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How to Prepare Purolite Ion Exchange Resins for Potable Water Treatment and Food Processing

Careful pre-use preparation of processing equipment is critical in the potable water treatment and food processing industries. When Purolite ion exchange resins are to be used for potable water treatment or food processing, they should be subjected to a simple—yet very effective—pre-use treatment by the user. The treatment is intended to supplement normal manufacturing pretreatments.

Below are critical steps for potable water treatment and food processing industries. Preparation should be repeated at least two times before the resins are ready for use. For food-grade resins, the following steps help to ensure the ion exchanger can comply with the organic extractives level required by the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Part 173.25, Paragraph (c) (4) or Council of Europe Resolution AP(2004)3, formerly AP(97)1. 

  • Clean Equipment - Ensure the tank is clean and clear of debris or contaminants. 
  • Store and Transport Resins Properly - Resins should always be stored indoors and out of direct sunlight. The maximum recommended storage temperature of 104 °F (40 °C) must not be exceeded, and temperature extremes should be avoided. Please refer to the Purolite's "Storage & Transportation of Ion Exchange Resins" brochure for more details.
  • Prepare Resins - Important to follow the below guidelines per Purolite product.
  • Test Produced Water - Confirm the sample meets specifications before human consumption or the intended food treatment use. 

How to Care for Strong Acid Cation Exchange Resins - Hydrogen Cycle
Resins are usually delivered in the sodium form.

  1. Exhaust the resin by passing 2 BV of 4% NaOH through a column of resin at a rate of 2 BV/h
  2. Rinse with 5 BV of DI water at a rate of 2 BV/h
  3. Regenerate the resin by passing 4 BV of HCl or H2SO4 through a column of resin at a flow rate of 2 BV/h
  • 5 BV 5% HCl = 5.5 eq/lBV
  • 5% H2SO4 = 4.1 eq/l
      4. Rinse the resin with 5 BV of DI water at a flow rate of 2 BV/h

      5. Repeat the above procedure at least once.
          
          BV refers to the volume of resin used. 
          For example, if using one liter of resin, then 1 BV (or 1 bed volume) equals one liter.


How to Care for Strong Acid Cation Resins - Sodium Cycle

  1. Exhaust the resin with raw water by passing 6 BV of 2% CaCl2 solution at a flow rate of 2 BV/h = 2.2 eq/l
  2. Rinse with 5 BV of DI water at a rate of 2 BV/h
  3. Regenerate the resin by passing 2 BV of 10% NaCl at a rate of 2 BV/h
  4. Rinse with 5 BV of DI water at a rate of 2 BV/h
  5. Repeat the above process at least once

How to Care for Weak Acid Cation Exchange Resins
Resins are usually delivered in the hydrogen form.

  1. Exhaust the resin by passing 5 BV of 4% NaOH hrough a column of the resin at a rate of 2 BV/h (a dosage equivalent to 5 eq/L). There is potentially high volume change for weak acid cation (WAC) resins in changing from hydrogen to sodium form.
    Examples:
    Purolite C104Plus 60%, Purolite C115E 100%
  2. Rinse with 5 BV of DI water at a rate of 2 BV/h
  3. Regenerate the resin by passing 5 BV of 5% HCl or 5% or H2SOat a rate of 2 BV/h
  4. Rinse with 5 BV of DI water at a rate of 2 BV/h
  5. Repeat above procedure at least once
Note: 1 BV = 1 liter of water running through 1 liter of resin or 7.48 US gallons through 1 ft³ of resin.

How to Care for Strong Base Anion Exchange Resins
Resins are usually delivered in the salt (exhausted) form.

  1. Regenerate the resin by passing 3 BV of 4% NaOH through a column of resin
    at a rate of 2 BV/h
  2. Rinse with 5 BV DI water at a rate of 2 BV/h
  3. Exhaust with 2 BV of 4% HCI or H2SO4 solution (Note: acid solution can be replaced with NaCI solution)
  4. Rinse again

How to Care for Weak Base Anion Exchange Resins
Resins are usually delivered in the free-base form.

  1. Exhaust the resin by passing 2 BV of 5% HCl or 5% H2SOat a rate of 2 BV/h through a column of the resin
  2. Rinse with 5 BV DI water at a rate of 2 BV/h
  3. Regenerate the resin by passing 3 BV of 5% NaOH or 5% NH4OH at a rate of 2 BV/h
  4. Rinse with 5 BV of DI water at a rate of 2 BV/h
  5. Repeat the above process at least twice

How to Care for NSF/ANSI 44 & NSF/ANSI 61 Certified Resins
Please refer to the WQA website for pre-use directions.

How to Care for PraestoTM SP200 Agarose Resin
Before use, Praesto SP200 should be prepared by the following procedure.

  1. Equilibrate out of shipping buffer into packing buffer - typically 400 mM NaCl.
  2. Pack the column according to Purolite Praesto packing instructions.
  3. Once packed, rinse with 2-5 bed volumes of 400 mM NaCl.
  4. Rinse with 2-5 bed volumes of water or running buffer as required for the purification process.

Cleaning should be carried out regularly, as a wash with 2-5 bed volumes of 0.5 M NaOH followed by neutralization with 0.1 M acetate and a 2-5 bed volume re-equilibration into water or running buffer.
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It is strongly recommended that the product water is tested and confirmed to be fully in specification before it is used for direct human consumption or for the intended food treatment.

Note: Depending on storage time and conditions, additional pre-treatment may be required.