Recovery of zinc from aqueous solutions by ion exchange process - A review

Zinc finds application in various process industries viz. electroplating, textile, galvanising, surface finishing etc. Different effluents containing zinc and other metals are generated during processing, which are usually discarded after precipitation with alkali creating environmental pollution. Even the cost of dumping these materials is increasing with strict norm of environmental legislation. Ion exchange is a proven technique for the extraction of metals particularly from dilute solution. The process is extensively used in water purification, extraction of metals and acid etc. In the present paper, an attempt has been made for the extraction of zinc from different aqueous solutions using anionic or cationic solid ion exchangers viz. plant species, inorganic and organic compounds etc. The extraction and elution properties, loading capacity, kinetics and mechanism of extraction have been highlighted from the different aqueous solutions containing zinc along with other metallic ions