Acid regeneration of ion exchange resins for industrial applications

• US 10,052,625 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2016
• Issued: 08/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ecolab USA Incorporated (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Ecolab USA Incorporated (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Inventors: Everson, Terrence P., Wen, Li, Tan, Lylien, Voss, Peter, Toetschinger, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Barry, Chester T
• Application Number:
  US15/257,456
• Publication Number:
  US 20160375434A1
• Time in Patent Office: 714 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/241 the dishes moving in a horizontal plane
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/4217 Fittings for water supply, e.g. valves or plumbing means to connect to cold or warm water lines, aquastops
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/4229 Water softening arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 39/05 in the strongly acidic form
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 39/07 in the weakly acidic form
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 39/08 Use of material as cation exchangers; Treatment of material for improving the cation exchange properties
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 39/19 obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving unsaturated carbon-to-carbon bonds
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 39/20 obtained by reactions only involving unsaturated carbon-to-carbon bonds
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 47/15 for obtaining a solution having a fixed pH
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 49/06 containing cationic exchangers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 49/53 for cationic exchangers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 49/75 of water softeners
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/04 Cleaning involving contact with liquid
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/14 Removing waste, e.g. labels, from cleaning liquid; Regenerating cleaning liquidstreatment of water in general C02F
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/42 by ion-exchange ion-exchange in general B01J
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2001/425 using cation exchangers
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/00 Controlling or monitoring parameters in water treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/005 Processes using a programmable logic controller [PLC]
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/06 pH
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2303/16 Regeneration of sorbents, filters
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 39/007 : Arrangements of water softeners

Abstract

Methods and systems for acid regeneration of ion exchange resins are disclosed. Acid resins designed for use in a variety of cleaning application using a water source use a treated, softened, acidic water source according to the invention. Various methods of using the softened acidic water generated by acid regenerate-able ion exchange resins are disclosed to beneficially reduce spotting, filming and scale buildup on treated surfaces, reduce and/or eliminate the need for polymers, threshold reagents and/or rinse aids, and using protons generated in the acidic water effluent for triggering events useful in various cleaning applications.

Claims

1. A system employing an ion exchange resin regenerated by an acid comprising:

an inlet for providing a water source;

a water treatment reservoir;

a water treatment component housed within the water treatment reservoir, wherein said water treatment component comprises at least one ion exchange resin capable of generating a treated water source by exchanging protons on said resin for dissolved cations including water hardness ions and total dissolved solids in said water source, and wherein said ion exchange resin is an acid form or in an inert metal form;

an outlet;

a measuring device for obtaining pH and/or proton concentration and/or total dissolved solids measurements from the water treatment reservoir, the water source and/or the treated water source;

a controller to receive the measurements and trigger an event; and

a water delivery line in fluid communication with a cleaning application and/or storage reservoir to provide the treated water source to the cleaning application and/or storage reservoir,

wherein the event comprises regenerating the resin of the water treatment component, varying a detergent and/or rinse additive addition to the treated water source and combinations thereof;

wherein the inlet is in fluid communication with the water treatment reservoir;

wherein a first end of the outlet is in fluid communication with the water treatment reservoir and a second end is in fluid communication with the water delivery line;

wherein the treated water source is a softened, acidic, and low total dissolved solids (TDS) water having a hardness level of less than about 2 grains and a pH less than about 6.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said ion exchange resin is a weak acid cation exchange resin and/or a strong acid cation exchange resin.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said ion exchange resin is a weak acid exchange resin having a polyacrylic copolymer matrix and carboxylic acid functional group.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said ion exchange resin is a strong acid exchange resin having a polystyrene matrix and sulfonic acid functional group.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein said ion exchange resin is a cross-linked acrylic acid with carboxylic acid functional group, a cross-linked methacrylic acid with carboxylic acid functional group, a polystyrene with sulfonic acid functional group, a polystyrene with sulfonic acid functional group and mixtures of thereof.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein said ion exchange resin has a surface comprising carboxylic acid functional groups and/or sulfonic acid functional groups.

7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an additional water treatment apparatus and water delivery line in fluid connection with the water treatment reservoir.

8. The system according to claim 1, the measuring device for obtaining pH and/or proton concentration and/or total dissolved solids measurements are for the water source and the treated water source.

9. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a storage reservoir housing an acid regenerant and a delivery line fluidly connected to the water treatment reservoir to deliver the acid regenerant to the ion exchange resin.

10. A method for using a softened acidic water source comprising:

contacting an article or surface in need of cleaning with the treated water source obtained from the system of claim 1.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising combining said treated water source with a detergent or other cleaning composition to form a use solution for contacting said article or surface.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the treated water source reduces the total detergent consumption of a cleaning application and/or reduces the use of polymers and threshold agents in said detergent, and wherein the use of said treated water source improves cleaning efficacy as measured by a reduction in spotting and filming and/or preventing scale build up on articles and surfaces in comparison to cleaning with detergents without the treated water source.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the water treatment component of the system comprises a layered resin bed system of at least two ion exchange resins.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein said hard water of the system is treated with said ion exchange resin which is placed in front of a dilution system.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein said dilution system is an aspirator or other pump that feeds into a cleaning system.