Calcium is an alkaline earth metal with an atomic number of 20. It is the fifth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and the third most abundant metal. It is found in the human body and is a crucial part of bones and teeth. It is essential to the growth of plants and animals and can be found within limestone, gypsum, and fluorite.
Applications
Calcium metal is a reducing agent used to prepare other metals, such as thorium and uranium. It is also an alloying agent for aluminum, beryllium, copper, lead, and magnesium alloys.
Challenges
The hardness level of water is defined by the amount of positively charged calcium (Ca++) and magnesium (Mg++) ions present. The higher the concentration of these ions, the harder the water will be. While hard water is non-toxic to the human body, it can damage plumbing, heaters, dishwashers, and other household appliances. Hard water also leaves a residue on tableware and can cause heaters and plumbing to use more energy, reducing efficiency and creating higher costs.
Solutions
Resin technology is used for decalcification in two relevant applications.
Decalcification of Hard Water
Industrial water softening is a process that utilizes ion exchange resins to reduce the concentration of calcium and magnesium ions.
Purolite™ Shallow Shell™ SSTC60 is a softening resin that is more efficient than other resins at removing salt and reducing iron fouling.
For more information, visit
Demineralization Products.
Removal in Chlor-alkali and Lithium Brines
Calcium is present in the Chlor-alkali industrial process, which produces chlorine and sodium hydroxide. To remove calcium from the brine solution prior to electrolysis occurs, the solution must undergo brine decalcification.
The removal of calcium from a wide variety of liquors, including Chlor-alkali and lithium brine, is done by using
Purolite S940,
Purolite S9320, or
Purolite Puromet™ MTS9510PF. The choice of these resins depends on the specific brine chemistry and operating conditions.
For more information, leverage the ion exchange resin simulator
Purolite Resin System Modeling (PRSM) to evaluate these products.
