Standard Operating Procedure for Regeneration of Softener
The SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for Engineering regarding the regeneration of softeners in a water softener plant is a crucial process for maintaining the efficiency and longevity of the equipment. Softeners remove minerals and impurities from water, preventing damage to pipes and appliances and ensuring the delivery of clean, safe water.
The regeneration process involves flushing the softener with a brine solution, which removes accumulated minerals and regenerates the resin beads that do the actual softening. The process must be performed regularly, typically every few weeks, depending on usage and water quality.
To ensure the regeneration process is effective, the SOP outlines the necessary steps, including shutting off the water supply to the softener, backwashing the system to remove any debris, preparing and introducing the brine solution, and rinsing the softener to remove excess salt.
Following the SOP is essential to ensure that the regeneration process is carried out correctly, preventing damage to the softener and ensuring that it continues to operate effectively. By adhering to the SOP, engineers can ensure that the water softener plant continues to provide high-quality water and maintains optimal efficiency.
Regeneration of softener Standard Procedure
Stages of regeneration of softener:
1) Back-wash:
- Backwash is reverse flow in the softener bed by closing the normal flow inlet and outlet valve and opening the backwash inlet and outlet valve.
- The dirty water is drained out during the backwash process.
- This process is done to clean the resin bed and also obtain free flow during the normal process.
- The backwash time depends upon the watercolor or dirt accumulated.
- When clear water is draining backwash system is closed, and the salt or brain charging starts.
2) Salt charge or Brine charge:
- It is done by introducing common salt solutions of 1.8 specific gravity, by the ejecting system.
- The salt solution is kept prepared in a salt tank where an ejector suction pipe is placed.
- During salt charging the entire solution in the tanks is emptied, then close the drain valve of the softener and also close the salt charging inlet valve.
- Keep the softener bed for 10 – 20 minutes with the brine solution for recharging the resins inside the bed, and then start the rinsing process.
- The quantity of salt used in one regeneration is 200 – 300 Kgs. (depending upon the filter size.)
3) Rinsing of the softener:
- Open the normal flow inlet valve, close the normal outlet valve, and then open the drain valve.
- Start a raw water pump to drain the water till the taste of the water is sweet.
- Once you feel the water is sweet, test the water with the reagents to measure the hardness of the soft water.
- When the sample of soft water is 10ppm as CaCo3 it indicates that the water is ready to be put into the process/consumption.
Procedure for hardness test:
- Take 50 ml of water to be tested in a beaker.
- Add one inch of reagent “A”, after adding the sample water color turns pink/ red.
- Add reagent “B”, 10 to 15 drops.
- Now start adding reagent “S” drop by drop stir the solution simultaneously and count the number of drops.
- When the sample color turns pink to blue count the no. of reagent “S” and multiply by 2.
- Hardness is no. of reagent drops x 2 = hardness of water in ppm as CaCo3
- 10 drop x 2 = 20 ppm(e.g.)
Training Summary questions:
Q1. Explain the procedure for the water hardness test.
Q2. What are the main stages of the regeneration process?
Q3. What is the quantity of salt used in one regeneration?
Q4. How long is the softener bed to be kept on brine solution?
Q5. What are the steps in rinsing the softener?
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SOP Number: Hotel Engineering SOP – 05 Department: Engineering and Maintenance Date Issued: 14–Feb-2018 Time to Train: 30 Minutes
