Investigating the Impacts of Octadecylamine (ODA) and Cyclohexylamine (CHA) on Ion Exchange Capacity and Mass Transfer Coefficient (MTC)

Abstract

Film-forming substances (FFS) and alkalizing amines can have an impact on the ion-exchange resins used in the condensate polishers of a power plant. In this study, the impacts of octadecylamine (ODA), an FFS, and cyclohexylamine (CHA), an alkalizing amine, on ion-exchange capacity were investigated with representative cation-exchange (HPR 1300H) and anion-exchange resins (Ambersep 900OH). Furthermore, the impacts of ODA on the MTC of cation-exchange resin was also studied. The cation resin’s MTC did not drop significantly after ODA exposure. It dropped instead after regenerating the ODA-exposed cation-exchange resin likely due to protonation of ODA. The ion-exchange capacity of the cation-exchange resin dropped dramatically after exposure to ODA while the anion-exchange resin experienced only a slight drop in ion-exchange capacity. CHA exposure did not have an impact on either ion-exchange resins as the regeneration process was capable of successfully replenishing the ion-exchange sites.