1. Abstract
This lab experiment was done to separate three metal ions: nickel, iron and copper, by ion
exchange chromatography. The eluted metal ions were detected and quantified by
colorimetric measurement and calculations of column parameters. Nickel was not eluted/
not detected and iron and copper were eluted at times in close range. From calculation of
the column parameters, the retention times of copper and iron were 2172s and 2351s
respectively. Linear velocity of the mobile phase was found to be 8.504E-03cm/s. The
average linear rate of the copper and iron were found to be 6.12E-03cm/s and
5.66E-03cm/s. The retention or capacity factor of the iron and copper were 0.389 and
0.503 and the distribution constants were found to be 0.329 and 0.426 respectively. The
selectivity factor of the column was 0.77. There were 224 plates in the column for copper
and 294 plates for iron. The height of each plate for copper was 0.059cm while for iron, it
was 0.045cm. The column resolution was calculated at 0.317, a significant difference
between this and the ideal value which suggests great overlap of the peaks and thus a
poor separation.
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