Expanded-bed adsorption (EBA) is an efficient downstream technology that enhances the techno-economic potential of bio-based industries. However, application of EBA for bulk biochemicals requires the use of industrial resins. Therefore, two cation exchangers, namely, gel-type CS16GC and porous IRC747, were tested to purify gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from unclarified E. coli fermentation broth. Experiments compared the impact of gel-type and macroporous resin properties on the EBA process performance. As an outcome, the gel-type resin exhibited higher GABA binding capacity of compared to that of macroporous resin. This was due to improved hydrodynamics and uniform flow distribution in the case of gel-type resin. Further, CS16GC effectively removed >= 99 % of impurities and achieved >= 97 % GABA yield.