Department of Civil Engineering-I.I.T.

Delhi
CEL 212: Environmental Engineering
Second Semester 2012-13
Solution: Ion Exchange and Softening

++++++++Example Questions++++++++

Answer 1:
Non-carbonate hardness (NCH) to be left=80 mg/L-35 mg/L= 45 mg/L
Removal of Non-carbonate hardness=NCH in raw water- NCH in treated water
=92-45 mg/L=47 mg/L

For the lime process, lime is required for CO2 reaction, carbonate hardness and magnesium.

Moles of Mg2+ present = 15mg/L/ (24 ×1000 mg/mole) =6.25×10-4 moles/L.

As 1 mole of Mg2+ consumes 2 moles of bicarbonate, so 6.25×10-4 moles/ Mg2+ consumes 12.4×10-4
moles/L bicarbonate (i.e., 75.64 mg/L bicarbonate ions).

Alkalinity present =68 mg/L as CaCO3

Initial Amount of CaO Sludge produced Reason

amount required (mg/L)
(mg/L)
CO2 3 =(56/44)×(3) CaCO3 produced 1 mole of CO2 requires 1
=3.82 =(100/44)×(3) mole of CaO and produces
=6.82 mg/L 1 mole of CaCO3 (i.e., 44
mg/L CO2 reacts with 56
mg/L CaO)
Mg2+ 15 mg/L =(56/24)×(15) Mg(OH)2 produced= 1 mole of Mg2+ requires 1
=35 =(58/24)×(15) mole of CaO and produces
=36.25 mg/L 1 mole of Mg(OH)2 and 1
mole of CaCO3 (i.e.,24
Ca(CO3) mg/L Mg reacts with 56
produced= mg/L CaO)
=(100/24)×(15)
=62.5 mg/L
Alkalinity 68 mg/L as =(56/100)×(68) Assume all to be carbonate
CaCO3 =38.08 alkalinity;

1 mole of CaCO3 requires

1 mole of CaO (i.e., 44
mg/L CO2 reacts with 100
mg/L CaO)
Total Lime=3.82+35+3 Sludge as Mg(OH)2=
8.08 mg/L 36.25 mg/L

Sludge as
CaCO3=62.5+6.28=68.78
mg/L
Total lime required = 3.82+35+38.08=76.9 mg/L

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As one mole of CaO results in formation of one mole of calcium hydroxide [Ca (OH) 2]

Amount of hydrated lime required = (74 g Ca(OH)2/mole)/(56 g/mole)×(76.9 mg/L)
=101.6 mg/L (answer)

Now calculate amount of lime required

= (101.6 mg/L) × (volume of water treated in liters/day)/ (0.85) = X Kg/day
Cost of using lime everyday
= (X Kg/day) × (cost as Y Rs/Kg lime) = Z Rs/day

Hint Q3:
Hardness removal required
= hardness in raw water-hardness desired in treated water = 400-50 = 350 mg/L (or say X meq/L)
(Note: this info can be given in terms of water quality ion concentrations; then you need to find total of
hardness either in terms of mass or in terms of milli-equivalents removal required).

Volume of water treated per day =25000 liters/h × 24h/day=600000liters/day

Mass of Hardness removal required = (350mg/L×10-6 Kg/mg) × (600000liters/day)

=210 Kg/day (or X meq/L×600000liters/day=600000X meq/day)

Ion exchange capacity of zeolite = 10 Kg hardness/m3 of zeolite

Volume of zeolite everyday for desired water quality = (210 Kg/day)/ (10 Kg/m3 zeolite)
=21 m3/day

Volume of NaCl required for regeneration

= (21 m3/day) × (50Kg/m3 resin)/ (0.1) = 10500 Kg/day

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 ++++++++HW questions
Q1. Draw schematic of a point-of-use system (POU) consisting of activated carbon-based adsorber, UV radiation
unit and filtration unit (in correct order) for producing potable water. Why? [3 points]

Q2. For a single-stage softening, following water (see characteristics below) is softening using the Lime-soda ash
process (pH =9). No magnesium removal is required here. [5+10 =15 points]
Species Concentrations (milli-equivalents/L)
Carbon dioxide 1.0
Ca2+ 4.0
Mg2+ 2.0
Na+ 3.0
HCO3- 2.5
SO42- 5.0
Answer the following:
(i) Write balanced equations for removing CO2, calcium bicarbonate and calcium sulfate using the Lime-soda
process.
(ii) Calculate amount of CaO and Na2CO3 required? (unit: milli-equivalents/L)? For a flow of 10,000 m3/day,
calculate the daily chemical requirement and the mass of solids produced? Assume that the lime used is
90% pure and the soda ash is 80% pure.
Hint: See lecture notes

Q3. The AXX well water has bicarbonate hardness equal to 100 mg/L as CaCO3. Calculate amounts of lime and
soda ash required during the lime-soda ash process (Given: Daily flow rate: 10,000 m3/day). [10 points]

Q4. Look at the following water quality data. Say one needs to treat this water using ion-exchange process
(capacity: 90 Kg hardness/m3 material at 0.4m/minute flow rate). For this material, regeneration is conducted using
10% NaCl solution which requires 100 Kg sodium chloride/m3 resin. Answer the following: [7+3=10 points]
(i) Calculate mass of resin required and chemical required for regeneration process?
(ii) Can I use this ion-exchanger for removing anions from water? Provide reasons.
Species Free CO2 Ca2+ Mg2+ Na+ HCO3- SO42-
Conc. (mequiv/L) 1.0 4.0 1.0 2.0 2.5 4.5

Q5. Calculate the amount of lime-soda ash required for treating 1 MLD of water? How much solid waste is
produced from this process? [5+5 =10 points]
Free carbon dioxide 3 mg/L Mg2+ 18 mg/L
2+
Ca 44 mg/L Na+ 16 mg/L
-
Alkalinity (HCO3 ) 122 mg/L
Purity in lime 85% Purity in Soda 100%
Hint:
Here Soda is NaOH. Soda will be used to react with CO2, alkalinity, magnesium and calcium. Sodium
will not contribute to soda requirement.
CO2+ NaOH  Na2CO3 + H2O
Ca (HCO3)2 + 2NaOH  CaCO3 (s) +Na2CO3 + 2H2O
Mg (HCO3)2 + 4NaOH  Mg (OH) 2(s) +2Na2CO3 + 2H2O

Q6. Calculate daily lime-soda ash requirement during softening of water (100 mg/L carbonate hardness (as CaCO3)
and 100 mg/L MgSO4) (Given: Daily water production: 1000 m3/day; lime is 90% pure and soda ash is 80% pure).

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Q7. Draw a typical breakthrough curve for ion-exchanger unit and show different parameters on this curve.
Discuss its importance in deciding regeneration frequency of an ion-exchanger unit. [2+2+6= 10 points]
answer:

Q8. Excess sodium intake can results in high blood pressure and inner ear problems for some people. The
regulatory body recommends maximum allowable concentration to be 20 mg/L sodium in drinking water. Now
sodium ions are used in ion exchange process. For reducing hardness from 6 to 1.5 meq/L in water, how much
sodium ion is produced (mg/L) and if it poses any health risk based on given maximum concentration guideline.

answer:
Reduction in hardness value = 6-1.5 meq/L =4.5 meq/L (during the ion exchange process).
Sodium ions produced during hardness reduction = 4.5 meq/L
Concentration of sodium ions produced = 4.5 × (0.001) × (23g/mole/1)=0.1035 g/L= 103.5 mg/L
As regulatory body recommends maximum allowable concentration to be 20 mg/L sodium in drinking water, concentration of
sodium ions produced during the ion exchange process violates this requirement and thus this process poses health risk.