Ion Exchange Process In Water Treatment

Although different water treatment products utilize this process in different ways the action itself remains the same.

Ion exchange process in water treatment.

There is no picture for this anion exchange as it is very similar to the cation exchange picture in figure 5 above. All anions are replaced by hydroxide oh ions. The ion exchange process can be used in a variety of ways when it comes to water purification and softening. Ion exchange is a method widely used in household laundry detergents and water filters to produce soft water.

At the end of the exchange process the resin beads have loaded all cations and anions from the water and released h and oh ions. Water softeners usually use sodium na as the exchange ion. Ion exchange is a water treatment process commonly used for water softening or demineralization but it also is used to remove other substances from the water in processes such as dealkalization deionization and disinfection. The process of ion exchange is one of the most utilized techniques in water and wastewater treatment as well as in separation processes as chemical synthesis medical research food processing mining agriculture etc.

Sodium ions are supplied from dissolved sodium chloride salt also called brine. Ion exchange is a process used extensively in nuclear facilities industrial processes and medical and pharmaceutical operations to control the purity and ph of water by removing undesirable ions and replacing them with acceptable ones. But what exactly is it. In the ion exchange process sodium ions are used to coat an exchange medium in the softener.

While the chemistry of individual ion exchange reactions varies from one application to the next ix is a treatment process where dissolved ions are replaced by other more desirable ions of a similar electrical charge. Ion exchange ix systems are used across a variety of industries for water softening purification and separation purposes. The exchange medium can be natural zeolites or synthetic resin beads that resemble wet sand. In the first section of the present chapter the kinetics and thermodynamics of ion exchange are presented.

Unwanted ions that are dissolved in the water are replaced with new beneficial or harmless ions of an equivalent charge. This is accomplished by exchanging calcium ca 2 and magnesium mg 2 cations against na or h cations see water softening.