ion exchange method has been widely used in the field of extracting potassium from seawater, owning to the good selectivity and high product recovery. With the development of the ion exchange device, the technology of continuous ion exchange has applied to the process of extracting potassium from seawater. The rapid development of computer technology has made the simulation of continuous ion exchange possible. Design and optimization of mathematical models without restriction of experimental conditions, therefore, are propitious to the study of the complex mechanism of separation. Based on the simulation of batch adsorption and elution process, simulation of extraction potassium process from seawater by continuous ion exchange was researched. In this paper, the simulations of batch adsorption and elution process were studied, while the effects of different operating parameters and factors were investigated. The above research will provide theoretical support and reference for the simulation of extraction potassium process from seawater by continuous ion exchange.The mathematical models and simulation parameters were selected by referring to the literature. Base on the above, the simulations of batch adsorption and elution process were carried out with COMSOL software. Contrasting the simulation results with experiment data, it can been shown that the equilibrium diffusion model is better than the ideal model.When the feed concentration, length and diameter of column, and ion-exchange isotherm equation are selected, the process of batch adsorption was simulated through the mathematical model. It can be seen with the porosity decreases the penetration time of the breakthrough curve remain unchanged and retention time increasing. With the increasing of mass transfer coefficients, the through time of the curve gradually decreased and retention time basically unchanged. This paper also study the effect of different velocity on breakthrough curve, the results found the influence is very complicated. It was as follow with the increasing of incoming velocity, the through time and retention time also will decrease.The simulation of elution process is similar to the adsorption process, but the results are different. With the change in porosity, the results of simulation have little influence. The trend of making the elution curve translation still exists, but the penetration time was not been influenced. With the increasing of mass transfer coefficients, the rate of the penetrate time continuously decreased.