What is Hard Water?

The original source of all the water we use is rain which is itself soft. However, once the rain falls to earth it runs through the rock strain and dissolves from it metal salts such as those of Calcium and Magnesium. In many areas of Britain the water coming from the mains or a borehole is a solution of these salts. This is called HARD WATER because of the hard deposits caused in water systems when the salts come back out of solution like a rock turning back to rock.

The Solution = A Water Softener

How do Water Softeners work?

Water softeners work by a process know as ion exchange. The hard water passes through a high quality cation exchange resin column inside a pressure vessel. The resin removes the positively charged Calcium and Magnesium ions from solution and exchanges them for the ions of Sodium, When the resin becomes exhausted it is regenerated by drawing a solution of common salt called brine through the column. During regeneration the hard metal ions are then released from the resin and replaced again with those of Sodium from the brine. The unwanted ions are flushed to drain along with the excess brine. Regeneration takes between 60 to 180 minutes depending on the size of the softener.
Softeners are used in a variety of industries, typical examples are glass washing, boiler feed, cooling towers, chillers and protecting industrial equipment.

Which one is right for me?

There are two main types of water softener in the water treatment industry a Simplex water softener and a Duplex water softener.

Simplex Water Softening Plant

A simplex water softener has to regenerate every so often depending on flow rate and usage. They are best suited to consistent demand applications of moderate total water consumption. Regeneration is controlled by the multiport valve head assembly. Time clock and delayed regeneration meter controlled softeners are normally programmed to regenerate at 2.00am or at a convenient period of low water usage. Immediate regeneration meter controlled softeners regenerate the resin column as soon as the water meter zeros out. During regeneration the single column control valves will bypass hard water to service unless a bypass closedown facility is specified. Generally simplex softeners will need to be sized to give at least one days softened water output before regeneration.

Duplex Water Softening Plant

A duplex water softener supplies a constant supply of softened water this is essential for companies who need to run their plant 24 hours. Duplex systems use two resin columns, one in service, the second on standby. The water flow to service is metered and when the service column is exhausted, the control valve automatically switches back to the first column again. Duplex softeners are normally sized to give one regeneration per column per day, but each column can be regenerated more frequently if required. Parallel run systems with both vessels on line at the same time are available.

Valve Size

Control valve sizes are specified according to the flow rate required of the water softening system, within the exchange capacity limits of the softening resin. Pipe connection sizes range from ¾” to 2” for standard directly connected control valves with flow rates up to 18m3/hr.

Capacity

The capacity of particular softener is a function of the amount of resin in the column, the hardness of the water supply and the amount of salt used at each regeneration. It is more effective to regenerate frequently with a minimal amount of salt.

Interested?

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