The chemical stability in aggressive media of two types of strong base anio
n exchangers was studied. The anion exchangers were a commercial Amberlite
IRA-400 with a styrene structure and an unconventional resin obtained by th
e quaternization of a 4-vinylpyridine: 8% divinylbenzene copolymer with met
hylchloride. The presence of the quaternary nitrogen atoms in or out of the
aromatic ring had a great influence on the chemical stability of the ion e
xchangers. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.