Softening

Definition

Treatment that removes hardness ions such as calcium and magnesium from makeup water before use.

Makeup water is softened to remove hardness but still carries other dissolved minerals and dissolved oxygen. Removing hardness reduces the calcium available for scale on downstream heated surfaces. If condensate contamination bypasses softening and introduces hardness into a boiler, scale and under-deposit corrosion can follow.

Related concepts

Hardness · Makeup Water · Calcium Carbonate Scale

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Part of The Blueprint of Water · 🛠️ operations