Micro Media Filtration Proving Effective In Produced Water Softening Systems

Having an effective, durable pretreatment system in advance of ion exchange produced-water softening systems is the fi rst, most critical line of defense – ensuring smooth, more troublefree performance downstream.

It’s especially true when dealing with today’s ion exchange technologies, which require TSS (total suspended solids) of 0.1-0.5 mg/L and turbidities of 0.1-1 NTU (nephelometric turbidity units). Most suppliers of ion exchange resin would advise removal of suspended solids to at least 1 mg/l or better through some form of pretreatment and that some, but not all, of the residual solids that accumulate within resin beds be removed by periodic backwashing of the resin. If allowed to accumulate, these solids can adversely impact water and regenerant chemical distribution, will ultimately increase pressure drop, and degrade water quality and quantity. Furthermore, longer term fouling by solids and residual oil can make subsequent resin cleaning much more difficult, if not impossible.

With the ongoing trend towards packed bed ion exchange systems, the sensitivity to solids fouling has increased even more. In these systems there is little or no freeboard space within the resin column making it much more difficult and, in some cases, impossible to backwash the resin to remove the accumulated dirt. This means resin must routinely be removed from the column and washed, with typical cleanings reported to be one to two times per year.