Ion-exchange system for treating a fluid and an ion chromatography method thereof

An ion-exchange system for treating a fluid to remove particles, the ion-exchange system comprising:

• a container extending in an upright position along a longitudinal axis between a bottom port and an opposed top port, the container having an internal chamber between the bottom port and the top port;
• top and bottom plates disposed in the internal chamber of the container, a bottom chamber defined between the bottom port and the bottom plate, a top chamber defined between the top plate and the top port, and a main chamber defined between the top and bottom plates;
• treatment particles disposed in the internal chamber to treat the fluid, the treatment particles including a bed of silicone dioxide particles disposed on the bottom plate and a bed of ion-exchange particles disposed on top of the bed of silicone dioxide particles;
• and
• a plurality of bottom diffusers extending through the bottom plate, each one of the plurality of bottom diffusers having a diffuser tube section projecting into the bed of silicone dioxide particles, the diffuser tube section having a root opening at a first end thereof in fluid flow communication with the bottom chamber and a closed second end opposite the first end, and radial diffuser openings circumferentially distributed along a length of the diffuser tube section to radially discharge the fluid in the main chamber and to uniformly distribute the fluid in the bed of silicone dioxide particles, wherein
• the top chamber is free of the treatment particles above the top plate and the bottom chamber is free of the treatment particles below the bottom plate relative to the longitudinal axis;
• wherein a density of the plurality of diffusers is between 50 and 70, the density of the plurality of diffusers being defined as a number of the plurality of diffusers per meter square of the bottom plate;
• and
• wherein the main chamber has a height along the longitudinal axis and a diameter extending in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and a ratio of the height over the diameter is between 0.75 and 1.25.

An ion-exchange system for treating a fluid to capture organic acids, the ion-exchange system comprising:

• a container section having a cylindrical shape and extending along a longitudinal axis between a bottom plate and a top plate, each one of the bottom and top plates having a plurality of openings defined therethrough the container section having a main chamber defined therein between the bottom plate and the top plate, the container section having a height along the longitudinal axis and a diameter extending in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and a ratio of the height over the diameter is between 0.75 and 1.25;
• and
• a plurality of bottom diffusers extending through the bottom plate, each one of the plurality of bottom diffusers having a diffuser tube section projecting into the main chamber parallel to the longitudinal axis through a respective one of the plurality of openings of the bottom plate, each one of the plurality of bottom diffusers having a root tube section adapted to be in fluid flow communication with a source of the fluid, and radial diffuser openings circumferentially distributed along a length of the diffuser tube section to radially discharge the fluid in the container section, a density of the plurality of bottom diffusers being between 50 and 70, the density of the plurality of bottom diffusers being defined as a number of the plurality of bottom diffusers per meter square of the bottom plate, wherein the internal chamber is adapted to retain silicone dioxide particles.