Exchange of sodium by magnesium in aluminum hydroxycarbonate gel.

Approximately 90% of the sodium present in a washed aluminum hydroxycarbonate gel was removed by exchange with magnesium. This behavior supports recent structural studies which have suggested that cations such as sodium serve as counterions in aluminum hydroxycarbonate gel. However, sodium could not be removed from dihydroxyaluminum sodium carbonate by exchange with magnesium because sodium is part of the crystal structure. It is hypothesized that aluminum hydroxycarbonate gels which resist removal of sodium are actually mixtures containing dihydroxyaluminum sodium carbonate in addition to aluminum hydroxycarbonate.