Water softeners remove "hardness" (dissolved calcium and magnesium) through ion exchange processes.
Incoming hard water passes through a tank of containing high-capacity ion exchange resin beads supersaturated with sodium. The calcium and magnesium ions in the water attach to the resin beads, replacing the sodium, which is released into the water. This unit usually used for industry such as for boiler, chiller, cooling water, etc.
The process of the water softener itself is as follows:
Over time, the ion exchange resin beads become saturated with calcium and magnesium ions.
When this occurs, the tank must be recharged by flushing with a salt brine solution.
Sodium ions reclaim their position on the resin beads, and the calcium also magnesium ions are released into the backwash water.
The backwash water then exits the tank and it is discharged to the wastewater treatment system.
The number of times the tank is recharged and the amount of wastewater generated depends on a number of factors,
including the hardness of the water, the amount of water used,
the size of the water softener, and the capacity of the resins to remove calcium and magnesium.
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