What is water?

H2O + dissolved matter 90%+ of even the strongest beer The Universal Solvent due to its polar nature

Hardness
Origin debatable: originally used to describe water with a high mineral content. Hard to lather up soap Total water hardness is the measure of the bicarbonate, calcium, and magnesium ions and is measured in two ways Temporary hardness permanent hardness

Water Softening
I. Introduction 1. Reduce Soap Consumption 2. Improve Aesthetics of Water 3. Hot Water Heaters last longer

Reasons to Soften

Reasons not to Soften

1. Expensive Process 2. May be less healthy 3. Competes with health related costs

LIME-SODA PROCESS:

In this method, the soluble calcium and magnesium salts in water are chemically converted in to insoluble compounds, by adding calculated amount of Lime and Soda. CaCO3 and Mg(OH)2 so precipitated, these precipitates are filtered off.

Softening of Water If water contains more than 50 parts of hardness per 1,00,000 parts, it is generally accepted that softening is desirable. Softening can be quite expensive, and the use of softened water where it is unnecessary is wasteful.

Removal of temporary hardness Temporary hardness is removed by boiling, but this is impractical in daily use. The carbon dioxide can, however, be extracted from the bicarbonate by the action of an alkali, calcium hydroxide being commonly used. The reaction is as follows: Ca(HC03)2 + Ca(OH)2 2CaC03 + 2H20 Thus the whole of the temporary hardness due to calcium is precipitated as calcium carbonate. According to the equation, 100 parts of temporary hardness require 74 parts of calcium hydroxide or 56 parts of calcium oxide.

 The reaction follows a slightly different course with magnesium carbonate. The first stage is the conversion to magnesium carbonate: Mg (HC03)2 + Ca(OH)2 MgCO3 + 2CaC03 + 2H20 The reaction, in this case, however, does not sufficient to soften the water because magnesium carbonate is sparingly soluble in water. A second molecule of calcium hydroxide must therefore be added to precipitate the insoluble magnesium hydroxide:

 A second molecule of calcium hydroxide must therefore be added to precipitate the insoluble magnesium hydroxide: Mg C03+ Ca (OH) 2 Mg (OH)2 + CaC03 Thus, each molecule of magnesium bicarbonate present requires two of lime for complete precipitation, and every part of temporary hardness due to magnesium, expressed as calcium carbonate requires 2 x 56 = 112 of quicklime (CaO). Water will often contain dissolved carbon dioxide, which will combine with some of the lime added for softening: Co2 + Ca(OH)2 CaC03 + H20

Removal of permanent hardness Permanent hardness is removed by converting the calcium and magnesium sulphates into carbonates by the action of sodium carbonate: CaSO4+ Na 2C03 Na2SO4+ CaC03 MgSO4+ Na2C03 Na2SO4+ MgC03 The calcium sulphate is thus removed as calcium carbonate, an equivalent quantity of sodium sulphate being left in solution. Magnesium sulphate would be converted into magnesium carbonate and this would require precipitation (to calcium carbonate) by lime.

If, however, enough lime be added to precipitate all the magnesium present, the magnesium sulphate is converted into calcium sulphate which, in turn, is precipitated as its carbonate: MgSO4+ Ca(OH)2 Mg(OH)2 + CaSO4 It is apparent that in order to calculate the quantities of lime and sodium carbonate necessary for softening any given volume of hard water, we must know: i) The temporary hardness ii) The hardness due to magnesium iii) The permanent hardness and iv) The free carbon dioxide.

Caused By

Calcium bicarbonate Magnesium bicarbonate Calcium sulphate Magnesium sulphate

Sodium bi Quicklime Req. carbonate Req. 0.56 0.56 1.06

 The formula provide a convenient method for determining the required amounts of lime and sodium carbonate. As water hardness has generally been expressed in tenns of grains per gallon, the formulae conform to these units. Quantity of quicklime required per 1,00,000 gallons = 0.56 (Ht + Hm) lb, and Quantity of dry sodium carbonate = 1.06 x H lb. Where, Ht represents temporary hardness Hp represents permanent hardness Hm represents hardness due to magnesium, Each in terms of grains per gallon of water.

ADVANTAGES OF LIME-SODA PROCESS: 1. It is very economical 2. If this process is combined with sedimentation with coagulation, lesser amounts of coagulants shall be needed. 3. The process increases the pH value of the treatedwater; thereby corrosion of the distribution pipes is reduced. 4. Besides the removal of harness, the quantity of minerals in the water is reduced. 5. To certain extent, iron and manganese are also removed from the water. 6. Due to alkaline nature of treated-water, amount of pathogenic bacteria in water is considerably reduced.

DIS-ADVANTAGES OF LIME-SODA PROCESS: 1. For efficient and economical softening, careful operation and skilled supervision is required. 2. Disposal of large amounts of sludge or insoluble precipitates poses a problem. However, the sludge may be disposed off in raising low-lying areas of the city. 3. This can remove hardness only up to 15 ppm, which is not good for boilers.

ZEOLITE PROCESS In this process the hard water is passed through a bed of zeolite, which is hydrated sodium alumino silicate. The zeolite exchanges reversibly its sodium ion for hardness producing calcium and magnesium ions in the water When the zeolite bed is exhausted (i.e. it is no longer able to cause ion exchange), the supply of hard water is stopped and the zeolite is treated with 10% brine solution which regenerates the exhausted bed. Special synthetic resins are also used in place of a zeolite in this ion-exchange water softening process