Patent ID: 8721894

Claim:
A method for purifying a contaminated solution liquids, the method comprising: receiving, via a contaminated solution feed, a contaminated solution, the contaminated solution including a greater concentration of undesired ions than desired ions and an untreated ratio of undesired ions to desired ions; mixing the contaminated solution with an ion exchange purifying material having a higher affinity for the desired ions than the undesired ions; removing the undesired ions from the contaminated solution by co-currently transporting the ion exchange purifying material with the contaminated solution so as to produce partially loaded ion exchange purifying material and a product solution that includes a treated ratio of undesired ions to desired ions, wherein the treated ratio is less than the untreated ratio, and wherein the co-currently transporting is limited to a transit time controlled so as to achieve only partial loading of the ion exchange purifying material, whereby loading of the undesired ions onto the ion exchange purifying material is greater than loading of desired ions onto the ion exchange purifying material; separating the partially loaded ion exchange purifying material from the product solution; discharging the product solution; counter-currently mixing the partially loaded ion exchange purifying material with fresh regenerant so as to produce spent regenerant and ion exchange purifying material that is regenerated; and transporting the ion exchange purifying material that has been regenerated in the direction of the contaminated solution feed to enable the receiving, the mixing, the removing, the separating, the discharging, and the counter-currently mixing to be continuously repeated.