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How to protect ion exchanger resin when system shut down

2003

Dear sir,

I want to know , how can I store ion exchanger resins when system is shot downed for a long time. We use amberjet 4200 Cl and 1200 Na .We charged them in tanks but now we don't need demineralized water. I want to store and protect this resin . how ? I will be very thankful if you help me thank you.

Hamid Soleimani
PURE WATER INDUSTRY - Sirjan, Kerman, Iran

Keep the resin vessels full of water. Try to keep the resins at moderate temperature, 60-70 F.

TIM HONE
Water Treatment - Farmington Hills, Michigan
2003

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All that you need to do is to protect the resin from drying out and from freezing. Storing in a 5-10% brine solution is usually recommended, since in addition to protecting the resin from freezing, it prevents biological growth.

Lyle Kirman
consultant - Cleveland Heights, Ohio
2003

I use chlorine dioxide to discourage microbe growth. In fact, we do weekly treatments of our resin because biofilms will rapidly coat the resin and make them appear to be spent.

Therese Souza
mfg test probes - Attleboro, Massachusetts
2003

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Theresa -

You use chlorine dioxide to treat your resins? Weekly?

It seems to me that you have a much more serious problem if you have that type and quantity of bio-growth in your DI system. Have you looked at alternative oxidation treatments, such as putting a small amount of ozone into the feed? Are you feeding this with well water or a local, untreated surface source? There is an opportunity to get help here...

Tom Baker
wastewater treatment specialist - Warminster, Pennsylvania
2003

Tom, the problem in my case is the water is constantly being recirculated. There is all sorts of chemicals being rinsed into my recirculating system, like gold bath electrolytes. This encourages bio type growth. If I went for more than a few weeks without treatment, the water would get pretty bad smelling; the tanks would get slimy; and a cylinder of mixed bed resins would appear to be spent. You don't need much to work. It is sort of like shock treating a swimming pool.

Therese Souza
mfg test probes - Attleboro, Massachusetts
2003

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2003

Therese Souza,

I have the same set-up and the same problem. Could you please give me some quantities that you are using?

Thanks,

Scott McLean
- Torrance, California

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Theresa, using chlorine dioxide is far from a swimming pool shock treatment. Di- and Tri-Chloramines, which are the bulk of most pool shocks, are much more stable and safer to handle that chlorine dioxide is.

Do you have an activated carbon bed in front of your demineralizer? If so, how often do you change it? We normally recommend every 6 months at a minimum. It will do a nice job of getting most of the organics in the water that bacteria might use for food.

Have you tried to use a UV light source and maintain a sterilization loop on your water? It must be followed by a very tight filter - 0.5 micron or less, but that will keep bacteria from spreading beyond the DI loop. The issue is to keep the bacteria from replicating in the presence of a food source, which the UV source does. Once rendered sterilized, they can be filtered out from the water prior to being sent back to your rinse tanks.

Tom Baker
wastewater treatment specialist - Warminster, Pennsylvania
2004