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LimeSodaAshSoftening
Chemicalprecipitationisoneofthemorecommonmethodsusedtosoftenwater.Chemicalsnormallyusedarelime(calciumhydroxide,Ca(OH)2)
andsodaash(sodiumcarbonate,Na2CO3).Limeisusedtoremovechemicalsthatcausecarbonatehardness.Sodaashisusedtoremovechemicals
thatcausenoncarbonatehardness.
Whenlimeandsodaashareadded,hardnesscausingmineralsformnearlyinsolubleprecipitates.Calciumhardnessisprecipitatedascalcium
carbonate(CaCO3).Magnesiumhardnessisprecipitatedasmagnesiumhydroxide(Mg(OH)2).Theseprecipitatesarethenremovedbyconventional
processesofcoagulation/flocculation,sedimentation,andfiltration.Becauseprecipitatesareveryslightlysoluble,somehardnessremainsinthe
waterusuallyabout50to85mg/l(asCaCO3).Thishardnesslevelisdesirabletopreventcorrosionproblemsassociatedwithwaterbeingtoosoft
andhavinglittleornohardness.
CO2doesnotcontributetothehardness,butitreactswiththelime,andthereforeusesupsomelimebeforethelimecanstartremovingthehardness.
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CO2=carbondioxide,Ca(OH)2=calciumhydroxideorhydratedlime,CaCO3=calciumcarbonate,Ca(HCO3)2=calciumbicarbonate,
Mg(HCO3)2=magnesiumbicarbonate,MgCO3=magnesiumcarbonate,Mg(OH)2=magnesiumhydroxide,MgSO4=magnesiumsulfate,CaSO4=
calciumsulfate,H20water.Na2CO3=sodiumcarbonateorsodaash
Foreachmoleculeofcalciumbicarbonatehardnessremoved,onemoleculeoflimeisused.Foreachmoleculeofmagnesiumbicarbonatehardness
removed,twomoleculesoflimeareused.Foreachmoleculeofnoncarbonatecalciumhardnessremoved,onemoleculeofsodaashisused.Foreach
moleculeofnoncarbonatemagnesiumhardnessremovedonemoleculeoflimeplusonemoleculeofsodaashisused.
CONVENTIONALLIMESODAASHTREATMENT
Whenwaterhasminimalmagnesiumhardness,onlycalciumneedstoberemoved.OnlyenoughlimeandsodaashareaddedtowatertoraisepHto
between10.3and10.6,andcalciumhardnesswillberemovedfromthewater(butminimalmagnesiumhardnesswillberemoved).
EXCESSLIMETREATMENT
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Whenmagnesiumhardnessismorethanabout40mg/lasCaCO3,magnesiumhydroxidescaledepositsinhouseholdhotwaterheatersoperatedat
normaltemperaturesof140to150F.Toreducemagnesiumhardness,morelimemustbeaddedtothewater.ExtralimewillraisepHabove10.6to
helpmagnesiumhydroxideprecipitateoutofthewater.
SPLITTREATMENT
Whenwatercontainshighamountsofmagnesiumhardness,splittreatmentmaybeused.Approximately80percentofthewateristreatedwithexcess
limetoremovemagnesiumatapHabove11,afterwhichitisblendedwith20percentofthesourcewater.Splittreatmentcanreducetheamountof
carbondioxiderequiredtorecarbonatethewateraswellasofferasavingsinlimefeed.
Sincethefractionofthewaterthatistreatedcontainsanexcesslimedose,magnesiumisalmostcompletelyremovedfromthisportion.Whenthis
waterismixedwiththewaterthatdoesnotundergosoftening,thecarbondioxideandbicarbonateinthatwaterrecarbonatesthefinalblend.Split
treatmentreducestheamountofchemicalneededtoremovehardnessfromwaterby20to25percent(asignificantsavings).
DESIGNCONSIDERATIONS
Inlimesodaashsofteningplants,thesofteningprocessmaybecarriedoutbyasequenceofrapidmix,flocculation,andsedimentationorinasolids
contactor.Inthesolidscontactortherapidmix,flocculation,andsedimentationoccurinasingleunit.Theprocessbeginswiththemixingofthe
chemicalsintothewater,followedbyviolentagitation,termedrapidmixing.Thisallowschemicalstoreactwith,andprecipitatecalciumor
magnesiumhardnessinthewater.
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Flocculationallowsflocstocontactotherflocsandgrowlargeenoughtosettleinthesedimentationstage.Waterismixedgentlywithasmallamount
ofenergy.Mostflocculatorsarecompartmentalized,allowingforataperedmix,solessenergymustappliedastheflocsgrowinsize.
Detentiontimeintheflocculatorisimportanttoallowparticlestocomeincontactwitheachother.Theminimumtimerecommendedis30minutes
forconventionalwatersoftening.
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Sludgereturnedtotheheadoftheflocculatorreducestheamountofchemicalneededandprovidesseedflocsfortheprecipitation.Theestimated
returnsludgeis10to25percentofthesourcewater.
Sedimentationfollowsflocculation.Settlingratesforthesetanksareafunctionofparticlesizeanddensity.Detentiontimesinthesettlingbasins
rangefrom1.5hoursto3.0hours,andtheycanberectangular,square,orcircular(somedesignsincorporateinclinedtubesettlers).
Sedimentationcanalsooccurinthesolidscontactunit,inwhichthewaterismixedwithchemicalsandflocculatedinthecenterofthebasin,then
forceddownandtrappedforremovalinasludgeblanketinthebottomofthetank.
SludgeRemoval
Residue created from limesoda ash softening is normally very high in calcium carbonate or a mixture of calcium carbonate, and magnesium
hydroxide. Calcium carbonate sludges are normally dense, stable inert, and dewater readily. Solids content in the sludge range from 5 to 30 total
solidswithapHgreaterthan10.5.
Limesodaashsludgesmaybetreatedwithlagooning,vacuumfiltration,centrifugation,pressurefiltration,recalcination,orlandapplication.The
mostcommonmethodisstorageofsludgeinlagoonsandapplicationtofarmlandorlandfillsdisposal.
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Calculations
Thereare two methods for calculating lime and soda ash dosages (conventional dosage method and conversion factor method). The conventional
method,althoughmuchlonger,ishelpfulinunderstandingthechemicalandmathematicalrelationshipsinvolvedinsoftening.Theconversionfactor
methodissimpler,quicker,andmorepracticalfordailyoperations.
In both calculation methods, lime and soda ash dosages depends on carbonate and noncarbonate hardness in the water. Lime is used to remove
carbonateharness,andbothlimeandsodaashareusedtoremovenoncarbonatehardness.Iftotalhardnessislessthanorequaltototalalkalinity,
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there is no noncarbonate hardness (only carbonate hardness). If total hardness is greater than total alkalinity, noncarbonate hardness equals the
differencebetweentotalhardnessandtotalalkalinity(andcarbonatehardnessequalstotalalkalinity).
Iftotalhardnessisequaltoorlessthantotalalkalinity,then:
LimeDosage=thecarbondioxideconcentration[CO2]+thetotalhardnessconcentration
[TotalHardness]+themagnesiumconcentration[Mg]+[Excess]
Optimumchemicaldosagescanbeevaluatedwithajartest.
Alkalinity(mg/lasCaCO3)isthecapacityofwatertoneutralizeacids.Thisisdeterminedbythecontentofcarbonate,bicarbonateandhydroxide.
AlkalinityisameasureofhowmuchacidcanbeaddedtoaliquidwithoutcausinganysignificantchangeinpH.
WhenpHislessthan8.3,allalkalinityisinthebicarbonateformandiscommonlyreferredtoasnaturalalkalinity.WhenpHisabove8.3,alkalinity
mayconsistofbicarbonate,carbonate,andhydroxide.AspHincreasesthealkalinityprogressivelyshiftstocarbonateandhydroxideforms.Total
alkalinityisthesumofbicarbonate,carbonate,andhydroxidealkalinity.Variouschemicalseffectwaterdifferently:
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Ifhydratedlime(CaOH)isusedinplaceofquicklime,themolecularweightofquicklimeof56shouldbereplacedwiththeweightofhydratedlime
(74).
Whentreatingwaterthatcontainsnoncarbonatehardness,sodaashisrequired.Theamountofsodaashcanbeestimatedbyusingthefollowing
formula:
SodaAsh(NaCO3)mg/l=mg/lNonCarbonateHardnessasCaCO3xNa2CO3/CaCO3
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=mg/lNonCarbonateHardnessasCaCO3x106/100
=mg/lNonCarbonateHardnessasCaCO3x1.06
Aftersoftening,pHofthewaterisgenerallyabove10.IfleftatthispH,waterwillplatefiltersandandcauseproblemsinthedistributionsystem.
Carbondioxide(throughrecarbonation),isaddedtolowerthepH.Theamountofcarbondioxide(CO2)requiredcanbeestimated:
ConversionMethod
Equivalentweightconversionsrequiredintheconventionalmethodhavebeencombinedintosinglefactorsshowninthetablebelow.Thesefactors,
multipliedbytheconcentrationofthecorrespondingmaterial,willgivethelimeorsodaashdosageneededtoremovematerialinunitsofmilligrams
perliterorpoundspermilliongallons.Thetotaldosageisthesumofallmaterialremovedfromthewater,suchasthecarbondioxide,bicarbonate
alkalinity,andthemagnesium,plustheamountofexcessthatisrequiredtoreducethehardnessinthewater.Thetotalsodaashdosageisfoundinthe
samemannerbyfindingthesumoftheamountsneededtoremovethenoncarbonatematerialfromthewater.Anadditionalcalculationisneededto
adjustforthepurityofthelimeorsodaashused.
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Recarbonation
Afteraddinglimeand/orsodaash,treatedwaterwillgenerallyhaveapHgreaterthan10.ItisnecessarytolowerthepHtostabilizethewaterand
prevent deposition of carbonate scale on filter sand and distribution piping. Recarbonation is the most common process used to reduce pH. This
procedureaddscarbondioxidetowateraftersoftening.Generally,enoughcarbondioxideisaddedtoreducethepHofthewatertolessthan8.7.The
amountofcarbondioxideaddedisdeterminedusingasaturationindex.TheLangelierIndex(LI)isthemostcommonstabilizationindexused,but
someplantsinsteadusetheRiznerIndex,(reciprocaloftheLangelierIndex).TheLangelierIndexisexpressedaspHofstabilization(pHs)minus
actualpHmeasured(pHspH).WhentheLangelierIndexispositive,pipestendtobecomecoatedwithscale.Whenitisnegative,thewatertendsto
becorrosive.
Whenlowmagnesiumwaterissoftened,noexcesslimeneedstobeadded.Aftersoftening,waterbecomessupersaturatedwithcalciumcarbonateand
hasapHbetween10.0and10.6.Whencarbondioxideisadded,theexcesscalciumcarbonateisconvertedbacktopermanenthardnessorcalcium
bicarbonatebythefollowingformula:
Ca2+ (calciumion)+CO32(carbonateion)+CO2(carbondioxide)+H2O(water)=2HCO3(bicarbonateions)
Whenhighmagnesiumwaterissoftened,excesslimeneedstobeaddedtoraisethepHabove11,andmagnesiumhydroxideprecipitatesout.After
treatment,enoughcarbondioxidemustbeaddedtoneutralizetheexcesshydroxideions,aswellasconvertcarbonateionstobicarbonateions.The
firststageofthisreactionreducesthepHtobetween10.0and10.5.Inthisrange,calciumcarbonateisformedandmagnesiumhydroxidethatdidnot
precipitate,ordidnotsettleout,isconvertedtomagnesiumcarbonate.
Ca2+ (calciumion)+2OH(hydroxylions)+CO2(carbondioxide)<>CaCO3(calciumcarbonate)+H2O(water)
Mg2+ magnesiumion)+20H(hydroxylions)+CO2(carbondioxide)<>MgCO3(magnesiumcarbonate)+H20(water)
Additional carbon dioxide needs to be added to lower the pH to between 8.4 and 8.6. The previously formed calcium carbonate redissolves and
carbonateionsareconvertedtobicarbonateionsasshownbelow:
CaCO3(calciumcarbonate)+H20(water)+CO2(carbondioxide)<>Ca2+ (calciumion)+2HCO3(bicarbonateions)
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Chemistry
Limesofteninginvolvesarelativelycomplicatedseriesofchemicalreactionswhichwillbediscussedindepthbelow.Thegoalofallofthese
reactionsistochangethecalciumandmagnesiumcompoundsinwaterintocalciumcarbonateandmagnesiumhydroxide.Thesearetheleastsoluble
calciumandmagnesiumcompoundsandthuswillsettleoutofthewateratthelowestconcentrations.Forexample,calciumcarbonate(whichis
essentiallythesameaslimestone)willsettleoutofwateratconcentrationsgreaterthan40mg/L.
Inordertoproducecalciumcarbonateandmagnesiumhydroxide,thepHofthewatermustberaisedbytheadditionoflime.Calciumcompoundsin
waterwillberemovedatapHofabout9.0to9.5whilemagnesiumcompoundsrequireapHof10.0to10.5.Whensodaashisusedtoremove
noncarbonatehardness,anevenhigherpHisrequired10.0to10.5forcalciumcompoundsand11.0to11.5formagnesiumcompounds.
CarbonDioxideDemand
Thefirststepinlimesofteningistheadditionoflimetowaterusingatypicaldryfeeder,eithervolumetricorgravimetric.Asinthechlorination
process,limereactswithsubstancesinthewaterbeforeitcanbeginsofteningthewater.Carbondioxideistheprimarycompoundwhichcreatesthe
initialdemandforlime.Thefollowingreactionoccurs,usingupcarbondioxideandlimeandcreatingcalciumcarbonateandwater:
Carbondioxide+LimeCalciumcarbonate+Water
CO2 +Ca(OH)2 CaCO3 +H2 O
Theresultingcalciumcarbonateprecipitatesoutofsolution.
Whenwater,especiallygroundwater,hasahighcarbondioxideconcentration,thewaterisoftenpretreatedwithaerationbeforesofteningbegins.
Aerationremovestheexcesscarbondioxideandlowersthelimerequirements.
RemovalofCarbonateHardness
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Oncethecarbondioxidedemandhasbeenmet,thelimeisfreetoreactwithandremovecarbonatehardnessfromthewater.Calciumcompounds
reactwithlimeinthereactionshownbelow.
Calciumbicarbonate+LimeCalciumcarbonate+Water
Ca(HCO3 )2 +Ca(OH)2 2CaCO3 +2H2 O
Wehavefocussedoncalciumbicarbonatesinceitisthemostcommoncalciumcompoundinwater,butothercalciumbasedhardnesscompounds
havesimilarreactions.Inanycase,thecalciumcarbonateproducedisabletoprecipitateoutofsolution.
Magnesiumcompoundshaveaslightlydifferentreaction.First,magnesiumbicarbonatereactswithlimeandproducescalciumcarbonate(which
precipitatesoutofsolution)andmagnesiumcarbonate.
Magnesiumbicarbonate+LimeCalciumcarbonate+Magnesiumcarbonate+Water
Mg(HCO3 )2 +Ca(OH)2 CaCO3 +MgCO3 +2H2 O
Thenthemagnesiumcarbonatereactswithlimeandcreatesmorecalciumcarbonateandmagnesiumhydroxide.Bothofthesecompoundsareableto
precipitateoutofwater.
Magnesiumcarbonate+LimeCalciumcarbonate+Magnesiumhydroxide
MgCO3 +Ca(OH)2 CaCO3 +Mg(OH)2
RemovalofNoncarbonateHardness
Inmanycases,onlythecarbonatehardnessneedstoberemoved,requiringonlytheadditionoflime.However,ifnoncarbonatehardnessalsoneeds
toberemovedfromwater,thensodaashmustbeaddedtothewateralongwithlime.
Eachnoncarbonatehardnesscompoundwillhaveaslightlydifferentreaction.Here,wewillconsiderthereactionsofmagnesiumsulfate.Thelime
firstreactswiththemagnesiumsulfate,asshownbelow:
Magnesiumsulfate+LimeMagnesiumhydroxide+Calciumsulfate
MgSO4 +Ca(OH)2 Mg(OH)2 +CaSO4
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Theresultingcompoundsaremagnesiumhydroxide,whichwillprecipitateoutofsolution,andcalciumsulfate.Thecalciumsulfatethenreactswith
sodaash:
Calciumsulfate+SodaAshCalciumcarbonate+Sodiumsulfate
CaSO4 +Na2 CO3 CaCO3 +Na2 SO4
Thecalciumcarbonateresultingfromthisreactionwillsettleoutofthewater.Thesodiumsulfateisnotahardnesscausingcompound,soitcan
remaininthewaterwithoutcausingproblems.
Recarbonation
ThereactionswhichremovecarbonateandnoncarbonatehardnessfromwaterrequireahighpHandproducewaterwithahighconcentrationof
dissolvedlimeandcalciumcarbonate.Ifallowedtoenterthedistributionsysteminthisstate,thehighpHwouldcausecorrosionofpipesandthe
excesscalciumcarbonatewouldprecipitateout,causingscale.Sothewatermustberecarbonated,whichistheprocessofstabilizingthewaterby
loweringthepHandprecipitatingoutexcesslimeandcalciumcarbonate.
Thegoalofrecarbonationistoproducestablewater,whichiswaterinchemicalbalance,containingtheconcentrationofcalciumcarbonateinwhich
itwillneithertendtoprecipitateoutofthewater(causingscale)nordissolveintothewater(causingcorrosion.)Thisgoalisusuallyachievedby
pumpingcarbondioxideintothewater.Excesslimereactswithcarbondioxideinthereactionshownbelow,producingcalciumcarbonate:
Lime+CarbondioxideCalciumcarbonate+Water
Ca(OH)2 +CO2 CaCO3 +H2 O
RecarbonationalsolowersthepH,whichencouragestheprecipitationofcalciumcarbonateandmagnesiumhydroxide.
Recarbonationmayoccurinonestep,inwhichthepHisloweredtoabout10.4andcarbonatehardnessisprecipitatedout.Insomecases,asecond
recarbonationstepisusedtolowerthepHto9.8andencourageyetmoreprecipitation.Ineithercase,theprocessmustbecarefullycontrolledsince
carbondioxidecanreactwithcalciumcarbonateanddrawitbackintosolutionascalciumbicarbonate,negatingthesofteningprocess.
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Alternatively,recarbonationcanbeachievedthroughtheadditionofacidssuchassulfuricorhydrochloricacidsorthroughpolyphosphateaddition.
Thesetypesofrecarbonationworkdifferentlyfromcarbondioxideaddition.
InTheTreatmentProcess
EquipmentUsed
Limesofteningusestheequipmentalreadyfoundinmosttreatmentplantsforturbidityremoval.Anoverviewofthelimetreatmentprocessisshown
below.
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Sludge
Limesofteningproduceslargequantitiesofsludge.Infact,foreverypoundoflimeused,abouttwopoundsofsludgeareformed.
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Limesludge
Thesofteningprocessusuallyrequirestwosedimentationbasins,eachwithadetentiontimeof1.5to3hours,todealwiththelargequantitiesof
sludge.Onesedimentationbasinhandlesthesludgeresultingfromlimeandsodaashsofteningandtheothersedimentationbasindealswiththe
sludgeresultingfromrecarbonation.
Disposaloflimesludgeisthesameasforsedimentationbasinsludge.Landfilldisposalisthemostcommonmethod,althoughsludgemaysometimes
besenttosanitarysewers.LimesludgehasahighpHandhasincreasinglybeendisposedofbyapplyingittoagriculturallandtoincreasethepHof
acidicsoils.
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Monitoring
Ifsofteningproblemsarediscovered,thecauseusuallyliesineitherchemicalfeedermalfunctionsorsourcewaterqualitychanges.Avarietyof
watercharacteristicscaninfluencelimesodaashsoftening:
Waterhardnesswilldeterminethequantityofchemicalswhichmustbeaddedtosoftenthewater.
pHinfluencesthechemicalreactionsinthesofteningprocess.AhigherpHmakestheprocessmoreefficient.
Alkalinitydetermineswhetherthehardnessinthewateriscarbonateornoncarbonatehardness.
Temperatureinfluencestherateofthereactionandtheamountofhardnesswhichthewaterwillhold.
Thesefourwatercharacteristicsshouldbemonitoredcarefullywhensofteningwaterusinglime.Inaddition,coagulantsusedtoremoveturbiditycan
influencethealkalinityorpHofthewater,thusaffectingthesofteningprocess.Aftersoftening,theLangelierIndexofthewatershouldbetestedto
ensurethatthewaterisnotcorrosive.WewillstudytheLangelierindexandcorrosivewaterinmoredepthinthenextlesson.
Softeningisespeciallywellsuitedtotreatinggroundwatersincegroundwatercharacteristicstendtoremainrelativelyconstant.Changingwater
conditionsrequireagreatdealofmanipulatingthesofteningprocesstokeepitefficient.Inaddition,thehighturbidityfoundinsurfacewater
sometimesrequirespresedimentationpriortosoftening.
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ChemicalsUsedinLimeSoftening
TypesofLime
Thelimeusedforsofteningcomesintwoformshydratedlimeandquicklime.Bothtypesoflimesoftenwaterinthesameway,buttheequipment
requiredforthetwotypesoflimeisdifferent.
Hydratedlime(Ca(OH)2)isalsoknownascalciumhydroxideorslakedlime.Hydratedlimecanbeaddedtowaterasitiswithoutrequiringany
specialequipment,soitisapopularchoiceforsmallwatertreatmentplants.
Incontrast,quicklime(CaO),alsoknownascalciumoxideorunslakedlime,mustbeslakedbeforeitisused.Slakingistheprocessofconverting
quicklimetohydratedlimebyaddingwater,asshownbelow:
Calciumoxide+WaterHydratedlime
CaO+H2 OCa(OH)2
Slakingrequiresspecializedequipment.Thecostofequipmentandtheoperatortimerequiredtoruntheequipmentusuallymakequicklimeuse
uneconomicalinsmallplants.However,sincethechemicalcostofquicklimeislessthanthecostofhydratedlime,quicklimeisoftenusedinlarge
plants.
Theslakingprocesscanalsoallowalargeplanttoreusealargequantityofthelimesludgeproducedinthesofteningprocess.First,thesludgeis
heated,andthecalciumcarbonateinthesludgeproducescalciumoxide:
CalciumcarbonateCalciumoxide+Carbondioxide
CaCO3 CaO+CO2
Thenthecalciumoxidecanbeslakedandreusedintheplant.Reusinglimesludgecutsdownonbothchemicalpurchaseandsludgedisposalcosts.
LimeHandlingandStorage
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Operatorsshouldobservesafetyprocedureswhilehandlingbothhydratedlimeandquicklime.Limedustcanbeharmfulwhenitcomesincontact
withtheeyes,nose,ormouth,andskincontactcancauseburns.Asaresult,operatorsshouldweargogglesanddustmasksaswellasprotective
clothing.
Bothhydratedlimeandquicklimecandeteriorateinqualityovertimewhileinstorage.Inaddition,storingquicklimecancausesafetyproblems.If
quicklimecomesincontactwithwater,itbeginstoslake,aprocesswhichproducesagreatdealofheatandcancauseexplosionswhenuncontrolled.
Quicklimeshouldneverbestoredwithalumsincethequicklimewillabsorbwaterawayfromthealumandcauseanexplosion.
SodaAsh
Sodaash(Na2CO3)comesinonlyoneformanddoesnotrequireanytreatmentbeforeitisaddedtothewater.Safetyissuesresemblethoseforlime
handling.Sodaashdustirritatestheeyesandmucousmembranesofthenose,sotheoperatorshouldwearprotectiveclothing,goggles,andadust
mask.Inaddition,areasinwhichsodaashisusedshouldbeequippedwithaventilationsystemtodealwiththedust.
CausticSoda
Causticsoda(NaOH),alsoknownassodiumhydroxide,canreplacesodaashandsomeofthelimeinthetreatmentprocess.Thetreatmentprocess
usingcausticsodafollowsthesamestepsasthatoflimesodaashsoftening.
First,carbondioxidereactswiththecausticsodatomakesodiumcarbonateandwater.
Carbondioxide+CausticsodaSodiumCarbonate+Water
CO2 +2NaOHNa2 CO3 +H2 O
Thentheremainingcausticsodacanreactwithcalciumbicarbonateandmagnesiumbicarbonate.
Calciumbicarbonate+CausticsodaCalciumcarbonate+Sodaash+Water
Ca(HCO3 )2 +2NaOHCaCO3 +Na2 CO3 +2H2 O
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Magnesiumbicarbonate+CausticsodaMagnesiumhydroxide+Sodaash+Water
Mg(HCO3 )2 +4NaOHMg(OH)2 +2Na2 CO3 +2H2 O
Thecausticsodacanalsoreactwithmagnesiumnoncarbonatehardness,asshownbelow.Alsonotethatthereactionsbetweencausticsodaand
carbonatehardnessproducedsodaash,whichcanreactwithnoncarbonatehardnessaswell.
Magnesiumsulfate+CausticsodaMagnesiumhydroxide+Sodiumsulfate
MgSO4 +2NaOHMg(OH)2 +Na2 SO4
Causticsodahastheadvantagesofstabilityinstorage,lowersludgeformation,andeasyhandling.However,safetyissuesstillapply.Causticsodais
dangeroustotheoperatorandcancausesevereburnstotheskin.Asaresult,rubbergloves,duskmasks,goggles,andarubberapronshouldbeworn
whilehandlingthechemical.
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