Cation exchange capacity definition

In addition to the crystalline clays described earlier, there are some materials that act like clays but do not have crystalline structure. Amorphous clays do not have a definite X-ray diffraction pattern and are differentiated from the crystalline clays on this basis. They are composed of mixtures of alumina, silica, and other oxides and generally have high sorptive and cation exchange capacities. Few soils contain large amounts of amorphous clays [2],... 

For most types of cation, at least, the amount of cation exchange is a definite and constant quantity, called the cation exchange capacity, and is measured in milli-equivalents (m.e.) of exchangeable... 

The definition for catalytic purposes of a zeolite reads as follows a crystalline material with micropores and cation-exchange capacity that is insoluble in water and common organic solvents and has sufficient thermal stability that allows removal of all pore-filling agents present in the as-synthesized materials. This definition is narrower than that of the IZA Constitution, which includes mesoporous solids, metal organic frameworks (MOFs), cationic and anionic clays [3]. 

A further difficulty is the distinction between a concept and an operation, for example in the definition of ion exchange capacity. Operationally, "the ion exchange capacity of a soil (or of soil-minerals in waters or sediments) is the number of moles of adsorbed ion charge that can be desorbed from unit mass of soil, under given conditions of temperature, pressure, soil solution composition, and soil-solution mass ratio" (Sposito, 1989). The measurement of an ion exchange capacity usually involves the replacement of (native) readily exchangeable ions by a "standard" cation or anion. 

Several hydrous oxides, such as those of aluminum, siTicon and, iron have been used to extract traces ions. Nevertheless, the sorption mechanism is not definitively established. Those oxides probably exhibit some ion exchange capacity among their properties and they can act as anionic or cationic exchangers and sometimes both. The separation of plutonium traces in the presence of HF by sorption onto an alumina column is based on its chemical similarities with thorium and lantanide elements reported by Abrao (2) In this case only thorium and rare earths are sorbed onto alumina from nitric acid-fluoride solutions while uranium remains in the effluent. 

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