Method of regenerating quaternary ammonium anion exchange resins

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR REGENERATING A STRONGLY BASIC QUATERNARY AMMONIUM ANION EXCHANGE RESIN COMPRISING THE REACTION PRODUCT OF AN INSOLUBLE CROSS-LINKED VINYL AROMATIC RESIN CONTAINING HALOALKYL RADICALS ON THE AROMATIC NUCLEI AND A TERTIARY AMINE, FROM A SALT OF THE SAME HAVING MONOVALENT ANIONS ATTACHED TO THE NITROGEN ATOMS OF THE QUATERNARY AMMONIUM GROUPS, THE STEPS OF FIRST CONTACTING A BED OF THE RESIN COMPRISING SUCH RESIN SALT WITH AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF AN IONIZABLE INORGANIC COMPOUND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF THE CARBONATES, PHOSPHATES AND SULFATES OF AN ALKALI METAL, WHICH AQUEOUS SOLUTION CONTAINS THE INORGANIC COMPOUND IN A CONCENTRATION NOT EXCEEDING 0.5-NORMAL, WHEREBY MONOVALENT ANIONS ATTACHED TO NITROGEN ATOMS OF THE RESIN ARE DISPLACED BY POLYVALENT ANIONS FROM THE SOLUTION, AND THEREAFTER CONTACTING THE RESIN WITH AN AT LEAST 1-NORMAL AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF AN ALKALI METAL HYDROXIDE, WHEREBY POLYVALENT ANIONS ATTACHED TO NITROGEN ATOMS OF THE RESIN ARE DISPLACED BY HYDROXYL IONS.