UNDERSTANDING THE WATER

SOFTNER



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Understanding the water softener
Use of raw water will give rise to scaling and carry over in the boiler. Only treated water
should be used for makeup purposes. It is preferable to use de mineralized water for the
same. However for low pressure boilers softened water may also be used.
Water softeners are specific ion exchangers that are designed to remove ions, which are
positively charged. Softeners mainly move calcium (Ca
2+
) and magnesium (Mg
2+
) ions. A water
softener collects hardness minerals and flushes them away to drain.
Adsorption reaction takes place over the surface of resin. As the hard water pass through it,
the resin adsorbs calcium and magnesium ions and gives sodium ions which do not constitute
to hardness. The impurity is present in the form of molecules such as MgCl2, CaSO4, MgSo4
etc.
The water softener consists of a pressure vessel containing cation exchange resin. The Cation
resin has Sodium (Na+) Charge on it. The Cations in water Ca++, Mg++ pass through the resin
where they are chemically exchanged for Sodium (Na+) ion. The reaction-taking place in
softener is shown as
MgSO4 + R2Na ---> RMg + Na2SO4
CaCl2 + R2Na ---> R2Ca + NaCl
(Hardness) (Resin with sodium Charge on it) (Exhausted Resin) (Soft water)

Once the whole surface of resin gets saturated with Ca++ and Mg++ ions it has to be
regenerated with NaCl to again make it ready for softening. To regenerate the resin it is
required to pass regenerant through the resin bed.
In regeneration process, following reaction takes place
RMg++ + NaCl ---> RNa + MgCl
R Ca++ + NaCl ---> RCa + CaCl2
(Exhausted Resin) (Regenerant) (Regenerated Resin) (Waste Effluent)
Raw water should not be taken into the Boiler. Use of raw water will give rise to scaling and
carry over in the boiler. Only treated water should be used for makeup purposes. It is
preferable to use de mineralized water for the same. However for low pressure boilers
softened water may also be used. In either case, while installing the treatment plant, care
should be taken to see that adequate capacity is provided. Also adequate storage capacity for
the treated water should be planned.