ALPINE PURE WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM
Please note that the Alpine Pure Water Softener is an Ion Exchange system and the resin is designed to reduce hardness in your water supply as well as a small amount (< 1.5 PPM) of iron/manganese.
A water softener works by having a separate brine tank that is filled with salt, and the main pressure tank full of a special Ion exchange resin. The resin removes the hardness from the water, but requires that it be regenerated by washing it with a salt brine during regeneration. Alpine Pure Water Softeners are demand based (after a certain number of cubic meters have been processed) Regeneration happens in the early hours (2am) in the morning. It then goes through several cycles, which are basically:
Fill: Water is passed to the salt tank from the Auto regeneration head. (Done at the last regeneration)
Brining: This water is left in the tank to mix with the salt to form brine
Rinse: The brine is sucked up into the pressure tank to rinse the resin. It will remove the calcium/iron/manganese in the resin that has been removed from the water in the past service cycle.
Back Wash: The resin pressure tank is then flushed to remove the residues and iron deposits to waste.
Fast Rinse: The resin is rinsed from all the above
Service: This means that the water softener is serving soft water for the house
How often will the water softener regenerate?
Your water softener will regenerate about every three-four days depending on water usage.
The electric control on your Alpine Pure water softener uses three factors to determine when to regenerate:
The total capacity of the water softener resin and tank size.
The water hardness setting that was programmed into the control when it was first installed.
The actual water usage per day.
How does it work?
Softening water is accomplished by passing hard water over a "resin bed" of plastic beads that attract the minerals in the water like a magnet. Water, without the hardness, flows from the softener and throughout your house.
Depending on the hardness of your local water, at some point the resin bed becomes coated with hardness minerals and must be regenerated or cleaned. Alpine Pure Water Softeners are programmed to regenerate at 2:00 am.
The water softener should have a reserve capacity of 20 to 25% before it regenerates; this means that it regenerates when the "resin beads" are 75 to 80% saturated.
Technical Data
AKUALITE C-107E is a high capacity premium grade bead form conventional gel polystyrene sulphonate cation exchange resin designed for use in industrial or household water conditioning equipment. It removes the hardnessions, e.g. calcium and magnesium, replacing them with sodium ions. When the resin bed is exhausted and hardness ions begin to break through, capacity is restored by regeneration with common salt.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The capacity obtained depends largely on the amount of salt used in the regeneration. AKUALITE C-107E is also capable of removing dissolved iron, manganese, and suspended matter by virtue of the filtering action of the bed.
Its high bead integrity, excellent chemical and physical stability, and very low extractibles content play a large part in its successful employment in these areas.
Typical physical & Chemical characteristics
Polymer Matrix Structure
|
Crosslinked Polystyrene Divinylbenzene
(7%) |
Physical Form and Appearance
|
Clear spherical beads
|
Whole Bead Count
|
95% min.
|
Functional Groups
|
R-SO3¯
|
Ionic Form ,as shipped
|
Na
|
Shipping Weight (approx.)
|
810 g/l (51 lb/ft3)
|
Particle Size Range
|
+1.2 mm <5%, -0.3 mm <1%
|
Moisture Retention, Na+ form
|
45-50%
|
Swelling Na
+→ H+ |
10% max.
|
Ca
2+→Na+ |
5% max.
|
Specific Gravity, moist Na+ Form
|
1.27
|
Total Exchange Capacity, Na+ form, wet, volumetric
|
1.85 eq/l
|
Operating Temperature, Na+ Form
|
150ºC (300ºF) max.
|
pH Range, Stability
|
0 - 14
|
Suggested Operating Condition
Maximum Temperature
Na
H
+ Form__________________ + Form__________________ |
120ºC (248ºF) max.
100ºC (212ºF) max.
|
Minimum Bed Depth_________________
|
0.6m(24inches)
|
Backwash Rate______________________
|
25 to 50% Bed Expansion
|
Regeneration Concentration
Hydrogen Cycle___________ Sodium Cycle_____________
|
6% HCl or 4 to 8%H2SO4
4% to 6% NaCl
|
Regeneration Flow Rate ________________
|
4 to 12 BV/h (0.5 to 1.5gpm/cu/ft.)
|
Regeneration Contact Time _____________
|
At least 30 minutes
|
Regeneration Level ____________________
|
112 -300g/L (4 to 10 pounds/ cu/ft.)
|
Displacement Rinse Rate ______________
|
Same as Regeneration Flow Rate
|
Displacement Rinse Volume ___________
|
10 to 15 gallons/cu.ft.
|
Fast Rinse Rate ______________________
|
Same as Service Flow Rate
|
Fast Rinse Volume ___________________
|
35 to 60 gallons/cu.ft.
|
Service Flow Rate ___________________
|
10-25m/h (2 to 10 gpm/cu/ft.)
|
Hydraulic Properties
Backwash :
During upflow backwash, the resin bed should be expanded in volume by 50%, in order to free it from any particulate matter from the influent solution, to clear the bed of bubbles and voids, and to reclassify the resin particles as much as possible, ensuring minimum resistance to flow. Backwash should be commenced gradually to avoid an initial surge with consequent carryover of resin particles. Bed expansion increases with flow rate and decreases with temperature, as shown in Fig. 2, above. Care should always be taken to avoid resin loss by accidental overexpansion of the bed.