The idea of a Water Softener is simple. The calcium and magnesium ions in the water are replaced with sodium ions. Since sodium does not penetrate out in pipes or react badly with soap, both of the problems of hard water are eliminated.

To do the ion replacement, the water in the house runs through a bed of small plastic beads or through a chemical matrix called Zeolite. The beads of Zeolite are covered with sodium ions. As the water flows past the sodium ions, they swap places with the calcium and magnesium ions. Eventually, the beads or Zeolite contain nothing but calcium and magnesium and no sodium, at this point they stop softening the water. It is then time to regenerate the beads of Zeolite.

Regeneration involves soaking the beads or Zeolite in a stream of sodium ions. Salt is Sodium Chloride, so the Water Softener mixes up a very strong brine solution and flushes it through the Zeolite or beads (this is why you load up a water softener with salt).

The strong brine displaces all the calcium and magnesium that has built up in the Zeolite or beads and replaces it again with sodium.

The remaining brine plus all the calcium and magnesium is flushed out through a drainpipe. Regeneration can create a lot of salty water. Something like 25 gallons (95 litres).

What is soft water

Whilst the meaning of hardness is generally understood, the term ‘soft water’ is often subject to confusion. Soft waters are those which contain less than about 20 p.p. m. Ca2+ and Mg2+, and in many areas of Great Britain, such as the hilly regions of Wales and Scotland, these soft waters have very low total dissolved solids: indeed, the total of all ions may be below 50 p.p.m. As a result, it is not uncommon to find among non-technical water users in industry, a belief that all soft water, including those artificially softened, have a low mineral content.

The misconception that ion exchange softening gives results equivalent to those of distillation is still not unknown; and it is fairly common experience for a water treatment contractor to be asked to supply a softener, when a brief study of the proposed use of water shows that complete demineralising, that is, removal of all dissolved salts, is required.

A water source may, therefore, be soft, while still containing considerable concentrations of dissolved salts.

Well waters in low-lying areas near to the sea often of this type, owing to ingress of seawater through porous rock. Waters containing a preponderance of sodium bicarbonate are also not uncommon in some countries.

Equally, a water containing low total solids consisting largely of calcium salts, which is soft by ordinary standards, will be hard from the point view of ion exchange reactions, since the cation resin on exhaustion will be almost fully loaded with calcium.

The concept of hardness should always be perceived as separate from that of total mineral content. The term ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ is used to indicate the presence or absence of calcium and magnesium ions.

Where a broad indication of total dissolved solids is required, the convenient expressions ‘thin’ and ‘thick’ waters are used to indicate values of less than 100 ppm, and greater than 300 ppm, respectively.

All waters consist of dissolved elements. A substantial percentage of those dissolved elements are usually magnesium and calcium carbonates and sulphates. The actual concentration of the salt within the water determine just how hard the water is, the higher the concentration subsequently the harder the water; the lesser their concentration therefore the softer the water. The harder the water, then the much more likely several of the salts will be precipitated once the water is warmed up or concentrated through evaporation. For instance a kettle made use of frequently to boil soft water the actual heat element typically stays clean and free of deposits. In comparison, inside a kettle made use of frequently for boiling hard water, the elements rapidly will become encrusted.

Softening involves the substitution or elimination of calcium.

If hard water needs to be softened then this can be accomplished through any kind of technique that eliminates or replaces the calcium and magnesium within the water.

Chemical Conditioning

Rather than changing or removing calcium it’s possible to render calcium much less available for development of deposits. You can do this with the addition of polyphosphates to the water.

The impact in this would be to induce water to react in ways as though it has become softened, even though water is not softened by correct definition with regard to removal or replacement of calcium. A measurement of the softening is the fact that chemically conditioned water requires a smaller amount of soap, as shown within the common soap suds test.

The polyphosphate is usually implemented into the water by installing a dispenser within the pipework; an easy way to deal with all water coming into the home. This kind of dispenser should be reloaded with polyphosphate whenever required.

Physical Conditioning

There exists a number of products in the marketplace that produce a permanent magnetic or electric field for the water to circulate through, some of these devices are designed to be plumbed in to the pipework, while some devices are non-intrusive and can be clamped on or wrapped round the pipework. The impact of the products is to physically condition water. The physical conditioning creates hardly any particular change to the chemical make up in the water and only exerts a physical impact. Because the chemical composition isn’t altered, the calcium salt continue to precipitate when water is warmed up or concentrated through evaporation. Physical conditioning may deliver some of the advantages of softening without essentially softening by removal or replacement of calcium.

Although the theoretical areas of softening and chemical conditioning are effectively understood, the technological concepts behind physical conditioning aren’t completely understood. It’s well-known that magnetic as well as electric fields make a difference in many different chemical and physical processes however it’s poorly understood exactly how such fields impact the precipitation of salts coming from solution within water.

The fundamental reason behind the term ‘resin regeneration’ is to be able to replenish spent resin back to is proper ionic form ready to be able to be put back to service. This article hopes to provide the user with knowledge about the basics of resin regeneration with regard to water softeners.

Water Softeners

Typically the ending of a softener service cycle is concluded either through a timed program operation, overall gallon throughput, or even through an excessive reading of hardness within the softener effluent. Following either one of these 2 a regeneration sequence is then carried out.

The Backwash Cycle

The backwash routine increases the resin bed out of it’s resolved and packed status, and also washes the resin through flushing away any kind of suspended solids which might have already been filtered in the course of the service run. Resin particles will work as efficient filtration media due to the fact they possess ionic charges, that can coagulate fine contaminants. In the course of the backwash, all of the resin beads rub against each other, it is this scrubbing up action helps to clear built up dirt and / or iron coming from the surface of the beads. The backwash flow furthermore gets rid of any kind of damaged resin particles and also resin fines. as well as this the backwash routine classifies the bed with the more substantial resin beads on the bottom level along with the finer resins on the top. This specific process delivers the most effective conditions to allow for an excellent uniform circulation of brine, rinse and service.

It is advisable to increase the water softener resin bed by around 50% and also to get the period of the backwash cycle prolonged enough in order to efficiently eliminate all of the resin fines as well as various other suspended solids. In ambient temperatures (about 60°F), making use of normal softening cation resin along with a flow rate of 6 gpm per square foot of surface area for a timeframe of ten to fifteen minutes will be enough. It will be extremely beneficial to seek advice from manufacturers’ document with regard to the specific resin currently being regenerated for you to discover the appropriate backwash flow rate. The backwash flow rate will be established on temperatures; less hot water swells the bed much more than hotter water.

Brine Intro

Sodium chloride is employed as the regenerant compound for transforming depleted softener resin back again to a sodium form. The resin exchanges the accumulated hardness upon the bead with the sodium ion existing within the sodium chloride. It is placed to the bed at a content level of 8-12% commonly, 10% is the optimum. A contact period of thirty minutes is suitable. The overall contact time is determined via the period the brine is released to the bed until such time as it is displaced from the bed in the course of a slow rinse. Salt dose range is 6 to 15 lb for every cubic ft.

The Slow Rinse

The slow rinse takes away from the bed the quantities of brine regenerant which still remains within the vessel
. It is the most uncontaminated brine that the resin is going to come in to contact with, therefore it is essential to not flush it out too rapidly. Throughout the slow rinse routine, the valve out of the concentrated brine is closed, and just the dilution water will be released to the bed at the dilution water flow rate. It will help when the dilution water as well as the slower rinse water are taken from a softened water source.

The Fast Rinse

The last action is to perform a fast rinse, This is performed at the service flow rate. This fast rinse phase gets rid of any kind of left over brine coming from the resin beads and assists in flushing away any kind of brine which might still be found within the dead regions within the tank. The minimum amount advised for flow rate is 1 to 1.5 gpm per cubic foot.

Twin Bed Deionisers

The regeneration associated with cation as well as anion exchange resin employed within deionisers is a far more complex procedure when compared with straight forward softening. The procedure consists of the implementation of strong acid and also caustic. It is crucial to comply with the correct safety factors with regard to dealing with these types of chemicals and the resulting waste materials.

A strong acid cation unit exchanges calcium, magnesium and sodium, etc., with its active ions, hydrogen. The strong base anion unit within a twin bed deioniser exchanges sulfate, chloride, alkalinity and silica ions with hydroxide. This process gradually decreases the concentration of obtainable active ions. The resin is regarded as depleted as soon as the active ion concentration gets to a low level.

Backwash

During the service cycle, the resin bed accumulates suspended impurities coming from water. Many of the media particles/beads may split up in to fines, and the bed will become to some degree compacted. Adding water at determined flow rates in the reverse direction to the service flow elevates the bed, which in turn loosens up and increases into the free board. This allows the suspended particles and also media fines away and out of the unit. At the very same moment, the bed will lose its compaction, decreasing the possibility of channeling, that may result in water or regenerant chemical substances to avoid some of the efficient media bed. Compaction as well as fines additionally generate extreme pressure drop.

Water of the exact same quality as the influent is brought in from the bottom part of the vessel, gathered at the top and led to drain. Correct backwash rate is very important considering that rates greater than recommended may well result in media loss, and also reduced rates might not be adequate to finish the backwash correctly. Any kind of sudden shock within the backwash cycle must be avoided, because this also might bring about media loss.

Seek advice from your resin spec sheets with regard to the correct backwash flow rate for the reason that cation and anion resin densities tend to be very different. Typically, cation backwash flow rates will be in the range of 6 gpm per square foot of surface area, and the anion backwash flow rate is usually half of that.

Regenerant Introduction

Regenerant’s of appropriate concentration are introduced straight into the tanks to reactivate the resin. The potency of dilute regenerant as well as it’s flow rate are of extreme significance. Any kind of transformation within these values in comparison to the ones specifically recommended might result in resin fouling, capacity reduction as well as quality deterioration. In certain cases, the regenerant has to be warmed up to a specific temperature in order to complete a correct elution..

If dilute sulfuric acid is made use of, the percent concentration is generally employed in a step by step fashion; for example, the very first half of the dosage is employed at 2% and the second half at 4%. The precise concentration of sulfuric applied is determined through the quantity of calcium that is actually present within the water currently being addressed throughout the service cycle. Since the resin is eliminating and concentrating calcium ions, the possibilities for the precipitation of calcium sulfate is present when the sulfuric acid is introduced.

The contact time for the acid regenerant introduction ought to be close to thirty minutes, and the flow rate will need to be roughly .5 to 1 gpm per cubic foot. (Whenever making use of sulfuric acid, it is sensible to design around the high end of the suggested regenerant flow rate.)

Displacement – Slow Rinse

The procedure of displacement of regenerant’s and the eluted ions from the resin is commenced at a gradual pace, usually at a similar flow rate as the dilute regenerant has been placed.

Fast Rinse

Following the slow rinse, resin is rinsed more, but this time at a greater flow rate. Rinsing gets rid of the excess regenerant coming from the resin. At the same time,the eluted ions will be displaced from resin bed, thus, bringing the resin back to an active useable condition.

The majority of commercial businesses are by now fully aware of the issues that can be caused by the prolonged use of hard water. Clogged pipes, premature failure of equipment that utilises hard water, damage to boilers etc. Without the installation of a water softener the resulting damage to equipment from hard water can be catastrophic.

The costs of hard water

As well is the damage to equipment. Energy costs associated with hard water can also play a part, boilers will have to work harder in order to reach maximum efficiency if clogged pipework is obstructing the water flow.The problem with using hard water that hasn’t been treated in some way is that hard water contains dissolved rock particles, the prolonged use of water containing these particles results in limescale build up that hinders your operational equipment to function incorrectly which in turn leads to higher heating costs and ultimately equipment breakdown or even complete failure.

Hard Savings with Soft Water

With the installation of a water softener the effects of hard water are eliminated. Water softeners dramatically reduce the scale build up within pipework and in doing so aid operation.

Other benefits of Water Softeners

Using soft water will save your company money. The installation of a water softener is a comparatively inexpensive procedure when compared with high heating bills. repair, upkeep and replacement of hard water damaged equipment.

Environmentally using a water softener is of significant benefit as less energy will be required to power your equipment

Installing a Softening System

In order to start the process of installing a water softener companies should initially have water analysis carried out on the quality of their existing water. Industrial water equipment are able to offer a full site survey including water testing anywhere in the UK and Ireland.

If following water testing hard water is detected then we will be able to offer advise on the best methods and equipment to suit your specific needs. Along with this we can also provide comprehensive maintenance and service plans including water filter changes and salt delivery.

The introduction of a water softener can save your company from lost hours due to breakdowns and also reduce your current energy costs – over a period of time a water softener installation will result in massive savings in operational costs to you and your business.

Mineral deposits leech from hard water at rising rates as temperatures increase. When hard water comes into contact with surfaces scale forms creating an insulating barrier that will require far more energy to heat water when within water heaters or boilers. Water hardness and the resulting scale build up can result in as much as 20% decrease in efficiency as well as reduced water flow rates leading for decreased operation performance. Independent studies reveal that appliances can last up to 30% longer when operated in conjunction with a water softener.

Whenever hard water comes into contact with cleaning chemicals a film of residue results, this is the sticky substance referred to as soap curd., it leaves a residue behind on fabrics, rings on baths and films on taps and sinks.

Both commercially and within the household the use of softened water has its benefits, the decrease in detergents costs and need to use less wash power and liquid creates less damage to the environment and will save you money. Soft water will also slow the fading of fabrics and keep white fabrics whiter for longer.

In order for a water softener to remain operational sodium chloride is required for regeneration. The use of Sodium Chloride is the basis on which Water softeners work. Sodium within the softener eliminates the hardness minerals on the resin beads. The quantity of sodium required for this procedure to take place is entirely dependant on how hard the water is that’s being treated. In most cases the level of sodium in the end product is very minimal and so doesn’t have an impact on human dietary requirements.

If you are on a sodium restricted diet and additional salt intake is a concern then it is possible to bypass your water softener in order to create a drinking water line. Another option would be to install a Reverse Osmosis point of use filtration unit that would remove all sodium and all other minerals from the water completely.

Both residential and industrial water softeners save time and money, prolong the life of your operational equipment, reduce energy costs are environmentally friendly and reduce physical cleaning efforts. If you live or own a business that operates within a hard water area then why not start saving your money and equipment and consider having a water softener installed.

Industrial Water Equipment have an area guide to hard and soft water areas within the UK.

If you were to take a look at a kettle, dishwasher or washing machine in a hard water area of the UK you will notice a crustation forming around the appliances element, this is hardwater scaling, also referred to as limescale. If left untreated this limescale will reduce the efficiency of the appliance in question and ultimately lead to breakdown.

The term ‘industrial fouling, is this very same process, only on an industrial scale. If you can imagine the vast quantities of water some companies deal with on a day to day basis and the industrial plant that utilises this water then you can begin to imagine just what catastrophic consequences hard water can have on a business.

Types of Fouling

Industrial fouling can form as a result of many different types of process, for instance mineral scale deposits can occur as a result of heat transfer, calcium phosphate scaling is usually found within sugar refineries and calcium carbonate fouling is a direct result of hard water.

What are the issues with industrial fouling

The same as on a domestic level, deposits left behind as a direct result of industrial fouling creates an insulating layer on surfaces. This can lead to power increases and the installation of more heavy duty equipment in order to compensate for the for the damaged caused by fouling. It is estimated that up to 40% more energy is required to heat water within a system that has suffered under hard water conditions.

Pipework scale decreases the accessible cross-section area, and liquids are affected by elevated pipe wall friction. A more substantial pump will end up being necessary in order to sustain throughput volumes however this is going to be a short lived resolution toward the actual situation. A plant which would need to be closed down for the purpose of cleaning would be very expensive.

Within industrial processes it is sometimes not evident that hard water scaling is occurring as closed systems could be involved. some clues can provide answers as to whether industrial fouling is taking place.

Are your heating bills reduced after plant is cleaned
Are heat exchangers performing below there design output
Is plant suffering from corrosion damage
Are there any signs of unexpected formations occurring

If you suspect that industrial fouling is taking place then with the right coarse of action it is possible to prevent your equipment from failing, reduce downtime and reduce the effects of corrosion on your plant machinery.

Solving the Problem

A site survey would be able to determine the extent of the damage and what would be the best action to take with regard to prevention and maintenance measures. It could also reveal that only minor changes are needed such as a temperature or pH change in order reduce fouling without the need for additional equipment installation.

There are many and varied choices with regard to sizing and parameters when choosing a point of entry water softener for the home. Which POE filter is ideal for your household is dependent on your family’s needs. A household with 4 children that requires softened water as well as chlorine removal will require a different water filter than a retired person seeking to eliminate limescale.

When it comes to the what size water filter would best suit there are also factors to consider. For a 5 person family using 400 gallons of water every day it would seem that a 32,000 grain softener would be the ideal choice. However in order to get that output the salt setting would have to be set up ineffectively thus making that choice softener incorrect, in order to purchase the correct water softener for your needs it would always be sensible to seek professional advise.

Regeneration

For residential use you will commonly find two types of regeneration variations – Time clock and demand initiated. The time clock water softeners are generally less effective within households and over recent years have tended to become less popular than on demand systems.

In order to install a single meter initiated residential tank water softener you will need to build in some reserve capacity. This is for the purpose of accounting for the set delayed regen time, typically 2am. With an initiated regeneration the softener may be called for a regeneration a day before it is able to actually perform the regeneration this is due to the fact that the softener capacity might be reached at 4.am but the regeneration function will actually prevent the regeneration until 2.am the next day.

The time frame for regeneration is usually set to 2.am simply because this would typically be a low usage point and would lower the usage of hard water during the regeneration time period.

Commercial Water Softeners

The reserve-capacity challenge is actually amplified whenever ascribed to industrial applications. Sporadic water usage within resorts and dinning establishments call out for the use of twin-alternating or even demand-flow methods. Incorporating a complete full day reserve to a single metered industrial water softener might call for a significant portion of the obtainable capability of the water meter. The huge reserve capacity may well end up in everyday regenerations except if the product is significantly large.

Oversized water softeners may well seem like a nice choice, however it may cause channeling as well as additional performance problems. In order to reduce channeling, size any system to flow at the very least 3 gal per minute per sq ft of bed area. This will be roughly 2.3 gal per min for a 12-in.-diameter mineral tank. A 10-cu-ft system employing a 24-in.-diameter mineral tank will have to flow at a minimum amount of around 10 gal per minute in order to limit channeling problems. The average household application usually contains a flow requirement within the 2 to 5 gallon spectrum. This is the reason why an oversized household system will probably endure by efficiency issues because of channeling. A water softener system which is channeling because of low flow rates will commonly be challenging to detect hard water issues simply because it may run out of soft water before the calculated gallon figure is obtained.

Optimum water softener flow rates ought to not surpass 15 gal per min per sq ft of bed area. Within a 9-in.-diameter tank, that is about 6.5 gal per minute and almost 12 gal per min for a 12-in.-diameter mineral tank. Increased flow rates result in an elevated pressure drop, reduced capacity and may also affect the actual resin.

Undersized water softeners are ineffective, operate the actual parts tougher, increase pressure drop plus may most likely fail far sooner. Oversized water softeners are usually wasteful as well as ineffective. Correctly sized water softener systems, particularly single tanks having adaptable reserve capability, twin-alternating or perhaps demand-flow devices, provide the most effective capacity as well as efficiency abilities.

Twin-alternating water softeners in theory regenerate whenever the total capacity associated with a single tank is depleted, instantly sending the stand by tank straight into service. Twin-alternating units are perfect for the majority of applications, particularly those with higher or changing capacity requirements. Momentary pressure drop because of regeneration water demand may lead.

Demand-flow devices get tanks on-line dependent upon changing water flow requirements. A bank involving four units will normally bring one, two or even three units into service when flow requirements necessitate, with a single tank kept in regeneration or standby. These types of water softeners are advantageous with regard to sporadic flow purposes like hotels. make sure that you base your sizing on capability and not on pipe size, It is not uncommon , to implement a water softener system with a 3-in. controller for an application using a 2-in. water pipe.

Brine tanks tend to be sized for lower salt configurations. Make certain the salt and brine capabilities are satisfactory with regard to the regeneration levels needed. Several variables will have to be thought about whenever sizing a POE conditioner or purification system. Seek out instruction when necessary.

Clogging

Suitable brine concentration is really a function of several elements which range from the injector size, flow pressure, brine concentration as well as injector proficiency. Look for a salt bridge where salt attaches on the sides within the brine tank and stops contact of the salt with the water. Always check the brine concentration levels, ideally with a salinometer. Most people make a 26% brine solution, commonly weaken this to almost 10 or 12% using the injector and subsequently transfer this solution evenly through the resin bed at an ideal rate. The draw rate can differ broadly subject to salt dose as well as other elements, however in general, you ought to anticipate to eliminate the brine from your brine tank in roughly ten to fifteen min’s. All this is nice, however has little related to hard water issues. In fact an unproductive or simply badly set up injection system can nonetheless generate soft water. The ability will never be excellent, but when you accomplish contact in between the concentrated brine solution and resin, an ion exchange procedure will take place. In depth brine injection effectiveness will be most critical whenever focusing on capacity or hardness seepage problems.

The injector features a number of elements that function to produce vacuum pressure and pull the brine solution through the brine tank. The fairly minor opening from the injector practically promotes constricting. Inadequate brine draw is usually brought on by simple clogging from the assembly. Washing or even exchanging the injector might be the only thing that is required. It is very important exchange or clean up not just the injector, but additionally the connected parts as well as surrounding areas to ensure the reason for the actual clog is taken out. In the event that you’ve still got poor brine draw, look at flow restriction within the draining line. A partly limited drain line flow may prevent suitable suction.

The Resin Bed

An even more complicated symptom to identify is a deteriorated resin bed. You have to actually core sample the particular resin to discover the condition. Checking the resin, you might find the top portion of the resin bed is soft or mushy. In the event the resin is not in very good state, back pressure within the damaged resin bed can reduce the right injector functioning. This could additionally result in channeling from the regenerant and/or service flow causing poor brine contact. That, naturally, leads to bad capacity as well as weak soft water outcomes. A poor resin bed may result in salt pockets which don’t rinse effectively, leading to intermittent salty water to service. Don’t try and change just the top part of the resin that seems to be creating the issue.

Whenever within the brine and rinse cycle, there must be a powerful suction at the brine pick-up pipe. When you’ve got great suction power at the injector, however are not really pulling from the brine tank, you’ll need to examine the brine pick-up and also float devices. Do not invest a lot of time for this examination. These are generally beneficial components to switch as a question of preventive routine service. Brine draw relies upon on the valve delivering water through the inner porting effectively. Therefore you would need to renovate the controller’s inner parts in order to repair the problem. Once again, these kinds of components are preventive routine maintenance products and ought to be exchanged if uncertain.

Ion exchange is completely influenced by the brine solution make contact with the resin. In the event the brine is drawn in to the mineral tank yet doesn’t go through the resin bed, you’ll still get hard water. Verify this starting with confirming you’ve got a strong brine solution within the salt tank. Place the system in to the brine and rinse cycle and make sure the brine has been extracted from the brine tank. Proceed towards the draining line and taste the water from the draining line. Inside a properly working system, you’ll initially taste fairly freshwater within the drain. This is actually the displaced water from your mineral tank.

After that, you ought to taste a highly bitter solution. This indicates the hardness minerals are now being pushed from the system. When the majority of the hardness is stripped away from the resin, you ought to detect a salty taste that develops when brine solution will no longer have a substantial quantity of hardness to eliminate. If after roughly 5 mins you discover the water towards the draining line is salty, close the system straight down and examine the riser pipe link. You will need to change all connected seals and also the distributor set up. When the link involving the bottom of the controller and also the distributor pipe isn’t appropriately sealed, the brine water may go into the mineral tank and invariably, follow the route of minimum resistance. This path will bypass the actual resin bed, leading immediately back again through the controller and drain line.

Resin-to-Service

Resin-to-service is frequently observed any time strainers in your home start to clog, or even you might find resin beads within the toilet tank. If the system is shedding media to service, examine to notice if they’re entire beads or small particles. When the loss is of complete resin beads, it is easy to expect locating the issue inside the distributor system. You should carry filled point-of-entry products in a straight position. Placing it horizontally position will set the load from the media throughout the length of the distributor pipe. This may flex and also pull the pipe from the proper placement within the bottom part of the valve. If set back again to vertical, this pipe could destroy the seal in the underside of the controller allowing it to not lay back again within the the right position in the bottom of the mineral tank. If you have a gravel base, the rock might slip underneath the screen of the misshapen distributor tube. Whenever positioned vertical, the screen is going to rest greater than intended—on the gravel as opposed to the underside of the tank. That fundamentally can make the pipe too long and may allow it to jam to the base of the controller. This may lead to a distributor malfunction with the continuous pressure exerted around the pipe and screen brought on by the reduced region attainable.

Hard Water

Hard water is found throughout the world & exists whenever water comes on contact with rocks that contain magnesium, calcium or a mixture of both if these.

The harder the water the more detrimental effects it will have on domestic and industrial pipework and water utilising equipment. Within the home the effects of hard water will be most apparent on sinks and baths and also laundry. It is important to note that even moderately hard water areas can still suffer these issues.

How Does A Water Softener Work?

All water softeners operate on a principle know as ion exchange, this process is where charged particles of magnesium and calcium are exchanged for sodium. This exchange takes place when the water passes over resin beads located within the water softener. Sodium does not contribute to water hardness levels, as such water that has passed through a water softener and an exchange has taken place is considered to be soft.

Regenerants

Compacted potassium chloride started off as the healthier solution to salt and within the last 10 decades has grow to be a practical water product established on it’s individual capabilities. A considerable advantage to potassium chloride is actually the affect on salt within drinking water. Scientific studies have discovered that not only can water softened with potassium chloride not create sodium to drinking water but can eliminate upwards of 92 % of the current sodium content within softened water.

An additional bonus of potassium chloride is undoubtedly it’s environmentally friendly affect. Some countries are performing research into the levels of sodium that are being discharged to drain. Potassium chloride is typically extremely pure, generally more than ninety nine percent potassium chloride. The colour will range from light red to white coloured however it is commonly white in colour and is a compacted cube in consistency.

Compacted evaporated sodium is the finest salt that could be employed within a water softener. This particular product typically is constructed of salt compacted from evaporated sodium of 99.8 % purity or even greater. This evaporation procedure guarantees that the sodium is clean and more pure when compared with salt coming from any kind of alternative salt manufacturing method. The clean product will be essential whenever contemplating long-term functioning of the water softener. It is well-known that because a water softener matures, salt condition may significantly have an effect on the proficiency and functionality regarding the water softener.

The 2 popular types of compacted evaporated salt are pellets and cubes. The pellets are usually oval shaped and cubes are usually randomly sized fragments coming from a compacted sheet of salt. Each may incorporate iron removing agents as well as resin cleaning agents in order to extend water softener lifespan. In contrast to rock and solar salt, evaporated salt attributes a lesser number of impurities.

Extra coarse solar salt is created as the end result of sunlight evaporation of ponds that contain weak brine solutions coming from either sea or substantial saline wetlands like the Great Salt Lake in America. Over a period of time water is evaporated from the brine, creating salt crystals from the solution. Dependent on the environment situations, the crystals differ in dimensions going from huge to extremely compact. The smaller particles generally tend to be taken back to the brine origin, and the more significant crystals reduced to less significant material. A part of solar salt which has been identified to become the most effective crystal size with regard to your typical water softener is processed from the salt. Solar salt is a clean salt, frequently attaining purities of evaporated salt, however is created through open evaporation and can possess deposits from this method often in or on the salt crystals. Grime as well as organic matter coming from the solar lake wherever the salt has been gathered might be enclosed inside of the salt crystal or even on the surface layer. The purity of solar salt is typically over 99. %, and the colour is normally white.

Rock salt is one of the original varieties of salt produced for water softeners. It provides the appeal of remaining much less pricey as well as conveniently accessible. Rock salt is developed in a particle size which functions very well inside a water softener however has very little refining following its removal from the salt strata. The consequence of the minimal refining is actually a item of which higher quantities of insoluble material are found. This insoluble substance can deposit within the salt storage tank in the actual water softener, that will probably necessitate much more regular cleansing of the water softener. Though the actual quantity of insoluble substance may differ, it may be as substantial as 5 % in several areas. Commonly, there will be in between 1 and 2 percent insoluble materials within the majority of water-conditioning rock salt in the marketplace. Having 2 % insolubles within salt, the typical household of 4 using a timer variety water softener might discover as much as twenty lbs of insoluble matter within their softener a year. Rock salt is around 98.5 % sodium chloride and 1.5 % insoluble content. The actual colour of the salt is white along with either dark or bright insoluble matter.

Optically categorised rock salt has been accessible within selected areas for many years. Optically categorised rock salt has the darker impurities taken out from the rock salt in the course of refinement by an optical sorter. This procedure washes the sodium removing dark-coloured insoluble product and elevates the purity by about 1 %. This procedure will get rid of as much as 80 % of the insoluble material. The final results of optically sorting are extremely dramatic and will be able to minimise the insoluble levels within the rock salt to equality with solar salt. Typical purity of optically classified rock salt is 99.5 % with a significantly brighter presence as compared to regular rock salt.

Issues of using salt within a Water Softener

The usage of water softener regenerants calls for a stability of the qualities most essential to the customer. The actual usage of salt is placed under a lot more scrutiny through environment agencies, however making use of competent water softeners as well as resins can simply manage issues. The following years will certainly call for realignment of consumers’ perceptions towards the particular form of water softener put to use as well as what salt is put within the water softener. All the financial aspects as well as strengths regarding soft water, particularly within severe hard water areas, determine that all these judgements will probably reward all customers in the long term.

Scale can be described as a covering transferred onto areas which have been in contact with hard water. Water consisting of carbonates and / or bicarbonates of calcium mineral or magnesium mineral in particular is prone to result in scale. Whenever water is heated up and / or maybe evaporation arises or perhaps if you have a general change in water pressure, scale mineral deposits precipitate levels of remains within plumbing, water heating units, fixtures and even glass wares. Whilst most familiar scale is a consequence of calcium mineral carbonate, various other permutations of ions frequently within water provide an assortment of scale. Some of these elements include things like calcium mineral bicarbonate, calcium sulfate, calcium chloride, magnesium carbonate, magnesium bicarbonate, magnesium mineral sulfate and magnesium mineral chloride.

Scale can be noticed as white marks which accumulate within taps, water pipework, fixtures as well as heating system components. Scale development generally is difficult to thoroughly clean. Scale formation may appear upon almost any surface area in contact with water, if the water contains some content material associated with scale-forming. With a vast majority of the uk’s water supply considered to be hard, this difficulty is prevalent. Enormous amounts of money is lost in business and industry each and every year because of scale accumulation. Scale development will certainly result in rust within plumbing as well as appliances, down time and also high maintenance costs. Only a 1 / 4 ” of scale accumulation can raise heating system expenses by as much as 40 %.

Scale Formation

Primarily, scale forms through calcium mineral carbonate. It’s composition is made up of microscopic crystals. The most commonplace variety of crystalline calcium carbonate is referred to as calcite. Calcite starts development whenever a dynamic often called supersaturation takes place. Supersaturation can be created by imagining sugar within a cup of drinking water. Whenever sugar is placed in to a glass of water, the sugar dissolves. Nevertheless, sugar is going to dissolve only up to a stage in which the water attained a highest possible saturation, at this particular phase, sugar will stay within it’s solid structure.

The particular level in which a solid can no longer dissolve is known as the level of supersaturation. When calcium mineral carbonate gets to this level of supersaturation it starts to alter from it’s dissolved form toward a solid form. This can easily arise even in entire submersion.

Typically the rate of development of calcite will be affected by numerous variables like heat and evaporation. Those variables definitely account for faster scale development within hot water plumbing, water heating elements as well as areas like kitchen sinks, counter tops and pots and pans.

Treatment Technologies for Scale Formation

A number of technologies have already been made use of effectively over the previous years to battle the influences of hard water.

Water Softeners

Water softening through ion exchange eliminates water hardness cations of calcium mineral and magnesium mineral ions and switches them, typically with sodium chloride.

Reverse Osmosis

Reverse osmosis will get rid of around 95 % of dissolved solids within water. Water pressure towards a reverse osmosis membrane forces water molecules through a semipermeable membrane layer, however the more substantial contaminant molecules as well as microorganisms are retained and flushed out of the RO Filter to drain.

Polyphosphates

Polyphosphates are made use of as a sequestering agent in order to handle iron and hardness as well as a coating agent to help manage corrosion simply by the formation of a thin film upon metal surfaces, binding calcium mineral and magnesium mineral within solution in which they are much less probable to leech out to create scale.

Industrial Water Equipment have a vast library of information on the most popular water treatment processes.

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