BACKGROUND: In this study, equilibrium and kinetic data of the ion exchange of sodium from glycerol-water mixtures on the strong acid resin Amberlite-252 were obtained. Basic parameters for the design of ion exchange units for the purification of the crude glycerol phase from biodiesel production have been determined. RESULTS: Equilibrium uptake of sodium ions with the strong acid ion exchanger Amberlite-252 was studied at three temperatures. The Langmuir equation and the mass action law model were used to fit the experimental equilibrium data. Equilibrium constants and thermodynamic parameters were obtained at each temperature. Kinetic experiments were carried out to evaluate the effective diffusion coefficients of sodium on the resin Amberlite-252 in glycerine-water media. CONCLUSIONS: Equilibrium results indicate that this process is favourable and also that its selectivity decreases with temperature increase from 303 to 333 K. Both models were able to fit the experimental equilibrium data. Kinetic experiments showed that the rate of mass transfer in this binary system is high. An Arrhenius type equation allowed the correlation of effective diffusion coefficients and temperature. The results indicate that the macroporous resin Amberlite-252 could be useful for removal of sodium ions from glycerine/water solutions with a high salt concentration. (C) 2008 Society of Chemical Industry