Founded in 1966 at the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry;
from 1981 transferred to the Institute of Physical Organic Chemistry.
The head is Vladimir Soldatov, actual member of the Belarus National Academy of Sciences and European Academy of Sciences and Arts; Doctor of Sciences in Chemistry, Professor.
Laboratory staff of ion exchange and sorption
Main directions of fundamental research:
Theory of ion exchange and its applications in syntheses of new sorbents with predetermined properties and optimization of ion exchange processes;
New materials and methods for air purification from toxic molecular impurities using fibrous ion exchangers;
Syntheses and application of new ion exchange fibrous materials for purification of drinking water;
New ion exchange substrates for plants, technologies of their production and applications in practical planting and remediation of bare grounds.
Applied research and developments:
Ion exchange filters for air purification with working capacity 500 - 30 000 m3/h for purification of exhaust gases of industrial enterprises;
Light respirators for protection of human’s respiratory system from the acid and alkaline impurities;
Costumes for human’s protection from vapors and aerosols of acids;
Biotechnologies of micro-cloning multiplication of potato plants using ion exchange substrate BIONA.
Main achievements:
A new theoretical approach to evaluation of acid-base properties of ion exchangers by the acidity parameters of each kind of functional group present in the ion exchanger and found by specially developed computer program from the potentiometric titration curve, knowledge of the acidity parameters allows calculation of any kind of equilibria in the ion exchange system;
A new theoretical model for description of water sorption isotherms has been developed and applied for prediction sorption of alkaline impurities from gaseous media at their trace concentrations, difficult available for direct experimental determination; a new equation for the water sorption isotherms has been derived;
New means of the filtration and contact types for the air purification from toxic molecular impurities by acid-base processes or catalytic conversions have been developed;
Ion exchange substrates BIONA have been developed and their efficiency for different plant-growing applications has been proved.
Perspective research areas:
Syntheses, investigation of properties and search of new applications of polymeric ampholytes, superabsorbents and polyelectrolyte complexes;
Investigation of interactions between the superabsorbents and polyelectrolytes;
Development of optimized technology for production of ion exchange substrates;
Syntheses and investigation of the materials and means for the air purification from malodorous substances, viruses and bacteria.
The research on a number of earlier started at the Laboratory of Ion Exchange and Sorption directions nowadays are successfully developing newly formed structural units of the Institute:
Department of Medical Substances (liquid ion exchange extractants and new technologies of biotechnological production of aminoacids);
Laboratory of Membrane Processes (syntheses of polymeric micro- and ultrafiltration membranes);
Laboratory of Syntheses and Investigation of Ion Exchange Fibers (synthesis of new ion exchange fibers and pilot production of ion exchange fibrous materials).
