Copper-coated macroreticular resin was investigated as a possible replacement for heavy metal particles normally used as fluidized bed electrode. In view of the energy consumption for fluidization, the use of lighter particles may result in substantial saving of the energy for pumping. A voltage just below that of hydrogen evolution in the stationary bed was selected as the reference voltage and the corresponding currents in the fluidized bed were obtained to correlate them as functions of the bed porosity, particle diameter and concentration of copper solution. With these correlations for copper-coated resin and copper particles, pressure drop data were incorporated into the cost function which compares the performances of the two systems. Using a model process that reduces copper concentration to a certain preassigned value, two particle systems were examined. As a result, it has been found that the ratio of capital cost coefficient to that of pumping cost is an important parameter in determining the advantages between the two systems. In other words, the lower the ratio becomes, the more effective the copper-coated resin system.