Water Conditioning

By

S.Umair Jarwar

Pakistan

Prior to define water conditioning it is necessary for us to familiar with the

terms that are directly related with water conditioning and those terms
include types of water, soluble and insoluble stuff that creates problem for
the utility of water in the industry as well as at home including all other
locations where water is used. Then we will analyze the water conditioning in
great detail.

Usually there are two types of water, as with the standards of classification
of the water types. Basically, water is categorized into following:

• Hard water/soft water

• Acidic water/alkaline water

Hard water can be simply understood by paying meticulous attention to the

terms of calcium and magnesium salts that may be present and dissolved in
water. So we can simply say that the water that contains soluble salts of
calcium and magnesium is said to be hard water. It is termed as hard water
because when it is brought in contact with some stuff like soap, detergents it
does not create the foam that normal water can create. On the other hand
soft water is free from such impurities that create similar hindrances like
hard water. On the other hand the acidic and alkaline water is analogous to
the hard and soft water concept because the pH changes can be directly
linked with those chemical species that cause hardness in the water.

Why water becomes hard water?

The most important thing that should be considered is that why water
becomes hard? And for paying this question there may be several things that
should be accounted like the presence of chemical composition of the sub
soil and the water exposure of carbon dioxide which causes the formation of
acidic water by the simultaneous formation of carbonic acid that makes
water acidic and makes the ground for the accumulation of those species
that make water hard.
By speaking in the light of mechanism, we can define this process as follows:

When water comes in contact with CO2 it causes the formation of

carbonic acid. By the chemical equation we can show this as follows:

H2O + CO2 -----------------> H2CO3

So the formation of carbonic acid this accounts ease for the reaction of
dissolved chemical species like calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate
causing the formation of more soluble calcium bicarbonate and magnesium
bicarbonate. This makes the water harder.

Reactions can be stated as follows:

CaCO3 + H2O + CO2 --------------> Ca(HCO3)2

( calcium bicarbonate)

MgCO3 + H2O + CO2 ---------------> Mg(HCO3)2

( magnesium bicarbonate)

Industrial perspective and the problems

Water is of crucial importance in every walk of life as so in industry also.

Boilers, condensers, showers etc are the prime examples of the sites of
water use. A chemical engineer or plant operator as well as plant installer
should pay meticulous attention to the quality of water that the respective
location possess where industry is going to be installed. It is an important
aspect among other features of the industry that the water should be free
from any type of stuff that creates hardness, which is not possible naturally,
however there are some initiatives that have to be taken in order to make
water free from such kinds of difficulties. Question may arise in the mind that
why hard water creates difficulty? So the answer lies in the chemistry of the
hard water. Basically calcium and magnesium salts soluble in water cause
formation of plaque after some period on the walls of the container that may
cause slow corrosion, and it can also cause some sort of insulation which is
not favorable for the steam processes and boilers in which more energy will
be required for the accomplishment. In this way a chemical engineer or
responsible person should have to setup some initiative setup for water
conditioning in order to cope with the hindrances created by water.
Remedies for the problem or water conditioning

Water conditioning is a broad term that includes many classical and

contemporary processes to cope with the problem. Water conditioning
includes following three common processes used for the water conditioning,
however there are many latest techniques have been invented for this
problem which are not suitable to define here, but those classical and
fundamental techniques are following:

• Purification
• Water softening
• Clarification

Generally the term purification is referred to that process in which removal of

organic matter, soil or sand particles and microorganisms occurs. On the
other stance the term softening refers to the process in which the hardness
of water is reduced and the last but not the least clarification is important
because it can be associated with cold water softening with precipitation.

Summarized solutions

For soluble calcium hardness that is to be removed, then, following to

reactions must take place:

• Conversion of carbon dioxide to bicarbonate alkalinity

• Conversion of soluble bicarbonate into insoluble carbonate which
then should be precipitated.

And for achieving above mentioned process it is necessary to have increased

levels of pH so that these conversions take place and for the
accomplishment of these conversions we must have to increase the pH level
by adding hydroxide and the example in this regard is lime Ca(OH)2. Lime is
used to furnish the necessary hydroxide ions that are used to raise the pH.

There are many processes whose names are given below that are used.
Following are the names:

• Lime reaction
• Soda ash reaction
• Lime soda reaction
In addition to these reactions there are so many reactions and techniques
that are used in the process of water conditioning like ion-exchange process
including sodium – cation exchange process, hydrogen-cation exchange
process, demineralization and desalting process through equipments,
phosphate conditioning etc.

There are some latest and new generation sophisticated techniques which
use high power magnets to change the structure of the unwanted
substances that cause water hardness. The technique is known as MTC
condition in which powerful magnets are brought nearer to the water causing
strong magnetic effect on the stuff present in the water. However the validity
of this technique is still a question which is not answered satisfactorily.