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A distinguished service to ion exchange

In the aftermath of the long summer drought of 1976, Tom Arden presented an invited lecture on the theme of water economy to the CBI in London and stated: ‘Water, unlike food, fuel and power, was never consumed but simply borrowed from rivers, lakes and underground supplies and returned after use with some level of contamination to be purified and re-used repeatedly’. He spoke with great authority as one the UK’s leading experts in water, wastewater and sewage treatment. His profound words are just as relevant today as this country faces yet another serious drought. He devoted his life to the study and exploitation of ion exchange technology and was eminent as an industrialist and scholar.

Thomas Victor Arden graduated with a first class honours degree in chemistry at Birkbeck College, University of London, in 1939 while a member of the research staff of manufacturing chemist Macleans. In 1941, he volunteered for flying duties in the Royal Air Force and was commissioned as a Flight Lieutenant Navigator (Radar) in 264 Squadron. He remained on active service throughout the entire Second World War.

He joined the Chemical Research Laboratory (CRL), Teddington, in 1946 as a research chemist to study the chemistry of uranium minerals, with special reference to the recovery and concentration of this strategic material from low-grade ore bodies. Although much of this work was subject to national security at the time, he ultimately published widely on the solution chemistry of uranium, the hydrolytic reactions of uranium with the many other metals associated with it in its naturally occurring state and its separation in solution by chemical and physical methods.

The late 1940s and early 1950s marked a period of immense enthusiasm for the study of ion exchange resins derived from polymeric precursors. Arden and his co-workers at the CRL immediately identified the potential of anion exchange resins for the separation and recovery of uranium from acid and alkaline solution. Their pioneering work opened the field of ion exchange in uranium hydrometallurgy.

In 1952, Arden left the CRL to take up a position as head of applied ion exchange development at the Permutit Company in London. He was at the forefront of the development of ion exchange process technology in the uranium industry. For example, he led a team of chemists and engineers in the design of the ion exchange recovery plant at Rum Jungle Mine, near Darwin, Australia, and was present at the opening ceremony of the project, conducted by the then Prime Minister of Australia, Robert Menzies, in September 1954.

Pioneer
He was also a representative on the USA/British Government Mission to South Africa in 1950 that opened up the gold mines for the large-scale production of uranium as a by-product. His pioneering experimental work in the field of uranium hydrometallurgy was recognised in 1952 by a Sir George Beilby Memorial Award. He was awarded a PhD in 1953 and a DSc degree in 1961 at the University of London for his research in uranium hydrometallurgy. In later years, his outstanding work and status in the field of ion exchange was further recognised by SCI with the Ion Exchange Award, presented to him at the 1992 SCI International Ion Exchange Conference in Cambridge.

Arden’s talents extended far beyond uranium hydrometallurgy and he published widely on all topics embracing ion exchange. His widely acclaimed book entitled Water purification by ion exchange was published in 1968 and remains a seminal textbook to this day. His rise to senior industrial positions was relentless and between 1952-1977 he became technical director of the Permutit Company and later, after this company was re-engineered, he became managing director of Zerolit, then a director of Portals Water Treatment. Arden retired from the board of Portals Water Treatment in 1978 and joined the Water Research Centre as head of the newly formed European Division. His role was to establish technical liaison with the European Community in water treatment and supply. He later became director of administration at the Water Research Centre, Medmenham Laboratory. In 1982, he set up a private consultancy specialising in ion exchange, water treatment and membrane processes.

In his spare time, Arden was extremely active in the show jumping community, organising events and acting as a judge at local and county shows and at the driving trials at The Equestrian Club in Windsor Park. He continued to pursue an active professional life until ill health finally slowed him down. Tom Arden was a formidable leader, a gifted teacher and researcher and will be remembered for his remarkable knowledge, thoroughness and commitment to detail.

Michael Streat, Emeritus Professor, Loughborough University; Visiting Professor, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine