Brine Plant Report

Submitted to:
Mr. Muhammad Khurshid Sheikh (HOD)
Training In-charge:
Mr. Malik Mansoob (Planning Specialist)
Submitted by:
Mr. Naeem Watto

ITTEHAD CHEMICALS LTD. (ICL), KALASHAH KAKU

Contents
History of Ittehad Chemicals ..................................................................................................................... 2
I.E.M BRINE PURIFICAITON.................................................................................................................... 2
1. Saturator ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Primary pits ........................................................................................................................................... 4
Secondary pits ....................................................................................................................................... 4
2. Purifier :............................................................................................................................................. 5
Purifier #1 ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Purifier #2 ............................................................................................................................................. 9
3. Settler .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Construction ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Working .............................................................................................................................................. 11
4. Primary filters.................................................................................................................................. 12
Construction ........................................................................................................................................ 12
Working .............................................................................................................................................. 13
Backwashing steps .............................................................................................................................. 13
5. Secondary filters ............................................................................................................................. 13
Principle .............................................................................................................................................. 14
Construction ........................................................................................................................................ 14
Working .............................................................................................................................................. 15
Pre-coat Solution Tank........................................................................................................................ 16
Backwashing and pre-coating steps .................................................................................................... 16
Ion Exchange Feed Tank..................................................................................................................... 17
6. Ion exchange unit ............................................................................................................................ 17
Principle .............................................................................................................................................. 17
Construction ........................................................................................................................................ 18
Working .............................................................................................................................................. 19
Safety Precaution for Resin................................................................................................................. 20
Regeneration of resin .......................................................................................................................... 20
Regeneration steps .............................................................................................................................. 21

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History of Ittehad Chemicals
ITTEHAD Chemicals is a leading chemical manufacturing company. It produces mainly caustic
soda and chlorine by electrolysis process. Its other products are Hydrochloric acid, Calcium
Chloride and Zinc Sulfate. ICL was commissioned in the year 1964 with an installed capacity of
40 MT/day of Caustic Soda. The initial plant was set up by M/S Oronzio Denora of Italy. The
First expansion phase was carried out in 1969 enhancing capacity to 90 MT of caustic soda and
81 MT of chlorine. Before the period of nationalization, the unit was known as United Chemicals
and renamed by the Govt. as ITTEHAD Chemicals after nationalization in 1973 and put under
the control of Federal Chemicals and Ceramics Corporation Ltd. (FCCCL). Later on it was
purchased by Khattri family and now it is working as a Pvt ltd company.

The report is detailed on brine purification process. Aqueous Solution of salt is called Brine. The
main constituent of brine is NaCl. Brine in Ittehad Chemicals Limited is used in 2 types of
Production cell rooms. The cell rooms are following:
Ion Exchange Membrane Cell room
Dimensionally stable Anode cell room

For both of the cell rooms, different techniques have been used for the preparation of brine.
Preparation and purification of brine for the two different cell rooms is the following

I.E.M BRINE PURIFICAITON

Chlor Alkali plant (CAP) produces caustic soda, chlorine and hydrogen (by product) using brine
and electricity. Purification of brine to ultra pure level is essential for Ion Exchange Membrane
(IEM) technology because alkaline earth metal cause severe problems in membrane. The
required concentration of Na+ ion is 300g/l. So, the following six steps are used for IEM brine
purification process.

Saturator
Purifier
Settler
Primary filters
Secondary filters
Ion exchange units

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 Specification of Brine

No. Sample Test Unit Limit

1 Settlers overflow T.S.S NTU <10
2 After Primary filters pH - 9.5-11
Free Cl2 mg/L Nil
Ca+2,Mg+2 mg/L <5 mg/l
T.S.S NTU <10
3 After Secondary Filters Free Cl2 mg/L Nil
T.S.S NTU <1
4 After Deionizer Ca+2,Mg2+ g/L I.E.M 1 I.E.M 2
<50 g/L <50 g/L
5 After Polisher Ca+2,Mg2+ g/L <25 g/L <25 g/L
6 Feed Brine Ca+2,Mg2+ g/L <25 g/L <25 g/L

1. Saturator:

BRINE is a solution of Rock salt in water with main constituent NCl. The very first and common
step for the both cell feed (brine) preparation is to shower the depleted brine coming from cell
rooms on the rock salt. The low concentrated Na ions (brine) which is coming from the cell room
lose its sodium ions concentration i.e. 220 g/l due to electrolysis to form caustic soda, so it is
recycled back to gain its concentration up to 300 g/l level i.e. required for Ion Exchange
Membrane Unit. Saturator of 275 m3 is used to saturate the brine by showering de-chlorinated
brine (ph 9-11) on northern and southern bed of NaCl rock salt with temperature 65-70 0C and
flow rate 150 m3/hr. Industrial water pipe of 2 is also used to shower water on salt bed for brine
make up purposes. When low concentration of sodium ion de-chlorinated brine passes through
13 ft height of rock salt bed then it enters into primary pits through channel line. Rock salt
composition is given below

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 Rock salt Components Weight percentages
NaCl 93%
Na2SO4 2.2%
Ca++ 0.3%
Mg++ 0.3%
Insoluble 3-4%

There are three primary pits and two secondary pits.

Primary pits:

Three primary pits of 415 m3 each are used to sediment the 4% remaining impurities like mud,
silicate, granules and other settle down impurities, it takes 4 hour of retention time to settle down
impurities. Out of three pits, second pit is used as standby pit. When one pit become full of
sludge then it is cut off from the circuit and the other pit ready for use is put into circuit. Pits are
made inclined for the removal of sludge.

Secondary pits:

Two secondary pits of 35 m3 each are used to remove the further impurities which are not
removed by primary pits. One pit is used as standby for removal of remaining settle down
impurities. Other purpose for formation of secondary pits is the addition of chemicals such as
sodium sulfite of 5 m3 tank is used when chlorine present in primary pits.

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A titanium coated or fiber pipe with number of holes of half centimeter size is used as filter
media attached at end side of secondary pit from where pump suction start. At the end two
centrifugal pump of 60 hp (one as standby) and 180 m3/hr pumping capacity are used to transfer
brine to purifier.

2. Purifier :

PURIFIER is a reactor or vessel contains a chemical reaction. Two open tank CSTR (continuous
stirred tank reactor) purifier of 70 m3 each are used to produce adequate particles size that can be
easily agglomerate with flocculent in settler. Paddle agitator is used to provide mixing energy in
such way that particles do not disintegrate. Three reactant chemicals are added in purifier to
achieve large particle size of the impurities so that they are bound by flocculants and are easily
settled down and hence removed.

Barium carbonate
Sodium carbonate

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 Accoflock

These reactant chemicals maintain excess carbonate and hydroxyl ions in two purifiers.

Purifier #1:

Saturated brine from secondary pits enters into purifier#1 from bottom side and emit from top
side after retention time of 45 minute. A bypass line is attached with inlet of brine to purifier
which is used for distribution of additive chemical either from top or bottom of purifier. Two
type of reactant chemicals are used to remove sulfate and calcium ions from brine as fellow:

I. Barium carbonate
II. Sodium carbonate

Barium carbonate:

Barium carbonate has ability to remove sulfate ions present in brine in form of barium sulfate.
Amount of BaCo3 required removing impurities depend on sulfate ions.

Solution tank of barium carbonate:

Barium carbonate solution of 8 % w/w is prepared in 7m3 of fiber or mild steel with rubber lining
tank. Brine from primary filter is used as solvent for BaCo3 solution to maintain sodium ions in
purifier#1. A motor driven mixer of 70 rpm (revolution per minute) is used to provide mixing
energy for solution formation. When 2 hours batch of BaCo3 is prepared then it transferred to
purifier from top side position with the help of two centrifugal pumps (one as standby) to
purifier.

Solution tank of sodium carbonate:

Sodium carbonate solution of 8% w/w is prepared in 7 m3 of fiber or mild steel with rubber
lining tank. Brine is used as solvent for solution formation. A peddle type motor driven mixer
with 30 rpm is used to provide mixing energy.

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One batch of 2 hours is added to purifier in bypass line of brine to distribute the solution partially
from top and bottom.

Reaction:

BaCO3 + Na2SO4 BaSO4 + Na2CO3

Na2CO3 + CaCl2 CaCO3 + 2NaCl

Rock salt 93 % NaCl

De-chlorinated brine

NaCl = 220 g/l SATURATOR NaCl =300 g/l

Flow rate = 150 m3/hr

Density = 1170 kg/m3

Impurities 4 % (mud, silicate and granules)

Basis: - 1 hour Operation

NaCl consumed from rock salt = 300 -220 g/l

NaCl consumed = 80 g/l

Mass flow = 80 kg/m3x 150 m3/hr

Mass flow = 12000 kg/hr

93 kg NaCl in rock salt = 100 kg

1 kg NaCl in rock salt = 100/93 kg

12000 kg NaCl in rock salt = (100/93) x12000 kg

Rock salt required /hour = 12903 kg

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Mass flow of Na2SO4 = 12903x 0.022

=284 kg/hr

Moles of Na2SO4 = m/M.W

=284/142

=2 moles

BaCO3 Required:

Reaction:

1BaCO3 + 1Na2SO4 1BaSO4 + 1Na2CO3

Mole of Na2SO4= 2 mole

BaCO3 (mole) : Na2SO4 (mole)

1 : 1

Amount of BaCO3 required =2x197(Mol. Weight of BaCO3)

BaCO3 Required = 394 kg

With 1 g/l excess of BaCO3 =1x150

=150kg/hr

Total mass of BaCO3 required =394+150

=544

Bags of BaCO3 required =544/25

=22

For 2 hours No. of Bags of BaCO3 required = 44

Na2CO3 produced in this reaction react with CaCl2 to form CaCO3 and NaCl

Na2CO3 + CaCl2 CaCO3 + 2NaCl

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Purifier #2:

Brine enters from bottom side into purifier#2 after emitting from top side of purifier#1. In this
purifier caustic soda 31% solution is added by gravity from overhead tank and its flow can be
adjusted through rotameter. A stand by tank can also be used in case of NaOH solution shortage.
Sodium hydroxide is used to precipitate the magnesium ion impurity in form of magnesium
hydroxide. NaOH is added into purifier#2 because reaction of caustic soda with magnesium is
fast as compared to reaction of barium and sodium carbonate with sulfate or calcium ions.

Reaction:

2NaOH + MgCl2 Mg (OH) 2 + 2NaCl

Solution Tank of Accoflock:

Accoflock solution of 1% w/w is prepared in 7 m3 of fiber or mild steel with rubber lining tank.
First of all 700 gram cationic polymer accoflock is added into 1/2 m3 tank with (DI) de-ionized
water as solvent mixed by using T mixer 42 rpm. Then this solution is transferred into 7 m3 tank
filled with industrial water as solvent for further dilution. Sodium sulfite tank is also present for
addition into accoflock tank if chlorine present in settler. When all these additives are mixed with
peddle mixer 50 rpm to form uniform mixture then it is transferred to small tank place between
purifier and settler by using two centrifugal pumps (one as standby).

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3. Settler:

Settler is a clarifier used to remove solid particulates or suspended solids from brine by
sedimentation process.

Construction:

The 1k4 brine settler is solid contact type clarifier like a huge bowl which is broad from the top
and narrows at the bottom. A big high efficiency marine propeller type agitator is fitted at the
centre of the settler which completes its one revolution in 9 minute and 6.6 revolutions per hour
keeps on fluid in slight motion. It is made up from mild steel material with titanium coating from
interior side and has capacity of 1000 m3 which takes 10 hours of retention time for settling.

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Working:

First of all brine enters into settler from the center with accoflock into primary mixing zone of
settler, here flocculation mixing with suspended particles present in brine occur. After this it
enters into secondary mixing zone of settler, here charge reduction and agitation increase the
particles collision and then particles move down (settle) by gravity due to its weight and size
increased by flocculating medium. The impurity particles bound with each other to form bigger
size particles called as Sludge which settles down at the bottom of the settler and send to sludge
pits. Brine recovered from sludge pits send to purifier #1 and sludge dumped to drain well. An
automatic instrument air control pneumatic valve is attached with bottom end for de-slugging
which open after every 45 minutes for 30 second valve opening. At the top section clarified brine
overflow and move toward clarifier tank by gravity and overflow from tank again move toward
settler top side. After every two hours down take sample analyze the excess carbonate and
hydroxyl ions. Test result tells us how much amount of reactant chemicals are needed in
purifiers. Brine is send towards primary filter from clarifier by using two centrifugal pumps (one
as stand by) of 60hp.

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4. Primary filters:

Brine primary filters are required to remove the suspended solids overflowing with the brine
from the settler/clarifier. There are five number of flowing gravity sand filters operated in
parallel

Construction:

Primary filters are made up of mild steel of total volume of 13 m3 consists of a multilayered
pebbles and stone filtering bed and one upper layer of anthracite coal. The main purpose of
anthracite layer is to remove suspended solids and the pebbles is to support anthracite layer. The
bed of these multilayered pebbles and stones are formed according to their size increase from top
bed to bottom and anthracite coal at upper most bed of filter. Designing of bed according to size
of pebbles and stones as fellow:

Pebbles size Bed volume

40-50 mm 2.7 m3
16-30 mm 1.3 m3
11-15 mm 0.55 m3
5-10 mm 0.55 m3
3-4 mm 0.55 m3
0.8-2 mm 4.3 m3

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 Total 10 m3

Working:

Brine enters into primary filter from top side and out from bottom after passes through bed of
anthracite coal and multilayered bed of pebbles. Impurities like excess carbonate and hydroxide
ions stuck on the anthracite layer and brine out with impurities reduce up to 10ppm (parts per
million). Pressure gauge is attached with top of filter which tells us about backwashing
indication. If pressure increase from 1 bar then it means filtering media become full of suspended
particles. By using backwashing we can reuse our filtering media again.

Backwashing steps:

To backwash a primary filter for 45 minutes the following steps should be followed:

Close inlet and outlet valves of brine simultaneously

Open the vent valve for air removal
Open the drain valve for 5-10min and let the drain into recovery pit
Close the drain and recovery pit valve after draining all brine
Open the industrial water valve for backwashing
Backwashing water enter from bottom and coming out of the backwash pipe at the top
When water becomes clear then close the water inlet valve and open the drain valve to
drain the water into drain channel
Now close the drain valve and backwash valve
Open the inlet and outlet valve of brine and at the end close the vent valve

5. Secondary filters:

The brine from the primary filter storage tank is pumped to the three secondary filters arrange in
parallel operation to remove the further impurities that are not removed from primary filters. The
secondary brine filters reduce the concentration of suspended solids (mostly CaCO3 and Mg
(OH) 2) to < 1 ppm with particle size < 0.5 micron.

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Principle:

The Secondary brine polishing filters are vertical tubular backwash filters that utilize a cellulose
fiber pre-coat to achieve such level of filtration that protect the ion exchange system from
suspended solids which would otherwise plug the column.

Construction:

The secondary brine filters contain 142 tubes suspended vertically from a tube sheet. The filter
tubes are constructed of C-PVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) with a polypropylene sleeve and
are covered with a seamless polypropylene sock type covering. The conical shaped bottom
facilitates the backwash by directing the filtered solids cake to the dump (drain) connection
during the backwash. All other internal hardware (fasteners etc.) is constructed of titanium or
plastic and gaskets are constructed of EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) to minimize
metals contamination of the brine.

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Working:

Brine enters the filter through the bottom conical section and is evenly distributed throughout the
filter chamber. Brine cross exchanger is located upstream of the secondary filter. The brine cross
exchanger is designed to exchange thermal energy between the brine primary storage tank to the

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secondary filters. Filtration is from the outside of the tubes to the inside. As the brine passes
through the cake and tubes, suspended solids are deposited on the outside diameter of the tubes.
The collection of these suspended solids forms a cake layer on the tubes. The formation of this
cake layer results in increased pressure drop from 2.5 kg/cm2 to above and eventually
necessitates backwashing of the filtered brine. Filtered brine flows up through the inside
diameter of the tubes and enters the top head of the filter through the openings in the tube sheet.
Filtered brine is then discharged from the top head through the main filtered brine outlet and
stored in 70 m3 storage tanks.

Pre-coat Solution Tank:

The pre-coating solution tank is used for mixing pre-coat material and brine. The 7 m3 tank is an
open top FRP vessel with peddle type agitator 32 rpm provided to ensure a homogenous mixture.
Industrial and DI water can be use as solvent but mostly brine is used as solvent to form 20 %
w/w of Alfa cellulose by adding pre coating material i.e. arbocell of 17.5 kg (one bag) in the
tank.

Backwashing and pre-coating steps:

To backwash a primary filter for 35 minutes the following steps should be followed:

Close the inlet and outlet valves of brine simultaneously

Open the drain pneumatic valve and drain all the filter cake solution into the pit
Brine will drain at a high rate because of the compressed air entrap inside the filter doom
Close the drain valve after complete draining of brine and filter cake
Turn on the arbocell pump for circulation
Open the inlet and outlet pre-coat valve to circulate a brine solution containing the pre-
coat material through the filter until a uniform layer of pre-coat is applied
Watch glass will show milky liquid coming out of the filter when it becomes clear
(coating will complete) then close the arbocell coating
Close the inlet pre-coat valve
Open the inlet and outlet valve of brine

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 At the end close the outlet of pre-coat valve and turn off the pump of arbocell

If the brine feed stream contains a large percentage of fines (small) or slimy solids, then the
pressure drop across the filter may rise rapidly, giving short cycle times. This is often the case
when the brine has a poor Ca to Mg ratio (less than 2:1).

Ion Exchange Feed Tank:

Filtered brine from the secondary brine filters flows into the FRP made Ion Exchange Feed Tank.
Brine exiting the ion exchange feed tank is pumped through the brine cross exchanger which is
located upstream of the ion exchange system. The brine cross exchanger is designed to exchange
thermal energy between the brine feed stream to the ion exchange system. The brine cross
exchanger is a plate and frame heat exchanger constructed of titanium plates used to steam heat
the brine feed to the brine ion exchange system as required to maintain the temperature in the
range of 55 to 60C.

6. Ion exchange unit:

Brine passes through secondary filter still has enough particles of size less the 0.5 microns may
damage the membrane of electrolysis cell. So the special unit called ion exchange resin applied
to remove unwanted impurities of calcium and magnesium ions.

There are two ion exchange units

I. Ion Exchange unit 1

II. Ion exchange unit 2

Ion exchange unit 1 provides feed to IEM 1 and the ion exchange unit 2 provides feed to IEM 2.
Working of both units is same.

Principle:

Ion Exchange resins are insoluble granular substances which have in their molecular structure acidic
radicals that can be exchanged. The positive ions fixed on these radicals are replaced by ions of the
same sign in brine solution in contact with them.

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Construction:
The ion exchange vessels are typically constructed of rubber lined steel to minimize impurities
pick up by the passing brine. Internal piping is typically constructed of Titanium, Hastelloy C-
276, or C-PVC (plastic only for the top inlet distributor). External piping is typically constructed
of C-PVC or FRP. The vessel under-drain system must be constructed of metal (Titanium and/or
Hastelloy C-276), and must be spiral wound wedge (well screen) design. Plastic is not allowed to
be used for the bottom under-drain system, and cloth wrapped laterals are forbidden. An ion-
exchange resin or ion-exchange polymer is an insoluble matrix normally in the form of small
(0.5-1 mm diameter) beads, usually white or yellowish, fabricated from an organic polymer
substrate. The beads are typically porous, providing a high surface area. Ion exchange resin type
is a chelating resin of micro porous structure with polystyrene matrix cross-linked with di-vinyl
benzene substituted with weakly acidic amino-phosphonic active groups. The characteristics
reactions are shown below:

2RCH2NHCH2PO3Na2 + Ca+2 ------> (RCH2NHCH2PO3)2CaNa2 + 2Na+

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Regeneration to Hydrogen Form:

(RCH2NHCH2PO3)2CaNa2+4HCl--->2RCH2NHCH2PO3H2+CaCl2+2NaCl

Conversion to Sodium Form:

RCH2NHCH2PO3H2 + 2NaOH ---------> RCH2NHCH2PO3Na2 + 2H2O

The chemical structure of this resin facilitates the formation of complexes with metallic ions
such as calcium and magnesium. The relative affinities for metals in an alkaline brine
environment are as follows;
Mg+2 > Ca+2 > Sr+2 > Ba+2

Working:

There are three ion exchange resin units operate in series, one unit use as ionizer (primary
column), second as polisher (secondary column) and the third one as standby for regeneration.
Alkaline brine enters the top of the column and flows downward through the resin bed. As the
brine contacts the resin, calcium ions in solution are exchanged for sodium ions in the resin.
Two sodium ions are exchanged for each calcium ion. The resin bed becomes exhausted where
there is too few sodium ions left to exchange with the calcium ions, resulting in the break-
through of calcium ions in concentrations exceeding 20 ppb in the exiting brine. Lab analysis of
the brine downstream of the ionizer (primary calcium) every 8 hours is used to determine when
break-through has occurred indicating the need to regenerate the ionizer (primary column).

Merry-go-round Fashion:

After regeneration, the regenerated column is placed in stand-by mode. When the primary
column (ionizer) is taken offline for regeneration, the stand-by column is put into service as the
secondary (polishing) column and the secondary column becomes the primary column (ionizer).
This cyclic operation has been described as merry-go-round fashion.

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Safety Precaution for Resin:
Four important safety precautions for resin are as given below:

I. The brine ion exchanges system must be free from mercury because it is not stripped
from the resin during regeneration and it will permanently reduce the capacity of the
resin, thereby shortening cycle time (i.e. shortening the length of time between
regenerations)
II. Brine feed to the ion exchange system must not have any free chlorine present. Free
chlorine will oxidize the resin which destroys the resins ion exchange capacity
III. The feed brine temperature should be maintained in the range of 55 to 60C and the pH
should be maintained in the range of 9-10.
IV. The brine flow rate is typically controlled in the range of 10 to 30 BV per hour

Regeneration of resin:

An exhausted column that has been taken off line must have the resin converted from the
calcium form back to the sodium form. This conversion procedure is called regeneration. It is not
possible to go directly from the calcium to the sodium form as with a classical water softener
resin. Sodium chloride is not used to place the resin in sodium form since the chelated
functionality of the cation resin is not able to split a neutral salt.

Auxiliary equipment required for the ion exchange system regeneration includes;
HCl Measuring Tank (for 31% HCl)
NaOH Measuring Tank (for 32% NaOH)
HCl Metering Pump
NaOH Metering Pump
Weak acid and weak caustic are made by diluting strong acid and strong caustic with de-ionized
water for regeneration of the ion exchange resin. The metering pumps are designed to provide
the proper flow rates of strong chemicals so that the final (diluted) concentrations are 4-5 wt%
HCl/NaOH. Sodium sulfite must be added into the HCl Measuring Tank as required to
eliminating the chlorine otherwise free chlorine will damage the ion exchange resin permanently,
causing reduced capacity. Free chlorine can also be generated by the reaction of HCl with
sodium chlorate. It is therefore important to completely rinse the column of brine prior to the

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start of acid regeneration. Lastly, the de-ionized water used for regeneration also must be free of
chlorates and free chlorine.

A general outline of the sequence for this chemical addition is as follows;

BV/hr Time BV Flow

Sr # Description (Bed (min) (Bed Direction Concentration
volume) volu
me)
1 DI water rinse 3.0 60 3.0 Down flow Chlorine = Nil
2 DI water backwash 8.8 30 4.4 Up flow Chlorine = Nil

3 Acid regent(HCl) 4.0 60 4.0 Down flow 4-5 wt % HCl

4 DI water rinse 3.0 60 3.0 Down flow
5 Caustic conversion 4.0 60 4.0 Down flow 4-5 wt % NaOH
(NaOH)
6 DI water rinse 3.0 60 3.0 Down flow Chlorine = Nil
7 Brine rinse 3.0 60 3.0 Down flow

Regeneration steps:
There are nine steps needed to regenerate an exhausted primary column (ionizer) as given below:

1-Brine drain 4- Water drain 7- caustic injection

2-Brine displacement 5- Acid injection 8- caustic displacement
3-Backwashing 6- Acid displacement 9- Brine rinse
Brine Drain:

First step is to drain all the brine before regeneration. Close inlet and outlet of brine then open
manual and automatic drain valve with opening air vent valve that brine could drain easily.

Brine displacement:

After the brine is completely drained, open DI water inlet valve as the drain valve is already
open. When brine is completely drain then close the water inlet valve and drain valve.

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 Back Washing:

Backwashing is done from bottom to top. Open the backwash DI water inlet and outlet valve.
Adjust the water manual valve so that resin does come out of the vessel. Air vent valve should
close during backwash.

Water Drain:

To drain water after backwash, open drain valve and vent valve so that water can be drained
easily and early.

HCL Injection:

After the removal of free chlorine from HCL tank by suing sodium sulfite, open acid tank valve
and adjust the water manual valve to reduce 32% acid to 4%. Open the suction and delivery
valves of acid metering pump. Adjust the pump stroke to 78% and Check the concentration of
acid from sample point, it should be 4%. The concentration of acid 4% is used because it
provides roughly the same molarity as the brine solution which reduces the likelihood that the
resin will experience osmotic shock. After 1 hour, check the acid concentration from the drain
valve and if this concentration is equal to the inlet concentration, acid injection is complete. If
this concentration is not equal to 4% then continue acid injection.

Acid concentration conversion from 31% to 4%:

C1xV1 = C2xV2

C1 (concentration of given acid) = 0.31

C2 (required concentration of acid) = 0.40

V1 (Volume of given acid) = 1000 liter

V2 (Volume of required water) =?

V2 = 0.31 x 1000/0.04 = 7750 liter

For 60 % stroke

Dosing pump flow rate 3.6 liter/hr

1000 liter acid = 7750 liter of water

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1 liter acid = 7750/1000 liter of water

3.6 liter acid = (7.75) x 3.6 liter of water=28

At 60% doze = 28 liter/hr DI water flow required to convert 31% acid to 4%

Acid Displacement:

After acid injection remove the excess acid from ion exchanger, open the DI water inlet valve
and check the pH of water coming out of drain valve. Continue this process until pH is normal
(7.0) and when the excess acid is completely removed then close the DI water inlet valve.

Caustic Injection:
After complete water drain, start caustic injection. Open caustic tank valve and adjust the water
manual valve so that the concentration of caustic is 4%. Start the caustic injection pump and
open its suction and delivery valves by keeping the pump strokes to 66%. After 1 hour, check the
caustic concentration from the drain valve and if this concentration is equal to the inlet
concentration, caustic injection is complete. If this concentration is not equal to 4% then continue
acid injection.
Brine rinse:

After caustic injection the primary column is regenerated with sodium ions and can be uses again
after rinsing the bed with brine at the end to continue to process. Now this regenerated column
becomes secondary column (polisher).

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