11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

IX Home

Ion exchange columns

Introduction

Update
5 Dec 2014

Site map

Ion exchange resins are used in columns, in principle similar to those used for sand filters or activated
carbon. These are pressure vessels, usually made of rubberlined steel. Small units are made of fiberglass
reinforced plastic, and units used in the food industry are often made of stainless steel. A typical ion
exchange
Search
page column with coflow regeneration is represented below:

Coflow regenerated column

Some explanations about the details shown in the picture:
The water enters from the top of the column. So as not to disturb the surface of the resin bed, the
incoming water stream is stopped by a simple jet breaker.
The column has a large freeboard, usually about the same height as the resin bed, so that the resin
can be backwashed inside the column to remove suspended solids accumulated on the bed surface.
A manhole (shown on the left side) is necessary to inspect and possibly repair the column inside.
Two sight glasses are also shown, one at the top, one at the level of the resin bed surface.
An air vent is also necessary at the top, to empty the column by draining the water out for inspection
or a resin change.
One of the most important features of the vessel is the collector at the bottom: nowadays, one of the
most popular types of collector is a plate with densely distributed nozzles (see at bottom of page).
The reinforced plate disk of steel onto which the nozzles are screwed.
It is supported by poles or Lshaped beams (here two poles are visible).
A regenerant distributor is sometimes but not always mounted in the middle of the vessel to
ensure a uniform distribution of the regenerant. In absence of such a collector, the regenerant is
introduced from the top of the column, which results in some dilution of the chemicals.
Most of the features of the above column (vent, sight glasses, nozzle plates, manhole) are common to many
types of column, regenerated in coflow or in reverse flow. You will find here the most common vessel
designs used in water treatment, including:
Columns with freeboard
Coflow regenerated vessels
Reverse flow regeneration with air holddown
http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

1/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

Reverse flow regeneration with water holddown

Stratabed columns
Splitflow columns
Packed bed columns
AmberpackTM and floating beds
Multicompartment Amberpack
UpcoreTM (Amberpack Reverse)
StratapackTM
Some other technologies
EconexTM (Italba)
ReCoFlowTM (Ecotec)
ISEPTM (Calgon Carbon)
Polishers
Mixed bed units
TriobedTM
Amberpack SandwichTM
MultistepTM (Bayer)
TripolTM (Vivendi/Permutit)

Top

Columns with freeboard

The main advantage of having a freeboard in the vessel is to allow for resin backwash. This is useful when the
feed water contains suspended matter. The disadvantage of columns with freeboard is wasted space, and
complicated or fragile internals.
Coflow regenerated vessels
See the picture at the top of the page. Coflow columns are exhausted from top to bottom and regenerated
from top to bottom as well.
The freeboard provides space for backwashing the resin bed, when required.
Reverse flow regenerated vessels with holddown
See the page about regeneration methods. Reverse flow regenerated (RFR) vessels with freeboard are similar
in concept to coflow regenerated (CFR) units, except for a regenerant collector at the top of the resin bed.
They are exhausted downflow and regenerated upflow. The bed must be kept compacted and must not
fluidise during regeneration. For this reason, the regenerant cannot be removed from the top or the column
but must be extracted through a collector just above the resin bed. The two main types of columns with
holddown technology are compacted with air or water. As the bed must be kept compact during
regeneration, extra resin is required to cover the collector. This can be inert or inactive resin (see below).
In the following pictures, some details have been omitted, such as sight glasses, valves, vents, and
manholes. Thes are essentially the same as those shown in the coflow picture at the top of this page.
Vessels with air holddown
In production

http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

In regeneration

2/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

The picture above shows the basic design in production and in regeneration. The vessel is similar to a coflow
regenerated unit. An inert granular material pushes the bed down during regeneration, under air
compression. The inert material is usually polypropylene, which floats when the upper part of the vessel is
filled with water, and comes down when it is full of air. It is important that the resin bed itself doesn't get
dry, so the inert resin prevents contact between the air and the active resin.
Instead of pushing air into the unit (whereby the compressed air is often warm), you can also suck the liquid
using a hydroejector. In this case, as the tendency of dehydrating the resin is lower, ion exchange resin can
be used to cover the regenerant collector instead of inert material.
Air holddown is suitable for regeneration flow rates up to 10m/h, thus fine for sulphuric acid regeneration
at a low concentration.
The depth of inert or inactive resin must be enough to cover the regenerant collector at the beginning as
well as the end of regeneration; resin swelling must be taken into account when determining its volume.
Vessels with water holddown
In production

In regeneration

These are the same as the air holddown units, except that the counterpressure needed during regeneration
is exerted with a flow of water from the top rather than air. In this case, the regenerant collector is buried in
http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

3/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

the resin bed. The part of the resin that is located above the collector never gets regenerated, and is thus
called "inactive". The other disadvantage of this system is that it consumes more water in the regeneration
process, and produces a larger volume of waste. In Europe, water holddown units have not been very
popular for this reason.
Water holddown units can be operated only at very low regeneration flow rates otherwise the hydraulic
system is unstable.
The downward flow rate of the holddown stream must be adjusted as a function of the upward regenerant
injection flow rate, density of the regenerant, density of the resin and acceptable contact time, which
should not be too long for sulphuric acid regeneration. Although not a rule, it seems that the holddown flow
rate is often equal to the flow rate of the regenerant solution. No inert material is required. The resin
volume must be calculated including the amount of inactive resin that must always cover the collector.
Stratified beds
These are holddown units containing a pair of cation or anion resins:
the weakly functional resin has a smaller particle size, and its density
is lower than that of the strongly functional resin allows the two
components to be kept separated. Some mixing of both layers at the
interface is inevitable, though, and periodical reseparation is
required. The stratified bed technology saves a column and brings the
benefit of a good regeneration efficiency. As the weak resin always
has a density smaller than the strong base, stratified bed must always
be regenerated in reverse flow. For coflow regeneration, two
separate columns are necessary.
Stratified beds are also called layered beds. StratabedTM is a
trademark of Dow.

Air and water holddown, including Stratabed

As we have just seen, additional resin is required, either inert (air holddown) or inactive ion exchange resin
(water holddown).
Splitflow units
In splitflow vessels, regeneration is carried out simultaneously from
the top and from the bottom of the bed. The regenerant collector is
located in the upper third of the resin bed. An additional regenerant
distributor is required above the resin bed. The idea is to allow the
upper part of the bed to be backwashed to remove accumulated
debris without disturbing the lower layers of the bed that are
responsible for the good treated water quality. There is no inert or
inactive resin, and the system does not consume extra water, but is
more complicated and the regeneration flows are sometimes difficult
to adjust.

http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

4/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

Resins used in vessels with freeboard

Practically all resins can be used. In practice, standard grades are often chosen for coflow units, because
they are cheaper.
For reverse flow regeneration, uniform particle size resins are often selected due to their better hydraulic
characteristics and to a slightly higher operating capacity compared to the standard grades. For Stratabed
units, a fine specially graded weak resin is required, as well as a high density and coarser strong resin.

Packed bed units

Those have no freeboard although a little space must be allowed to accommodate resin swelling and no
internals that obstruct the hydraulic flow and can be easily damaged. The vessels are thus smaller and
cheaper, and the resin depth is usually higher than in a column with freeboard. This offers a benefit for
strongly acidic and strongly basic resins, which have a higher operating capacity when the bed depth is high.
Also, there is no need for an inactive resin, although Bayer's floating bed and Dow's Upcore use an inert
material. Of course, the resin can no longer be backwashed in situ due to the absence of freeboard. A
separate backwash column is necessary in most cases.
Floating bed units
Called "Schwebebett" by Bayer AG in 1963, this
design has upflow loaded, downflow regenerated
columns in which the bed was initially partially
fluidised. The floating bed technology has been a
big success since the mid 1970's has been adopted,
with some variations, by most of the European
OEMs. Today, these units are fully packed with
practically no fluidised resin.
Bayer's Schwebebett (called WS system in some
countries) uses an inert floating material at the
top of the resin chamber. It cannot be
backwashed.

http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

5/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

Amberpack in service and regeneration

AmberpackTM
The Amberpack system of Rohm and Haas is a variation of the floating
bed and enables resin transfer to a backwashing column. The ion
exchange vessels are similar to Bayer's Schwebebett units, the
differences being the absence of inert floating material and the
presence of at least two transfer ports per resin chamber, through
which resins can be taken out for backwashing. The resins are
exhausted upflow and regenerated downflow.
In multicompartment Amberpack columns, two (sometimes three)
resins are separated by a plate fitted with double nozzles. This is the
ideal system for WBA/SBA and for WAC/SAC combinations: it gives the
best efficiency and treated water quality. Each compartent has two
transfer ports for external backwashing.
The WAC/SAC combination with sulphuric acid regeneration requires a
special version with secondary dilution.

Amberpack with double chamber

A full Amberpack demineralisation line followed by a mixed bed polisher

UpcoreTM

http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

6/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

UpCoRe
stands
for
"Upflow
Countercurrent
Regeneration". Dow licensed this technology from the
Dutch engineering company Esmil in the late 1970s. The
units are exhausted downflow and regenerated upflow. A
special inert polymer called Dowex Upcore IF62 fills the
upper part of the columns.
Dow claim that their system is "selfcleaning", and that
suspended solids accumulated during the exhaustion run
escape during the first stage of regeneration, but this is
only partially true: the system is not capable of
eliminating large amounts of suspended matter, unlike
Amberpack with its dedicated backwashing tower.
Besides, upflow regeneration is more difficult than
downflow, particularly with hydrochloric acid, because of
the high velocity required to compact the bed and the
resulting short contact time. This system consumes a
Upcore column in service and regeneration
little more water, as an additional step is required to
compact the bed against the top nozzle plate before regenerant injection.
Upcore is also available as Amberpack Reverse, the main difference being the presence of a backwash
column as a safety feature.
Upcore is useful when the plant works intermittently or when large flow rate variations are expected.
StratapackTM
Stratapack columns, which are Amberpack Reverse units in the Stratabed
fashion, and offer the advantages of both. Inert resin is necessary in view of the
relatively fine particle size of the weak base or weak acid resin. The column has
three transfer ports. The system is also available as Upcore layered bed.
Stratapack cation units are not recommended with sulphuric acid regeneration.
Because a little mixing at the interface cannot be prevented, Stratapack is not
quite as efficient as a doublecompartment Amberpack. Additionally, it
consumes a little more water, like Amberpack Reverse. To minimise the effect
of resin mixing, a higher dosage of regenerant is often used.
The common characteristic of all Amberpack systems is the presence of a
backwash column, which is an essential safety device to ensure smooth
operation of the water treatment plant.

A Stratapack vessel
Resins used in packed bed units
Only uniform or semiuniform grades are suitable. Standard grades will cause serious trouble due to the fine
bead fraction. For Stratapack units, a fine specially graded weak resin is required, as well as a high density
and coarser strong resin.

Some other technologies

Many OEMs have their own proprietary design. Only a few will be mentioned here.

http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

7/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

EconexTM
This system was developed in the 1970s by ItalbaIonics
and DavyBamag. The columns have a freeboard, but in
normal operation it is filled with inert material so the
columns do not need an air or water holddown during
regeneration. When the resin has to be backwashed, the
inert is extracted to a holding tank and backwashing is
performed in the ion exchange column.
The columns are simple, but large and a transfer system
is needed. Some units have double chamber anion
columns to house a WBA above and a SBA below.

The Econex system

ReCoFloTM
This technology was developed by the Canadian Ecotec Corporation. The
columns are very shallow, with a bed depth of typically only about 15 cm (6
inches). Cycles are very short, the service run being only about 20 minutes.
Special, fine resins are used. This technology was mainly applied in the
surface treatment industry.

A ReCoFlo unit
ISEPTM
ISEP is a simulated moving bed, operating in a quasi continuous, stepwise
fashion. It was developed by the US company Advanced Separation
Technologies (AST), now a subsidiary of Calgon Carbon. The columns
typically 30 of them) are arranged in a carrousel (merrygoround). The
feed and elution solutions are connected to a stationary upper distributor
fitted with typically 20 ports, and the raffinate as well as the extract are
connected to a lower stationary connector fitted with the same number
of ports. The columns themselves are on a rotating frame. The carrousel
rotates continuously at a speed of 0.1 to 1.5 revolutions per hour, and the
ports are thus successively connected to all columns. A simplified schema
is shown here with only 8 columns and 6 inlet and outlet ports. Simulated
moving beds can be used for chromatography, for purification of
fermentation broth, sugar syrup deashing, colour removal from various
solutions, separation of metals and other applications. The major problem
with this system is leaks between the heads of the rotating columns and
the fixed distributor.

A simplified ISEP system

Other "continuous" systems

The Asahi/ECI system of Degrmont, the Kontimat system of Hager und Elssser, and the ChemSeps system
of Cochrane were popular in the late 1960's and in the 1970's. The resin inventory was small and the
production semicontinuous. However, they were quite complicated in design and delicate in operation, and
their very short cycles caused the toughest resins to wear rapidly. A few of the continuous plants were still
in operation after 2000, but no new installations of this type are built. They are progressively replaced by
more simple reverse flow regeneration systems, which also offer a better regeneration efficiency.

Polishing units
http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

8/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

There are basically two types of polishers, used in water demineralisation and condensate treatment:
1. Units with mixed resins
2. Units with separate resins, in one or several vessels
Mixed bed units
Strongly acidic cation resin is mixed with strongly basic anion
resin. The quality of treated water is excellent, typically with a
conductivity of less than 0.1 S/cm and a residual silica of less
than 10 or even down to 1 g/L when properly designed and
operated. The resins must however be separated for regeneration.
This is a delicate and lengthy operation.
Regeneration involves the following steps:
Backwash for separation
Settling
Acid injection from the bottom, extraction through the
middle collector
Acid displacement
Caustic injection from the ad hoc distributor, extraction
through the middle collector
Caustic displacement
Air mixing
Final fast rinse
See details in the regeneration page.

A mixed bed in service

Regeneration of a mixed bed unit is not efficient, due to the shallow bed depth of the components and the
resulting hydraulic distribution problems. Mixed bed vessels are also more complicated than single bed units.
For this reason, mixed bed units are mostly used to treat water with very low salinity, as in this case cycles
are reasonably long and chemical efficiency is thus not critical.
Mixed bed units used to treat water with more than traces of salinity are usually called "Working MBs".
Mixed bed polishers are often designed based on specific flow rate in BV/h rather than on salinity and
running time.
See also the section about water polishers in the page about water treatment processes.
Spherical units
Some power stations have condensate polishers operating under high
pressure: 4 to 5MPa (40 to 50bar, 600 to 700psi). In this case the shell
of the vessel must be very thick. For this reason spherical vessels are
built, because a sphere has a better resistance to pressure than a
cylinder, and one can save in the thickness of the vessel shell. Those
have disadvantages compared to cylindrical columns, as the flow
through the resin bed is less uniform.

http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

9/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

A spherical vessel
TriobedTM units
Triobed is a trademark of Rohm and Haas. The concept was developed by Duolite in the 1970's, and had
immediate success. The idea was to mix a third, inert component to the active SAC and SBA resins. Density
and particle size of the three components are precisely adjusted so that
the inert forms a separating layer between cation and anion resins after
backwash. Click on the adjacent picture for a better understanding of the
principle.
Triobed doesn't have only advantages:
The inert resin has sometimes problems: it may float if there are
traces of oil in the water or condensate, or attract air bubbles at the
time of backwashing.
The inert "dilutes" the active resins, and uses space: the total
capacity of the bed is reduced.
The SAC resin is very coarse, which is detrimental to its kinetics, and
requires a high backwash flow rate for separation.

A Triobed after separation

For these reasons, conventional twocomponent mixed beds are now

preferred. Amberjet and other uniform resins resins give a very sharp separation, and if absolutely no cross
contamination is acceptable, other techniques are available with external regeneration.
For existing Triobed units, only very specific resin combinations are allowed.
AmberpackTM SandwichTM
A different type of polisher, with separate cation and anion resins, not a
mixed bed. Amberpack Sandwich polishing units are double chamber
Amberpack columns with a strong acid and a strong base resin, separated by
a nozzle plate. Twice the efficiency of a mixed bed, and half the size.
The small freeboard (see picture) is usually be filled with a floating inert
material. A collector is located just below this separation plate. The
advantages of Amberpack Sandwich compared to mixed bed units are:
As the column is almost full, it contains twice the resin amount, and
offers thus a double capacity for the same vessel size.
As resins are never mixed, all problems of crosscontamination found
in MBs are avoided.
Regeneration is in counterflow mode, thus a much smaller quantity of
regenerants is required.
Sandwich gives the same treated water quality as a conventional MB.
http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

Amberpack Sandwich unit

10/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

It is sometimes preferred to have the anion column in the bottom compartment: in this way, traces of Na
from the anion resin are eliminated by the cation resin. This arrangement is possible only when the feed
does not contain any hardness.
Sandwich units can also be used, like "working MBs", for the treatment of low salinity water, such as RO
permeate.
TripolTM
A system with separate resin beds in a single column developed by Permutit (now Veolia). Regeneration is
external: the cation resins are transferred to a separate regeneration column. The bottom resin is
transferred first, then the top resin on top of it. Therefore, the resin from the bottom compartment
receives the maximum acid and is always perfectly regenerated. This system is used for condensate
polishing.
MultistepTM
This is an inverted Tripol patented by Bayer AG and operating in floating bed fashion. Regeneration is in situ.
Of course, the acid must bypass the anion resin, so two additional collectors/distributors are necessary.
Acid comes from the top, is extracted through the collector just underneath the top compartment, then re
injected through the second distributor just underneath the anion compartment. Inert is required.
Separate columns
A combination of SAC and SBA in separate columns, with coflow regeneration, was the first kind of polishing
installed even before mixed beds became popular.
In Germany, several condensate polishers have been installed with this concept, but the columns are of the
floating bed type to maximise efficiency and quality.
Resins used in separate bed polishers
As most of these are packed bed units, uniform grades are recommended. For DI polishers, the standard
choice is gel type. For condensate polishers, the hybrid gel cation/macroporous anion combination is
recommended.

Construction material
Click the small pictures.

In the laboratory, glass columns are used for resin

testing or quality control.

Small units are usually made

reinforced plastic. See also SDI.

Industrial units are made of steel with an internal

hard rubber coating.

In the food industry and some other industries,

ion exchange columns are often made of stainless
steel.

http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

of

fiberglass

11/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

Nozzles

A nozzle plate with stiffening beam

Backwash column

http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

12/13

11/5/2015

Ionexchangecolumns

A backwash tower. On the right, picture of the bottom of the column.

See also the page about degasifiers.
A few basic principles of plant design.

Franois de Dardel

http://dardel.info/IX/processes/columns.html

13/13