(C) (D) (E) (F) Figure 4: Lithium removal in a continuous flow column using IRC 748 resin at flow rates of 10 mL.s-1 (A-B), 20 mL.s-1 (C-D) e 30 mL.s-1 (E-F). Source: Authors. 4. CONCLUSION A comparative analysis between IRC 747 and IRC 748 resins demonstrates that ion exchange selectivity and efficiency are strongly influenced by both the nature of the cation in solution and the operational flow conditions. The IRC 748 resin exhibits superior performance in sodium retention, achieving loading capacities of 157.28 mg·g⁻¹. In contrast, IRC 747 excels in lithium recovery, with a progressive kinetic increment reaching 66.04 mg·g⁻¹ in batch mode. This behavior of the IRC 747 resin, characterized by the absence of an immediate equilibrium plateau, indicates a mechanism predominantly controlled by intraparticle diffusion, in which the porous structure of the polymeric matrix favors the coordination of high charge density ions, such as Li+, particularly under conditions of high driving forces. Given that the process objective is the preservation of lithium in solution during the purification stage, the IRC 748 resin demonstrates more suitable operational performance. This is because it promotes lower removal of this cation compared to the IRC 747 resin, favoring the elimination of impurities without significantly compromising the concentration of the metal of interest 114
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