The method of titration is very useful in analytical chemistry. It is described in detail in the Techniques section of this website. The principles of ion exchange methods were presented last week. Now we will outline the stoichiometry calculations required for quantitative analysis of known or unknown salt solutions.
Salt solution is run through an ion exchange column in the hydrogen form.
The cations in the solution will exchange for hydrogen ions, as the solution passes through. The stoichiometry of this step depends on the charge of the cations in the salt solution. For each mole of positive charge present in the salt solution, one mole of hydrogen ions will be exchanged and elute from the column in the form of hydronium ions. Where m is the charge on the cation, C, exchanged for hydrogen ions on the resin. The effluent, containing all the hydrogen ions eluted from the column, will be titrated with base.