NMR Relaxometry to Monitor In Situ the Loading of Amberlite IR120 and Dowex Marathon MSC Resins With Ni2+ and Cu2+ During a Column Experiment.

The removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater often necessitates the use of ion exchange resins. Current methods for assessing ion exchange efficiency are indirect and destructive. Some heavy metal ions, such as Cu²⁺ and Ni²⁺, are paramagnetic and influence the NMR relaxation times of water protons. NMR relaxometry can therefore be utilized to track the removal of these ions by ion exchange resins. In this study, we use relaxometry to monitor in situ the loading with Ni²⁺ and Cu²⁺ of Amberlite IR120 and Dowex Marathon MSC resins, with the resin column inserted into a low-field NMR device. The multiexponential transverse relaxation curves were fitted using a biexponential model. Before and during the loading of the resin, the water with the slowest relaxation corresponds to treated water (free of Ni²⁺ or Cu²⁺) flowing between the resin beads. After saturation, the slowest fraction corresponds to the untreated solution (containing Ni²⁺ or Cu²⁺) flowing between the resin beads saturated with paramagnetic ions. The evolution with time of the transverse relaxation rate and the amplitude of the slowly relaxing water fraction shows a clear transition, occurring later at the bottom of the resin bed compared with the middle and top. This is interpreted as an indication of the saturation of the studied zone with paramagnetic ions, confirmed by the quantification of Ni²⁺ or Cu²⁺ in the effluent using AES spectroscopy. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that NMR relaxometry can be used in situ to monitor the loading of a resin bed with paramagnetic ions.