Regeneration

Definition

The recharge step in which concentrated sodium chloride brine is flushed through exhausted softener resin to drive off accumulated hardness and restore sodium on the exchange sites.

A roughly 28 percent sodium chloride solution, about 280,000 ppm, overwhelms the resin so that even doubly charged calcium and magnesium are forced off the exchange sites. The resin is then ready for the next service cycle. If brine is too dilute, often because the brine tank ran out of salt, the resin does not fully regenerate and hardness breaks through.

Related concepts

Brine Tank · Hardness Breakthrough · Ion Exchange

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Part of The Blueprint of Water · 🛠️ operations