Sulfides are ones of the most obnoxious and troublesome contaminants of water. Potable and industrial waters have to be sulfide free. A macromolecular analogue of chloramine T was prepared and developed as the solid phase oxidising reagent for sulfide ions. The resin was prepared starting from Amberlyst 15 by the following series of reactions: chlorosulfonation, sulfonamidation and N-chlorination. The resulting copolymer which contained active chlorine in functional groups (2.15 mmol Cl*/g) was used as an efficient and regenerable agent for sulfide ion removal from solutions by their transformation to non-toxic sulfates. The experiments were carried out in static and dynamic regimes using solutions containing 64.0 or 320.0 mg S2-/dm(3). The effects of various parameters on the reaction course were studied (ratio of the reagents, alkalinity of the reaction media, flow rate in column processes). It was possible to oxidize S2- directly and quantitatively to SO42-, even in static condition, if an excess of active chlorine relative to the stoichiometry was used. In the column processes sulfide-free effluents (< 10.0 mug S2-/dm(3)) were obtained. By reacting a stoichiometric amount of reagents in batchwise conditions not only sulfate but also various intermediate products, such as elemental sulfur, polysulfide, thiosulfate and sulfite were found in solution. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.