Which water treatment systems require the use of ion exchange resins?

Ion exchange resins are commonly used in a variety of industries, especially chemical and petrochemical, power, mining and metals, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, municipal, semiconductor and other industries. Ion exchange resins can be an effective solution for a variety of applications, including water softening, purification, separation, polishing and pretreatment, to protect behind equipment and improve operational performance. So, which water treatment system equipment needs to use ion exchange resins?
The hardness of the treated water needs to be reduced
Hardness refers to water with a high dissolved mineral content, usually composed of calcium and magnesium ions. While the mineral content is acceptable - even preferred - for drinking water, the hardness can cause damaging scale deposits on industrial equipment, such as boilers, cooling towers, and pipes. Softened resins are effective in reducing hardness and are particularly suitable if the facility uses a low-pressure boiler.
Softening resins use strong acid cation (SAC) resins in exchange for hard ions of sodium ions. This means using a relatively safe and low-cost brine solution to regenerate the softened resin. However, in order to avoid excessive regeneration cycles and unnecessary downtime, softening resins are best suited for applications with low total dissolved solids (TDS), while other techniques, such as lime softening, are generally better suited for treating water with high hardness concentrations.
High purity water is required
Ion exchange resin demineralization and deionization produce high purity water and may be the right choice for treating high-pressure boiler feedwater or other applications within chemicals, power, electronics, nuclear or other industries. Compared to softened resins, polished resin demineralization involves a more complex multi-step process. In the first step, the flow is passed through a cation exchange resin to remove hardness, sodium and other metals, and in the second step, the flow is treated with an anion exchange resin that removes anions such as carbonates, chlorides, silica and anions. The sulfate. In some cases, a third step is added to deal with the alkalinity of the stream. Despite the additional costs associated with multi-unit systems, polished resin demineralization is often the standard to meet ultrapure water needs.
You need to remove the alkalinity
Alkalinity, or the presence of dissolved carbon dioxide (CO 2), bicarbonate (HCO 3), carbonate (CO 3), or hydroxyl group (OH) in water can negatively affect high-temperature processes, such as excess foam and residues in boilers. When alkaline pollutants react to form carbonic acid and hydroxide, they can cause costly scaling and corrosion in boilers, pipes and other equipment. Removing alkalinity can extend equipment life and save downstream operating costs, however, choosing the right resin de-alkalinity strategy can depend on factors such as target alkalinity, TDS content, and operating capacity.
Metals need to be concentrated or removed
Resin system equipment applications are commonly used to concentrate and separate metals in diluted solutions, a fact that has contributed to the growing popularity of the electronics, semiconductor, mining, and metals industries. Depending on the complexity of the process or waste stream, chelating resins can be used to efficiently separate a variety of metals, including cadmium, chromium, copper, cyanide, lead, gold, mercury, silver, and zinc. If a plant is looking for ways to recover valuable metals from the waste stream, or to meet metal discharge requirements, then chelating resins may be the ideal solution.
System equipment to improve the quality of water production
Membrane filtration can often be used to remove the same contaminants as resins, but membranes lack the selectivity of resins. Because resins can be removed for specific ions while leaving the desired substance in the solution, resin exchange may be a preferred separation strategy if you want to optimize and improve the quality of water produced. For example, in the food and beverage industry, resins can be used to remove unwanted color, taste, and odor without creating unnecessary product waste.